The night was still.
Too still.
Anastasia felt it before she saw it—the shift in the air, the subtle disturbance behind her.
The attack came in a blur.
A vampire.
Moving with lightning-fast precision, he lunged toward her from behind—a silver knife aimed straight for her heart.
Lucian was certain she wouldn’t see it coming.
Certain she couldn’t stop him.
But he was wrong.
In an instant, Anastasia turned.
Not just turned—moved faster than his vampire eyes could track.
Before he even realized what had happened, she had his wrist in an iron grip.
A split second later, she twisted it.
The silver blade plunged into his own chest.
Lucian’s eyes widened in shock. A strangled gasp left his lips.
He staggered back, his fingers clawing at the knife buried in his heart.
A second later
