XXIV
My phone ringing on the bedside table was what woke me from the most peaceful sleep I’d ever been lulled into. Morning sun streamed in through the sheer curtains, dust motes drifting lazily in the golden light like ballroom dancers lost in their own rhythm. Beside me, Heaven’s spot was empty, the sheets barely warm, her scent lingering faintly in the air like a whisper. I knew her internal clock always woke her at five. She liked to start the day early, waking the Omega staff and issuing the daily chore list with the kind of precision that made the entire packhouse run like a well-oiled machine. She assigned cleaning duties across the different levels, rotating the Omegas to keep things fair and to maintain the Howler’s signature unpredictability. Ember, no doubt, would already be in the
- Writer
