Pierce's POV
The storm broke the moment I stepped off the balcony.
I didn't feel the rain.
Didn't feel the wind slicing across my face.
All I felt was wrong.
Something was off. The sea was too loud. The air too still.
Delancey was still screaming my name from the ballroom, but it was faint—like background noise in a dream I wanted to wake up from.
I moved through the garden like a machine.
Past the marble statues. Past the guards pretending they didn't see me.
Then—
"Master Danger," said a sharp voice behind me.
Caleb.
I turned slowly.
He was soaked. Shirt half-buttoned. Eyes wide with rage.
"She's gone."
Everything in me froze. "What?"
"Violet. They took her."
A beat of silence, then my heart kicked.
No.
No, no, no.
"Where?" I demanded.
He looked away. Jaw clenched. "
