The afternoon sun filtered through soft clouds, casting a golden sheen over the cobblestone streets as Valen and Seraphine stepped out of the antique shop. Her hand was tucked in his, the pendant still warm against her skin, as if it remembered the centuries it had waited to return to her.
They walked in silence at first—Seraphine soaking in the calm, Valen stealing glances at her like he still couldn’t believe she was real.
They barely made it halfway down the block, hand in hand, when Seraphine slowed—her eyes narrowing.
Valen felt it too. A shift in the air.
He stopped mid-step.
And then—
Like a silent command had been given—
They came.
Suits. All black. No words. Just boots hitting the pavement in perfect sync, forming a circle around them. Ten. No, twelve. All armed. Faces emo
