The silver bars hummed with a low electric charge the second the clock struck midnight.
I sat on the cold stone bench in the deep dungeon cell, wrists still raw from the council cuffs. Footsteps echoed down the narrow hall. A tall figure stopped outside the bars. Darius Crowe. His smirk cut through the dim light like a bad memory.
"Avery," he said smooth, gripping one bar. "Midnight visit from the future. You look too good for a traitor cell. The silver lining keeping your Fenrir blood in check?"
I stood slow, keeping distance. "Darius. What do you want? Council send you to gloat? Victor is in coma and they still think I did it."
He laughed low, eyes tracing the silver walls. "Council is split. I came on my own. Heard about the synthetic frame. Smart play by the Ring but sloppy. I can
