The rain felt like needles against Clara’s face as she sprinted through the dark, slick streets of the city. She didn't stop for crosswalks. She didn't flinch when taxi cabs blared their horns and swerved to avoid her. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, but the only thing driving her forward was the

"Excellent," Julian murmured, the single word vibrating with a dark, terrifying finality that made the hairs on the back of Clara’s neck stand at attention.

He didn't gloat. He didn't laugh. He simply watched her with the calm, sated expression of a predator that had finally felt its jaws snap shu

The rain had intensified by the time Clara pushed through the heavy glass doors of the institute. The storm battered the city with relentless fury, turning the streets into slick, black rivers reflecting the harsh glare of the streetlights.

Clara barely felt the cold. She felt numb. Her right thum