The silence inside the safehouse was deafening, broken only by the rhythmic drumming of rain against the reinforced, bulletproof windows. The penthouse apartment was a sterile fortress of concrete and glass, hidden in the labyrinthine skyline of the city, known only to Seraphina and a handful of dea

The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Seraphina Vance’s penthouse, casting long, sharp shadows across the imported Italian marble. She stood by the glass, a steaming cup of black coffee in her hand, looking out over the sprawling metropolis that she owned. Or, at the very

Pain was the first thing to register.

A deep, throbbing ache radiated from the base of Seraphina’s skull, pulsing behind her eyes with the relentless rhythm of a war drum. She groaned, the sound harsh and ragged in her dry throat.

The second sensation was the cold. It seeped through the thin fab