Eli wasn’t sure which morning it was when he finally woke without feeling like something was crushing his lungs from the inside. Time in the hospital had blurred into a slow, suffocating loop—white ceilings, harsh lights, doctors speaking gently as though he might shatter again if they weren’t careful.But this morning felt different.He opened his eyes and didn’t immediately fight for air. The ache beneath his ribs was still there, buried deep like a wound waiting for an excuse to resurface, but it didn’t strangle him anymore. The dizziness that usually followed his first breath didn’t come.He sat up.The movement hurt, but not enough to force him back down.Progress.He’d worked for this—pushed for it. Every hour he’d been awake he’d forced himself to stretch, breathe through the stabbing pain, walk the length of the room even when the nurses told him he wasn’t cleared. The doctors warned him repeatedly that recovery wasn’t something he could speed through sheer will alone.But the

The sky over Moravia was dark when the jet finally taxied to a stop. The windows showed nothing but a blurred wash of snow and distant airport lights. It had a cold unfamiliar feeling and was far too quiet for the storm brewing inside Eli’s chest.Carlos unbuckled his seat first, stepping toward the door as the cabin crew rushed to prepare the exit. “Ground team is already here,” he said softly. “Rael’s people too. They’re taking her straight to the facility.”Eli didn’t respond. His eyes were on Selene—the small rise and fall of her chest, the way her fingers lay loosely curled against the blanket. She looked asleep. Peaceful. Not like someone whose life was dragging itself along a very thin thread.Lucia checked the mobile monitor attached to her again, her brows drawn tight. “Vitals stable,” she murmured. “Still no neural response.”Karim stood by the wall, bags already slung over one shoulder. Aiden waited beside him, tension radiating from him even though he was trying to hide it

The hallway outside Selene’s room felt colder than it had an hour ago. Or maybe Eli had just forgotten what the temperature has been. His body moved, but the heaviness in his chest didn’t loosen. Karim and Aiden walked slightly behind him—silent, alert, exchanging brief glances with each other they didn’t think he noticed.Carlos caught up a few steps later, falling naturally into place beside him.No one spoke until they reached the elevator.Carlos hit the button.The elevator doors slid open with a soft hiss, far too cheerful for the atmosphere pressing down on them. Eli entered first, Karim and Aiden following. Carlos stepped in last.The doors closed.A low hum filled the small space.Aiden shifted—subtle, but restless. “We’re really leaving?” he asked finally, his voice quieter than usual. He was trying hard to understand… he hadn't expected that the trip to Moravia was going to be that short and somewhere in the back he had thought Eli was going to use Selene's situation to tak

The house had gone quiet again.He had given orders to the house staff that had been with him, telling him not a word of it outside.Not till he knew what he was dealing with.Not till he understood why the message was directed to Leonhart and not to someone who was still breathing.Not till he was certain that this wasn't some means of them – whoever they were, was telling him that Leonhart was still there, alive and well.Eli stood in the middle of the living room with the unopened box sitting on the table. The shock had settled, like something that had become part of him, something that flowed in his blood.He told himself nothing was meant to surprise him anymore, nothing was meant to leave him shaken Not the severed finger.Not the ring.Not the name written in clean handwriting.Leonhart.But he just couldn't stop his mind from reacting whenever a new thing was thrown at him. He could stop his rib from crashing against his chest, leaving him cold and numb every time something o

For a moment, the only sound between them was the quiet hiss of cold air brushing against the iron bars of the gate.Eli didn’t move.Didn’t blink.Didn’t give the man even a twitch of muscle to read.But inside, something sharp shifted. Zurich. A hidden city. Operations his government didn’t have clearance to imagine. His father tied to all of it.Leonhart’s shadow had just stretched farther than any grave.Eli’s jaw worked once, barely noticeable. Not surprise. Not fear. Just a silent adjustment. A subtle recoil of someone who had spent his whole life training himself not to react.“Inside,” he said quietly.The courier didn’t hesitate, but he also didn’t pretend there wasn’t an unspoken threat in Eli’s voice. He stepped through the gate, and Eli walked ahead of him, the ancient weapon still warm against his palm.The house swallowed them in silence.Eli didn’t bother with the lights. The darkness was his. He tapped a command into the nearest panel, and a soft mechanical hum rippled