Gabriel's fingers were numb. Not the kind of numb that came from touching something cold for a few seconds. This was the deep kind that made you wonder if your fingers would ever work right again.He stood on the elevated train platform, watching his breath turn into white clouds in the freezing Chicago air. Below him, the city stretched out in all directions with its lights blinking like stars that had fallen from the sky. Beautiful if you had money. Hell if you didn't.His target stood three people ahead in line for the southbound train. Gray wool coat that probably cost more than Gabriel had stolen in the past month. Leather briefcase that screamed money. Gold watch that caught the platform lights just right.Gabriel had been following this man for two hours now and every minute of it made his stomach twist tighter. The man had come out of the Regency Hotel after some fancy business dinner. He checked his phone exactly seven times while walking to the station. He kept touching

Gabriel spent three days learning everything he could about the Siegel estate. Floor plans that Miss had sent to his phone. Guard rotations. Camera positions. Exit routes. He studied them until his eyes burned and his head ached, but he still felt like he was walking into a trap with his eyes wide open.The five million dollars had appeared in his bank account exactly like Miss promised. Gabriel stared at the numbers on his phone screen for a full ten minutes trying to make them feel real. Five million dollars. More money than he had ever imagined having. Enough to save Vera ten times over.But he only got to keep it if he survived the next forty eight hours.Vera was getting worse. The blood came more often now and she barely had the strength to sit up. Gabriel used some of the money to get her into a cheap motel room with heat and a real bed. She cried when she saw it and told him he was an angel. Gabriel felt sick because angels didn't lie to the people they loved and he still

Gabriel couldn't move. The guards had him pinned to the floor and his chest felt like someone had shoved a burning coal inside it where the Phoenix Heart had settled. Every breath hurt and every heartbeat sent fire through his veins. He could barely think through the pain.Ian Siegel walked closer, his expensive shoes stopping inches from Gabriel's face. When he looked up, he saw those cold blue eyes staring down at him.Suddenly he was three years old again, hiding under the bed and praying this man wouldn't find him. But he had found him then and he had found him now."I should have killed you that night," Siegel said, his voice, calm like he was talking about the weather. "That was my mistake. I thought leaving you in the slums would be enough. I thought you would die on your own or disappear into the system. I thought no one would ever connect you to Thomas and Elizabeth Hale."Gabriel tried to speak but one of the guards pressed a knee into his back, knocking the air from his l

Gabriel looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. He saw the amber light glowing under his skin and he felt power running through him like electricity. For the first time since Siegel had shot him, he felt something other than pain and fear.He needed to see Vera and make sure she was okay. He needed to tell her everything that had happened and figure out what to do next.His whole world had been turned upside down and Vera was the only stable thing left in it.The motel was across town and Gabriel took off running again. The city blurred around him and he covered miles in what felt like minutes.His body felt alive in ways it never had before.The motel appeared ahead and Gabriel slowed down and walked to the room he had rented.He was surprised to hear voices and laughter coming from inside and his heart lifted because Vera was okay. She was laughing which meant that she felt much better.A small smile spread across his lips as he knocked on the door and the laughter stopped

Gabriel sat in the passenger seat, watching the city pass by outside the window. His mind was still spinning from everything that had happened in the last hour and he wasn't sure what to believe anymore except that Alfred seemed genuine, and the watch in the old man's pocket had felt real when Gabriel touched it."The Phoenix Heart," Alfred began, his voice steady like he had rehearsed this speech a thousand times in his head. "Was created by your ancestors over three hundred years ago. The Hale family was powerful even then, but they had enemies who wanted to destroy everything they had built,"Gabriel turned to look at him and Alfred's eyes were focused on the road, but his jaw was tight like he was remembering something painful."Your great, great, great grandfather, Lucas Hale was a scholar. He studied ancient texts and forgotten magics that most people didn't believe existed anymore. He discovered a way to forge an artifact that would protect his bloodline forever, but it requi