The moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling glass, casting long, skeletal shadows across the bed. Bella’s breath was hitching, a frantic sound that felt out of place in the silent, temperature-controlled sanctuary of the Azure Vault. She held the scalpel with a white-knuckled grip, her eyes darting toward the door that connected to Adrian’s private study.
"Elara, please," she hissed, her voice a jagged whisper. "The sedative in the guards' coffee won't last. Julian is waiting in the cove. We have to do this now."
I looked at the silver blade, then down at the small, surgical bump beneath my skin. My heart was a drum in my ears. 125 bpm. The monitor on the wall pulsed with a rhythmic, accusing light.
"If you cut it, the alarm will go off at his bedside," I whispered, my voice tre
