The shadow stretched long and menacing across the fragile paper screen, freezing the breath in Jiyeon’s lungs. Pressed against Elias, she could feel the rigid tension in his body, the dangerous readiness of a hunter protecting his most precious, and most vulnerable, prize.

The air outside the annex door shifted. The scent of rain-washed stone was replaced by a cloying, heavy perfume—jasmine and burnt sugar. It was a familiar scent, one that had been a comforting, constant presence in the estate.