Third POV
His world tilted the second it hit him.
Not a thought, a psychic jolt. Sharp, like an electric shock that carved through the calm of his home office and buried itself behind his eyes.
Intense pain. Fear. Her.
Adrian froze for half a second, he couldn't tell if the voice that screamed was real or only echoing through that strange tether he'd been pretending didn't exist.
Then it came again, a breath, a gasp, a shock of terror that wasn't his.
"Elena—"
The name ripped out of him before he knew he'd spoken.
His guard looked up, startled. The monitors flickered. The glass along the far wall splintered, fine fractures crawling outward like frost under pressure.
Thorne started toward him. "Sir? What's happening—"
Adrian shoved the chair back so hard it toppled. He pressed a hand against his temple. "Trace her. Now."
"What?"
"Her phone, her apartment, the emergency line, trace everything. Do it!"
