ADANNA POV (Point of view)
The first sign something is wrong is the silence, not the peaceful quiet of the morning we shared earlier... something different and heavier.
I'm sitting at the small dining table with my laptop open, reviewing fragments of data Eden released after the Syndicate collapsed. Most of it is encrypted layers that even I am still learning to navigate.
Darian is across the room near the window, speaking quietly on a secure line with one of his old contacts.
Then Eden stirs, not softly like before but sharply and a pulse spreads through my chest, sudden and electric. My breath catches.
The laptop screen flickers.
"What is it?" Darian asks immediately, already moving toward me.
"I didn't do anything," I whisper, then another pulse hits.
The apartment lights dim for a second before stabilizing again. Darian's expression tightens.
"Adanna."
"I'm not activating it," I say quickly. "I swear."
