Marielle made a soft sound and turned onto her side, grabbing a pillow and holding it against her body. Then she stretched toward the headboard, yawning as her eyes slowly opened. It took a minute, but she remembered where she was and looked to her right. Vincent was staring at her, eyes still warm and …

Liam came through the scene with wide, mortified eyes. He stood in the middle of the hall observing the damage, taking in the acrid smell of rot and sewage mixed with blood and death. Chunks of ice slowly glided across the floor. The white-clad corpse lying near the stairwell caught his attention, as did Tayane’s …

“Oh, great,” Liam sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. “Two Chambers.” He looked them both over with a mix of curiosity, confusion, and annoyance as they approached him. Then he looked upward as if speaking to a deity above. “What did I do?” “Listen to me, monsieur. He’s …

Vincent sat in the corner of the lab, hands laced together, leaning his forehead on his thumb knuckles. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out again through rounded lips. Then he reached up with the fingers on his right hand and gently stroked, then straightened, his wedding ring. He wondered when …

Vincent removed his tie and went to Klara, slipping it over her head from behind and letting it fall over her neck. She grinned at him, and he grinned back. Then she gave him a slightly confused look. “I’m sorry,” he said with a chuckle, stepping back. He unbuttoned one of the top buttons of …

It was still early morning when Austin pulled over to a corner Starbucks and let the girl—whose real name, Alisa, he had learned just that morning—out of the car. They went through the drive-thru first, where Austin bought her some sort of sweet coffee and a doughnut. Then they sat in a parking spot as …

Another room full of stale coffee and radiants. Vincent stood at the front, preparing to speak while everyone stood ready to train their weapons on him should he pull anything from his body. Austin yawned, covering it with the back of his right wrist. He put his hand down and used his left hand to …

Austin thanked her for the coffee and left shortly afterward, no funny business. Marielle went to her bathroom and briefly considered checking for cameras. After a glance around the room, she chuckled. He wouldn’t do that. No way. He was desperate and obvious, but sick in that way wasn’t in the profile. She sank into …

Austin gestured to the couch upon arrival at his office, and for a moment, Marielle was concerned that he’d try to sit there with her, although why that concerned her, she wasn’t certain. It wasn’t as if they’d never sat together before.  He didn’t. Instead, he went to his desk and sat, folding his fingers …

Liam, Sabine, Austin, Vincent, and Marielle all sat in the meeting room toward the front of the large oval table. Marielle bit a hangnail nervously, while Sabine leaned against a single finger, her face pallid. Austin was yawning and trying to cover it with the back of his wrist. Marielle wondered how late he had …