Hana drifted to the desk. She hopped up on the edge of the mahogany, her boots brushing against the stack of reports Seraphina had been trying to ignore. It was a bold move. A loud move.

Seraphina looked up. Her blue eyes were wide, tracking Hana like she was a high-rank monster that had just breached the perimeter. She looked confused. Mostly just flustered.

"You're a very attractive girl, Seraphina," Hana said.

Her voice was like velvet. Low. Dangerous.

Seraphina opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She just stared. Hana didn't give her space to breathe. She reached out, her fingers sliding across the wood until her palm landed squarely on top of Seraphina’s hand.

Seraphina jerked back. It was a fast, panicked motion, her hand disappearing under the desk like she’d been hit by a mana-leak. Her face was already turning a deep, vivid pink.

The door buzzed and swung open.

I walked in. I had a tablet tucked under my arm and the taste of Gloria’s bitter tea still lingering on my tongue. I didn't stop. I didn't even slow down. My eyes flicked from Hana, still perched on the desk like she owned it, to Seraphina’s trembling shoulders.

I knew the vibe. I just didn't have the time to care.

Hana didn't move. She stayed right where she was, looking entirely unfazed. Seraphina, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to vibrate out of her skin.

"Business first," I said.

I dropped the tablet onto the conference table with a heavy —THUD.

"Gloria's found the missing piece," I said, pulling up the forensic slides. "That stuff we saw at the shipyard? The blue crystals? It’s monster dope. Literally."

Hana slid off the desk and moved to the couch, her casual demeanor back in place. Seraphina stayed in her chair, though she kept her eyes fixed on the screen, avoiding the corner where Hana had been sitting.

"It’s organic," I continued, pointing to the chemical breakdown. "Gloria was blunt about it. It’s monsters. They’re taking high-mana creatures, pulverizing them into dust, and turning them into a compound. It’s designed to jumpstart a human core. It explains why Francis looked like he’d been through a B-Rank evolution in a week. He wasn't just training. He was being juiced by the very things he was supposed to hunt."

The room went quiet. It was the kind of silence that made your skin crawl.

"They’re turning hunters into monsters to make more monsters," Hana muttered. Her voice was flat. Empty. "It’s efficient. I’ll give them that."

"But why Francis?" Seraphina asked. She was finally finding her voice again, though it was still a little shaky. "He was a D-Rank. Why waste that kind of resources on him?"

"He was a lead," I said. "Gloria found a recurring cash order. He’s been sending money to a specific address for years. Even when he was a ghost, the payments never stopped."

I swiped the map onto the main display. A red dot flickered in the middle of a gray, jagged sprawl.

"The slums," Hana said. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "That place is a graveyard. Half the buildings aren't even on the grid. It’s where the city hides its mistakes."

"Maybe a girlfriend?" Hana asked, a small, cynical tilt to her lips. "Someone he couldn't leave behind?"

"We find out tomorrow," I said. I shut the tablet down, the screen going black. "Everyone needs to rest. We aren't going into the slums on four hours of sleep."

Hana stood up, stretching her arms above her head. She gave me a lazy wave and headed for the door. "See you at dawn, Vice-Leader."

She left. The office felt a lot larger the second the door clicked shut.

"Can you drop me home?" I asked, looking at Seraphina.

She blinked, the confusion returning to her face. "Sure. I… of course."

The drive was quiet.

The hood of Seraphina’s car was down, letting the night air whip through the cabin. It was cold. That biting, arctic chill that seemed to radiate off her skin even when she wasn't trying. I leaned back into the leather seat, watching the city lights blur into streaks of white and neon.

The city was a mess of glass and grit. Above us, the skyscrapers reached for the stars, but down here, in the shadows of the overpasses, it was all rust.

"Do you mind?" I asked, holding up a cigarette.

"Go ahead," she said.

I lit it. The flame flared in the wind, a tiny spark of heat. I took a long drag, the smoke mixing with the cold air as we moved through the streets. We didn't talk. We didn't have to. The hum of the engine was the only thing filling the space between us.

We pulled up to my front door. The streetlamp was flickering, casting long, wavering shadows across the pavement.

Seraphina killed the engine. The silence was sudden. Heavy. She got out and walked me to the door, her heels clicking against the stone. I could feel her presence behind me—that steady, icy hum of the bond.

I put the key in the lock. I should have turned it. I should have gone inside and slept.

But I didn't.

I turned around. Seraphina was standing right there, her white hair glowing in the dim light. She looked so perfect. So untouchable.

"Seraphina," I whispered.

I reached out, grabbing her collar and pulling her into the small alcove of my doorway. I didn't give her a second to think. I kissed her.

It wasn't like before. It wasn't about the skill. It wasn't about the mana.

Her lips were freezing, a sharp contrast to the heat blooming in my chest. I pushed my tongue against hers, tasting the cold peppermint and the faint, sweet scent of frost. A soft, broken moan escaped her throat, her hands coming up to grip my blazer, pulling me closer until there was no air left between us.

I pressed her against the wood of the door, my fingers tangling in her silk hair. The heat from my body was fighting the ice of hers, a frantic, electric friction that made my head spin. I trailed my hand down her side, finding the curve of her waist and pulling her tight against my hips.

"Elara..." she breathed against my mouth.

I didn't let her speak. I kissed her harder, my teeth grazing her bottom lip. The tension we’d been carrying for weeks—the fear, the guilt, the exhaustion—it all melted into this.

She tasted like winter. Like the quiet before a storm.

I could feel her heart hammering against mine, a fast, rhythmic beat that matched the thrumming in my veins. I didn't want to stop. I wanted to sink into her, to let the ice and fire swallow me whole.