Chapter 17

Lucy's POV When I returned, the office was too quiet. Constantine Industries' night shift was usually bustling with vampire activity, but tonight, the halls echoed with emptiness. My newly awakened senses—ghost walker blood finally stirring—picked up traces of power in the air. Someone had cleared the building. Someone powerful. "Took you long enough." Narla's voice drifted from my office. "Have a nice chat with Felix?" I opened the door to find her perched on my desk, looking deceptively casual. But something was different about her – her usual predatory energy seemed muted, almost hesitant. "If you're here to fight," I said, letting my new power rise to the surface, "you should know I'm not the same vampire you faced before." "Oh, I know." She smiled, but it lacked its usual cruelty. "Ghost walker blood, seer potential, and now memories of who you really are. You've had quite the evening." I stiffened. "How did you—" "Because I was there too, Lucy." She stood, and suddenly, h