Max's POV

My blood ran cold. The crumpled parchment in Maya's hand seemed to sear itself into my vision. The world narrowed to that small, damning rectangle, and her furious, trembling face. "He is safe. In the city." The words, stark and unambiguous, hammered into my skull, echoing her own "delirious ramblings" with an accuracy that was nothing short of a physical blow.

My mind, usually a fortress of logic and strategic calculation, reeled. The carefully constructed walls of my ...