Alina’s POV

The world outside Ares’s mansion was peaceful that morning — sunlight glinting through the tall glass windows, the faint hum of the city far away. But inside, the air carried a kind of quiet tension that made every breath feel fragile.

It had been a week since the fire. Ares was home now, recovering slowly. The doctors said he was lucky — that the burns on his arm would heal with time, and that his lungs had cleared better than they expected. But luck didn’t explain the ...