The red emergency lights pulsed like a racing heartbeat, washing the basement in a hellish glow. For one suspended second, no one moved. No one breathed. No one understood what had just happened.

Then Ares’s voice tore the silence apart.

“ALINA!”

He lunged forward, grabbing at empty air, his chest heaving as he spun in circles. Nothing. No trace. Not even the whisper of footsteps left behind.

She had been there.

She had been right behind him.

And now—

Gone.

Atlas ...