**Gaia's POV**

The bodyguards drag us back through the villa's opulent halls, their grips bruising my arms as I stumble along. The drug still rages in my system, turning every step into torture—my skin burns where their hands touch, sending unwanted sparks of heat straight to my core. Chloe and Evelyn are hauled beside me, their faces pale masks of terror, but I barely register them. My focus narrows to survival, to fighting the haze clouding my mind.

They shove us into the SM ...