Adeline's POV

I waited until midnight.

The mansion settled into its nighttime rhythm around eleven. Servants retiring to their quarters, security rotating shifts, the soft hum of expensive electronics the only sound in marble hallways.

I'd spent the day mapping patrol patterns, memorizing which floorboards creaked, cataloging camera blind spots.

Old habits. Assassin habits.

Kayden had fallen asleep an hour ago, his breathing deep and even beside me. I'd waited, counting each breath, making ...