Rissa’s POV

Torchlight burned my eyes, bouncing from steel to stone, catching every blade, every hard set jaw. The men filled the corridor like a wall of fire and shadow, their weapons gleaming as if the estate itself had cast them from its bones.

For a heartbeat, my lungs forgot how to work. The alarms in my head fell silent, drowned out by the pounding of my pulse. Mark’s hand gripped mine, hot and steady, pulling me back from the brink of panic.

He moved in front of me, shoulders ...