Moments later,

Void Eclipse HQ,

Capital,

Author

The room had no windows. No clocks. Only a steel table that smelled of bleach and old violence, and the hum of ventilation scrubbers working overtime.

Aria sat with her spine to the corner. Zodiac Scorpio sprawled across from her, carving something into the tabletop with a fingernail that wasn't entirely human. The sound set her teeth on edge.

"Stop," she said.

"Nervous?"

"Annoyed."

The door opened. Their handler stepped through - a woman called Twelve, though the name was a joke no one told. She carried a thin folder. She didn't sit.

"Contract," Twelve said.

She dropped the folder. It slid across...