Fantine

The velvet fabric of my red dress felt slightly restrictive as we stepped out of the brass elevator into the main lobby of the Blackwood Vaults, and Riley adjusted the collar of his expensive black suit while he gave a polite nod to the vampire receptionist sitting behind the marble desk. The subterranean facility looked like a high-end private club with its dark wood paneling and low lighting, but I knew from Julian’s layout maps that the stone floor beneath our polished shoes was loaded with pressure sensors and proximity wards designed to detect uninvited shapeshifters.

"Just keep moving toward the private viewing rooms on the left, Fantine, because...