ELLA

My eyes flew open, and I instantly sat up. I looked around and heaved a sigh of relief when I realized I was finally back in the warehouse. I turned to look at Claire, who was watching me with keen interest, and for a split second, I felt like one of the pets she attended to in her office—a lab rat of sorts.

Her eyes held different emotions, excitement and dread being the primary ones.

“Your heart rate spiked. I kept trying to get you to calm down, but I don’t think you were hearing my voice anymore. What happened?” she asked, and I swallowed.

“Lucian’s coming,” I said,...