Bled Gold

The Vienna sky bled gold and gray as the private jet touched down.

The city was deceptively quiet, its elegance masking the war beneath its polished surface. Domes, cathedrals, and ancient rooftops glinted beneath the morning sun, but my chest felt like it carried a storm.

Lucien sat across from me, silent, his jaw set tight.

Caleb and Luca stood ready by the hatch door, speaking in clipped tones with the ground contact—a discreet fixer Lucien once trusted during his arms-dealing days, the kind who could disappear bodies as easily as he produced clean passports.

I stared out the window, but my mind wasn’t on the city.

It...