They left without another word. I stood there for a moment, staring at the stack of boxes. Anticipation bubbled beneath my skin.
This was what I needed. Something familiar. Something that wasmine.
I wasted no time unpacking, carefully pulling out my laptops, cables, drives, and other tools. My hands moved on autopilot, arranging everything on the desk until it resembled the organized chaos of my workspace back home.
Sliding into the chair, I powered up my main laptop, the hum of the machine like a balm to my soul. For the first time since I was dragged here, I felt a small sense of purpose.
The first thing I tested was the Wi-Fi. Would someone like The Shadow have an easily accessible internet connection? I quickly found a network entitledShadowLord. I rolled my eyes. How fucking original.
If it weren’t for my dire situation, I would’ve laughed out loud. The network was, not surprisingly, password-protected, but it only took me about ninety seconds to figure it out.
Fucking amateurs.
Finally, I had the opportunity to reach out to Will and Vivian. Opening my email account, I started with Will.
Will,
Celeste said you contacted her and that you’re safe back in the human world. I pray to all the gods that have ever existed that you’ll be smart enough to stay where you are. Do NOT try to save me, Will. I’m safe, and somehow I convinced The Shadow to provide me with my equipment. I’m sure you saw the beastly men in the apartment as they gathered my stuff. I hope they didn’t fuck with you.
Listen. I know you like the back of my hand, so if I had to guess, you’re beating yourself up. Yes, you made a dumb-ass mistake by entering that stupid fucking contest. But guesswhat? You made it out alive. I’m sure no one else who failed to answer the riddle correctly can say the same. And even though the situation seems harrowing, I assure you that I WILL find a way out of here.
In the meantime, keep your chin up and please, for the love of all the gods, don’t do anything stupid.
Love,
Vivian
Next,I touched base with Celeste.
Celeste,
I’m so sorry The Shadow kicked you out of my room. He’s such a fucking ass. It wouldn’t have killed him to let you stay for a while.
Nevertheless, it was such a relief to see your face and to hear your voice. I miss you terribly.
I appreciate your and Luca’s efforts, but I want to make something perfectly clear. Do not allow Vincenzo to go to war with The Shadow on account of me. Let me remind you that it was Will’s life or mine (or possibly both, if Ciro had made that call). At least this way we’re both alive.
I’ll figure something out, but in the meantime, please lay low and keep tabs on Will.
All my love,
Vivian.
My next task was to focus in and see if I could find any cracks or weaknesses in The Shadow’s infrastructure.
Focus, Vivian. Use what you know. Exploit what you can.
I started with a sweep of the estate, looking for any hint of a security system I could hack into. Cameras, servers, anythingconnected to a network. But the more I searched, the more I realized the truth.
There was nothing. No tech. No sophisticated surveillance system. Just magic and physical guards. It was almost laughable.
“Paranoid bastard,” I muttered under my breath as I closed one of the diagnostic windows on my screen.
Leaning back in the chair, I stared at the screen. The usual thrill of the hunt, of uncovering weaknesses, was absent. Instead, cold frustration gnawed at me.
But giving up wasn’t an option. Not yet.
Opening a new screen, I navigated to the encrypted files I’d been working on before my life had been turned upside down. Lines of code filled the monitor.
