The throne room trembled beneath Cambria's boots.
Smoke and shadows clung to the broken columns like ghosts refusing to be exorcised. Shattered glass glinted like stars fallen to earth, and the scent of ozone, blood, and fear permeated every breath.
At the center of it all, Evelyn stood tall alive, burning with a terrifying serenity. Subject One knelt beside her like a loyal beast, while the perfected soldiers' soulless, genetically crafted weapons formed a circle around them.
"Evelyn," Cambria whispered, disbelief and fury tightening her throat. "You died. I saw your body."
"You saw what I wanted you to see," Evelyn replied, voice calm as a still sea before the storm. "I had to disappear to reclaim what was mine."
Cambria stepped forward. Maddox, barely conscious behind her, stirred with a groan. Blood stained his shirt, but he gritted his teeth and pulled himself upright with the help of a broken pillar.
"Yours?" Cambria scoffed. "This throne was never yours."
