The rooftop of the Eclipse building was just as immaculate as the headquarters below. A small café occupied the open space, tables and chairs arranged loosely around the perimeter. Strings of lights were already lit beneath the glass ceiling, glowing with a warm amber hue against the blazing afternoon sky. Soft music drifted from the bar speakers, quickly dissolving into the noise of the city below.
Serein let out a slow breath, one that carried both exhaustion and an ache she hadn't been able to name. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, and held it between her lips as she took a long drag. Pale smoke spilled from her mouth and faded into the air, blurring the outlines of the skyscrapers slowly being swallowed by the dying sunlight.
She leaned her elbows against the glass railing and stared into the smog-heavy sky of the industrial city. She wasn't sure who she'd run up here to escape from. Deimos. Zane. Or her own thoughts.
