Chapter 229

• VALENTINA
• ~•~
• The early morning light was still pale when I slipped out the side gate. The guards were changing shifts, and I timed it right, moving quick and quiet down the service path until the iron fence gave way to the street. Rain from last night had left everything wet, sidewalks shining under the first headlights that passed. The air smelled like damp concrete and fresh coffee from a vendor cart two blocks over. I kept my hood up, hands in my pockets, and walked fast without looking back.