#Chapter 143: Silencing the First Threat

Aurora POV Marco drives like he always does, one hand on the wheel, singing softly to whatever 80’s hit comes on his seemingly endless playlist. I’m humming along, half-watching the city pass by, half-working through my class notes, when his phone rings. The way his shoulders tense as he switches off the music tells me everything before he even answers. “Yeah,” he mutters into the phone. “Yeah, I’ve got Aurora here with me.” A pause. A nod. A longer pause. Then he hangs up and jerks the wheel, turning us away from the familiar path home. “Where are we going?” I ask. He doesn’t look at me. “We need to make a stop.” A stop. Right. In our world that word stretches, twists, hides a thousand meanings. My stomach knots equally in response. We leave the comfort of streetlights, diving into a grayer, emptier part of town. Abandoned buildings loom like silent witnesses. When Marco parks in front of an old warehouse, he reaches into the glo