Tokyo at midnight was a neon-soaked dream.
Silas and Elara stood in the penthouse of the Ritz-Carlton, overlooking the Shinjuku skyline. They weren't the drenched survivors from the Mediterranean anymore.
Silas wore a charcoal three-piece suit that cost more than a mid-sized sedan. Elara stood before a floor-to-ceiling mirror, struggling with the clasp of a necklace that held enough diamonds to buy a small country.
"Here," Silas said, his voice low. He stepped behind her, his large, warm hands replacing hers at the nape of her neck.
In the reflection, their eyes met. The tension was thick enough to choke on.
"The Sterlings are supposed to be 'madly in love', remember?" Silas murmured, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin of her throat.
"I remember," Elara whispered, her breath hitching. "But we haven't even reached the gala yet. You can stop acting."
"Who says I'm acting?"
He turned her around. His hand slid from her neck to her waist, pulling her flush against his suit jacket. Elara's heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"Two years, Elara. Two years of thinking you were a traitor. Two years of wanting to find you and... and now that you're here, I can't remember why I was angry."
Elara looked up at him, her emerald eyes shimmering. "I was trying to save Leo, Silas. I thought if I killed the Ghost, the Syndicate would let us go. I didn't know the Ghost would haunt me every single night."
He leaned in, his lips a hair's breadth from hers.
Ring. Ring.
The burner phone on the nightstand shattered the moment.
"M?" Silas answered, his voice rough.
"I'm alive. Barely," M's voice crackled. "The auction isn't just for the Key. Tanaka is selling something else. Something called 'Project Chimera.' Silas... it's a list of every deep-cover operative in the world. Including you. Including Elara."
"If that list sells," M whispered, "you won't just be burned. You'll be hunted by every government on earth. You have to win that auction. No matter the cost."
"And if we don't have the money?" Silas asked.
"Then you use the only currency Tanaka accepts," M replied. "Blood."