The weight of Sydney's message clung to me like a shroud. Every fiber of my being was thrumming with a primal urgency, a desperation to get Elena back safely. I stormed out of the vampire bar, the heavy wooden doors slamming shut behind me with a resounding thud.
The night air was thick with the scent of the city, a mixture of car exhaust, faint traces of street food, and the metallic tang of impending rain.
My mind raced as I walked briskly down the darkened streets. Elena's terrified face from the photo haunted my thoughts.
Her bruises and the raw fear in her eyes were seared into my memory. Sydney's smug satisfaction in her message was infuriating, but it also lit a fire within me. I couldn't afford to let anger cloud my judgment, but I couldn't quell the rage bubbling beneath the surface.
