Aria's POV
The staircase seemed to go on forever. Every level I descended made the air colder. The polished luxury of the upper decks had disappeared completely.
There were no chandeliers here, no expensive carpets, no smiling staff pretending this was an ordinary cruise. Only steel walls, reinforced doors, exposed pipes, the constant hum of machinery, and wolves. I could smell them everywhere.
Guards patrolled the lower decks in coordinated groups, their footsteps echoing through the corridors, their scents overlapping until it was difficult to distinguish one from another.
We're getting closer, Lydia's voice was barely a whisper inside my mind.
To what?
The heart of this place.
I tightened my grip around the stolen access card. That was exactly what I was afraid of.
I moved throu
