Chapter 1

The lightning split the Queens sky, and for a fraction of a second, the night wasn't dark anymore. It was a terrifying, bleached-out white. Then the thunder cracked, a physical blow that seemed to shake the fillings in her teeth.

Nine-year-old Alya Harrell ran.

Her worn canvas sneakers slapped against the pavement, sinking into puddles that sent plumes of gritty city water splashing up her shins. The rain wasn't just falling; it was a solid wall of water, cold and relentless. It plastered her thin t-shirt to her skin, the one with the faded butterfly on the front.

In her right hand, she clutched a quarter. It was slick and cold, the only thing of value she had in the world right now. In her head, the voice of her mother's coworker from the diner echoed, a frantic, sobbing mess of words that didn't make sense.

Bellevue Hospital. Something's happened. Flo... oh God, Alya, your mom... you have to come now!

A shiver wracked her small frame, a tremor that had nothing to do with the cold. She could feel the chill seeping past her skin, deep into her bones.

She looked up, her vision blurred by the rain streaming down her face. The street was empty, a canyon of brick buildings and shuttered storefronts. The streetlights cast a sick, yellow glow on the slick asphalt.

A siren wailed in the distance, a rising and falling cry that tightened the knot of panic in her stomach.

Bellevue. She had to get to Bellevue.

A pair of headlights cut through the downpour. A yellow cab. Hope surged in her chest, hot and painful. Alya scrambled to the edge of the curb, waving her free arm frantically.

The taxi slowed. She could see the driver's silhouette, a dark shape behind the rain-streaked windshield. He paused, his gaze taking in the sight of her-a drenched, mud-splattered child, alone on a street corner in a storm.

Then he hit the gas.

The tires spun, kicking up a wave of filthy water that hit her square in the face. It tasted like dirt and despair.

Alya wiped the grit from her eyes with the back of her hand. The hope in her chest collapsed into a cold, heavy weight.

Another taxi appeared. She didn't care. She waved again, a desperate, frantic motion. This one didn't even slow down. The driver just laid on the horn, a long, angry blare that forced her to stumble back onto the sidewalk.

Her chest heaved. Tears, hot and useless, mixed with the cold rain on her cheeks. An image of her mother's face, pale and still, flashed in her mind. Fear, sharp and suffocating, seized her throat.

She couldn't wait any longer.

She made a decision born of pure, nine-year-old desperation. She was going to run into the street, force someone to stop.

A pair of powerful, bright headlights were approaching, moving much faster than the taxis. A black car, long and sleek. A Rolls-Royce Phantom. Not that she knew its name. It was just a black monster cutting through the storm.

Alya didn't hesitate. She took a breath and bolted from the curb.

The sound that followed was the shriek of expensive tires on wet pavement, a high-pitched scream of tortured rubber. The car swerved, its massive black hood filling her entire world.

The force of its sudden stop sent a gust of wind and water blasting against her, knocking her off her feet. She fell backward, her knee cracking hard against the asphalt. A sharp, searing pain shot up her leg.

She sat there, stunned, in the glare of the headlights. The engine was a low, menacing rumble.

Inside the car, a boy, maybe sixteen, looked up from the file he was reading. The sudden jolt had thrown him forward against his seatbelt. He glanced at the driver, then his eyes fixed on the small, trembling shape illuminated in the headlights.

His gaze narrowed, tracing the outline of her shivering shoulders, the butterfly on her shirt, and then down to her knee. He saw the dark stain spreading on her jeans, the unmistakable gleam of fresh blood.

His fingers, which had been tapping a silent, steady rhythm against the leather armrest, went still.

He pushed the door open.

"Mr. Carter, wait," his bodyguard in the front seat said, turning around.

The boy ignored him. He stepped out into the deluge, a large black umbrella snapping open above his head. His polished leather shoes made soft sounds as they stepped through the puddles, coming to a stop directly in front of her.

Alya flinched, scrambling backward on the rough pavement, the pain in her knee flaring. She looked up, terrified, and her gaze met his.

His eyes were dark. As dark as the storm, but without the chaos. They were calm and deep.

He crouched down, tilting the umbrella so it completely shielded her from the punishing rain. The sudden silence, with only the drumming of water on the taut fabric, was deafening.

He extended a hand, his long, clean fingers stopping just short of her bleeding knee. The gesture was simple, but it held a power that cut through her panic.

The thunder rumbled again, a low growl in the distance. His voice, when he spoke, was low and steady, slicing through the noise of the storm.

"You need to go to the hospital."