Page 1 of Viper’s Reign

PROLOGUE

GRACE

God, I look exhausted.

My reflection floats in the vending machine glass like some pale Victorian ghost dressed in blue scrubs, my index finger hovering in the space between two buttons, too tired to make a choice—it’s a haunting image, to say the least.

Do I usually look this dejected after a shift? Sure, it’s been a long one, but they all are. My ankles throb, my back and neck ache from hunching over gurneys all day, and don’t get me started on my⁠—

“Turner!”

I jolt, the familiar voice of my preceptor snapping me to attention. I glance back just in time to see Nurse Collins tossing an energy bar my way. Somehow, I manage to snatch it mid-air.

“You look drained,” she notes, not breaking stride. “Go home.”

She disappears around the corner before I can respond.

Well… rude. But, also, fair. I am drained.

So I take her advice. Energy bar clutched in hand, I head to the changing room, trade my scrubs for actual clothes, then groggily make my way through the hospital halls. The harsh fluorescent lights are dizzying, but I only wince slightly against their glare. The staff here are trained to show as little weakness as possible. We’re supposed to be the calm ones, after all. The steady hands, even when we feel anything but.

“Calling it a night, Turner?” someone asks from behind a doorway as I pass it.

I offer a weak thumbs up and a mumble. It’s the best I can muster.

The night shift staff nod at me as I pass, and I nod back without stopping, my pace picking up the closer I get to the exit, eager to escape the smell of antiseptic and sanitizer.

Don’t get me wrong, I love working here. I genuinely do. I thrive in the chaos of the ER—because chaos is all I’ve ever known—but at the end of every twelve-hour shift, I’m always desperate to get away.

The automatic doors whistle open as I approach, and as soon as I step outside cool, fresh air washes over me in a refreshing wave. It must have rained earlier. The pavement is wet, and the air carries that intoxicating first-rain smell I love. Petrichor.

The doors slide shut behind me, and I take a moment to close my eyes and inhale deeply.

For a blissful second, everything goes quiet—well, quieter. This is New York. The sound of traffic laps in the distance, but it melts in almost peacefully with the nearby rumble of idling ambulances. Somewhere, a siren fades into the night.

After a full shift of monitors beeping and doctors being paged and the constant hum of a busy ER, the far-off noise of city life feels almost gentle in comparison.

I take another deep breath and step away from the ER entrance, happy to be done with it all for now—some nights, I’d head straight to Dr. Lenz’s consultation room for a second shift. But not tonight.

I roll my neck as I walk, blinking against the blur of streetlights. The only thing I want right now is my bed—and maybe a cup of ramen. I’m too tired and hungry to cook anything else.

To hold me over, I dig the energy bar out of my purse and tear it open. The first bite eases the tension in my shoulders, and I smile softly. When I first started my clinical rotations, Nurse Collins came off as a hard ass, but really, she’s a total softie. She’s just serious about the work. We all are.

I devour the bar in no time flat and start mindlessly folding the wrapper into a little square, thinking about how nice it will be to get home and⁠—

“Shhh.”

I’m halfway through a breath when a voice hisses in my ear and a hard hand clamps around my mouth from behind. The leather palm inhales my surprised gasp as I’m violently tugged into an unknown body.

Before I can even register what’s happening, I’m being dragged away from the glow of the streetlights and into the darkness.

“H-Help!”

My scream smashes into the hand gripped around my mouth, muffling it into a useless groan. No. No. No. My stomach sinks lower and lower as I realize what’s happening. Adrenaline pumps through my exhausted body as I try to kick and squirm my way free. But I’m locked in an iron grip.

The hand tightens around my mouth, restricting air flow. My eyes dart frantically around, and I realize I’m being pulled into an alley behind the hospital.

My eyelashes flutter and my pulse spikes so violently I can feel it in my ears. My mind goes white, then snaps into focus as my fight or flight instinct kicks in.