I have to.
Because the alternative is unthinkable.
Vex is at my side in an instant, his hand finding mine, and together we walk out into the pale morning light.
The storm may have passed.
But the real battle is about to begin.
Chapter Sixteen
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Vex
The clubhouse eruptsthe moment we walk through the door.
Brothers swarm from every direction, voices overlapping in a barrage of questions and demands.Blade stands at the center of it all, arms crossed, his expression carved from stone.Prophet hovers near, rosary beads wrapped around one white-knuckled fist.
Tessa’s hand tightens in mine.Through the bond, I feel her exhaustion, her fear, the lingering echo of the devourer’s whispers still clawing at the edges of her mind.She’s holding herself together through sheer force of will, but it won’t last much longer.
“Enough!”Blade’s voice cuts through the chaos.“Vex, Tessa, Prophet, sit.Everyone else, out.”
The room empties reluctantly, brothers casting worried glances at Tessa as they file out.Chrome lingers by the door, his sharp vision focuses on the mark barely visible beneath her collar.She meets his gaze steadily, chin raised, and something passes between them, respect, maybe, or recognition of the battle she’s fighting.
Scattered across the table, we hold church at, eat our meal sat are maps .Some are marked with red crosses and I assume it’s where attacks have occurred.There are too many for a single night.
“Report,” Blade says, dropping into his chair.
“It’s escalating.”Prophet spreads his hands over the central map, and I watch symbols appear in golden light wherever his fingers touch.“Seventeen separate incidents in the last six hours.Gas station.Diner.Three residential homes.Elementary school, thank God it was empty.The pattern is clear: it’s targeting population centers, places where fear spreads fastest.”
“Casualties?”My voice comes out rougher than intended.
“Two dead.Sixteen injured.Could have been worse if we hadn’t mobilized fast.”Prophet’s jaw clenches.“But we can’t keep playing defense.Every hour we wait, it gets stronger.”
Blade leans forward, elbows on his knees.“Options?”
