She’s a flicker at the edge of vision, blond braid whipping behind her like a war banner. I follow her on instinct, chasing the one part of the battle that isn’t shrouded in illusion. She leads me toward a service tunnel, low and tight—easy bottleneck. But she doesn’t slow.
I barrel after her.
Too late, I smell it.
The air’s too still. Too staged.
I’m already inside the kill zone.
The walls blast inward.
Net guns. Shock rounds. Explosives.
I hit the ground hard, every nerve screaming. Metal lashes my limbs, pins my arms. I twist and rip but the voltage surging through the mesh sends fire up my spine. My vision goes white, then black, then white again. Blood in my mouth. Mud in my ears.
The world tilts.
I hear boots crunching close.
Kaella crouches beside me, smug and smooth.
“Good boy. You played right into it.”
I spit blood at her boot. “This the part where you gut me?”
She leans in. “Not yet. Momma’s got plans for you.”
I try to lunge. The net constricts, another surge frying my muscles to jelly.
“Easy now,” she purrs. “Wouldn’t want to break our shiny prize before the party.”
More boots. More hands. I’m dragged—half-conscious—through mud and fire and ruins of bodies I left behind. My blade’s gone. My cannon’s fried. My head swims with static and failure.
They toss me into a reinforced cell. Chains, not energy fields. They know I’d short those in seconds. I slump, wrists bound, chest heaving, every bone aching.
Then I hear her.
Large Marj.
Outside the bars. Voice like spoiled honey.
“Look what the dogs dragged in.”
I lift my head. Barely.
“Was hopin’ you’d come callin’, Butcher,” she drawls. “But I gotta say—stormin’ my gates solo? Suicidal even for you.”
I say nothing.
She steps closer, eyes alight with victory. “You’re gonna be famous again. Public execution, just like the good ol’ days. Little payback for the mess on Hadrith. And guess what? Your lil’ bitch gets front row.”
My jaw clenches.
She grins wider. “Bring him to the square. Bind him good. And send the signal. We’re invitin’ the whole damn sector to watch the Butcher bleed.”
I don’t move.
Not when they drag me.
