We had broken through the defenses. But as I looked at Zeno, who was still staring at the empty roof where Cass had been—I realized the true battle was only starting. “We should go in now,” Thal said.
Aidon and Zeno rushed to our sides, followed by our guards, still standing.
Luckily, we’d only lost two of them in the initial chaos, two of Aidon’s men, even though that was two too many. Their fellowsoldiers dragged their bodies out of the line of fire, a grim, silent respect for the fallen. Seeing the anguish etched on Aidon’s face as he watched them being taken away heightened my anger.
This fight was far from over. Rhea and her syndicate had caused chaos for years, spreading pain and destruction wherever they went. It was long past time to take her down. Too many lives had been broken, too many families ripped apart by her command.
She had to be stopped.
To do that, we had to go in where she least expected. Zeno nodded to half of his men, commanding them to flank around to the back of the property. Their orders had already been given: if Rhea tried to make an escape out the rear, she wouldn’t get far. Meanwhile, another group of Aidon’s men moved to patrol the outbuildings on the other side.
Rhea was now surrounded.
Following the loud gunfire outside, it was clear she knew we were there.
“Ready?” Thal asked, gesturing toward the door.
Aidon, Zeno, and I nodded as Thal stuck his head inside. Seeing that the coast was clear, we followed him in, guns drawn and ready to fire if needed.
“Hold,” I whispered, snapping my hand up to signal a stop.
Thal and Zeno froze instantly. They were looking for shooters. I was looking for the floor. I pointed to a nearly invisible wire stretched across the threshold of the dark room. “Zeno’s fourth-year specialty. Pressure-sensitive thermite. If we’d stepped in there, the hallway would have been a furnace in three seconds.”
Thal looked at the wire, then at me, a new heat in his eyes, not lust but pure, unadulterated respect.
I didn’t wait for permission. I stepped over the wire with the clinical precision of a ghost passing through a wall.
For the first time, the King of Olympus and the Ice King of Atlantis were following my lead. I felt the weight of their stares on my back, not as a prize to be won, but as the only person in this hallway who knew how to keep them from turning to cinders.
We all stiffened as if our bodies' instincts were warning us of danger. Mine screamed at full volume. I had to summon all my willpower to ignore it and press on, my gaze flicking between doors, my fingers trembling with fear, ready to fire at the slightest movement.
At the end of the hallway, darkness loomed. A large room that extended into a visible black hole, making it impossible to see what was inside from here.
Or who.
My heart raced as we moved down the hallway, with only the echo of our footsteps filling the silence. Tiny beads of sweat dripped down my back, mirroring the shiver of fear racing down my spine.
We’re okay.
We’ve got this.
You aren’t alone…
The words echoed in my mind as I watched Thal’s back. He stormed down the hallway like a man on a mission, if there ever was one. His eyes were steel, his face grim and stoic. His shoulders, tense and squared.
He glanced over his shoulder to check on me. His eyes conveyed so much that words weren't needed. I wished he could understand the message in mine as well. Over the past few weeks, we'd become very close, and both of us are concerned for each other. We trusted each other’s abilities because, if we didn't, we wouldn’t be here now, but we were aware that anything could happen.
The hallway opened into the main hangar, a dark, cold expanse where stacks of crates lined the walls. Aidon walked over to one of them and revealed an arsenal of automatic rifles.
He opened another crate, and it was full of silencers.
“Looks like we hit the motherlode,” Thal said.
“We knew we would,” Zeno muttered. “My intelligence is never wrong.”
His arrogance was impossible to miss, yet it wasn’t unexpected. Zeno had always carried himself with an unshakable self-righteousness, constantly boasting about his superior resources and never shying away from bragging rights. The stark contrast between his cocky demeanor and Thal’s quiet humility was glaring.
Aidon’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and read the message.
