Her eyes flicker, searching mine.
“I’ll bring him to you. He’s yours to kill.”
She blinks, like the words take a second to fully land. Like she’s measuring them, testing them for truth.
“Promise?” she asks.
“I promise.”
That’s all it takes.
The fight in her eyes doesn’t disappear, but it settles. Trust replaces resistance. I turn and head for the door, already shifting back into command, back into the war waiting just outside these walls.
She leans in and kisses me.
Softer this time.
When she pulls back, I don’t linger.
I can’t.
I turn and head for the door, already shifting back into command.
She grabs my arm again.
I stop.
Gunshots crack louder outside now—rapid, overlapping, too close. The estate is no longer just under attack. It’s fully engaged. Every second I stand here is a second I’m not out there controlling it.
But I still turn back.
Her eyes catch mine immediately. Earnest. Unsteady.
I take a slow breath, holding her gaze. Not deflecting. Not softening the truth this time.
“I promise,” I murmur. “I’ll come back.”
The words sit between us. Not something I say lightly. Not something I say just to calm her.
Something I intend to keep.
She studies me for a second longer. Then she nods. Once.
And lets go.
“Lock the door,” I tell her, my voice firm again. “Don’t open it for anyone.”
The door itself is reinforced—impenetrable. One of the safest places in the estate. Still, I need to hear her acknowledge it.
She nods again.
Only then do I turn and step out.
The moment I cross the threshold, everything changes.
It’s like walking into another world.
Smoke hangs thick in the air, curling through the courtyard in heavy waves. The sharp scent of gunpowder burns through my lungs instantly. Somewhere to the left, another shot cracks, close enough to echo off the stone walls of the estate.
