Page 20 of Villainous Rise

Then the unthinkable happened. The shield sputtered and failed.

The shards tore through her body. One moment she was standing there, tablet in hand, and the next she was crumpling to the ground, her white uniform blooming crimson.

“Oh my god,” I whispered, rising to my feet.

The Nexus erupted in chaos as medical drones deployed from ceiling hatches, racing toward the Keeper. The announcer’s voice cut through the pandemonium, calling for calm.

But it was too late. From our elevated position, I could see that the medical drones wouldn’t be able to do anything. She was dead.

The sight of her body, so small and broken, had me staggering back.

“Annie!” Dawn’s voice finally penetrated my shock. “We need to get you out of here!”

I turned to her. “What?”

“Annie, please,” Dawn begged, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t—I can’t—“ She sobbed and her words dissolved into unintelligible sounds.

Hunter pulled Dawn into his arms, her body shaking with sobs as medical teams finally made it to the arena floor and swarmed the fallen Keeper while security personnel attempted to contain the situation.

I remained frozen in place, the image of the Keeper’s crumpled body burning behind my eyelids, superimposed with memories of my own blood-soaked clothes after Dread’s attack.

Dawn wrenched herself from Hunter’s arms, whirling to face me with fury blazing through her tears. The box that had seemed so spacious moments ago now felt suffocatingly small.

“That could have been you!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “Don’t you understand? That was almost you three months ago!”

“Dawn—”

“No! You don’t get to brush this off!” She jabbed a finger toward the arena where emergency lights flashed. “That woman is dead, Annie. Dead! Just like you almost were when that monster came after you!”

She shoved me hard, her small hands connecting with my shoulders. I stumbled backward against the viewing glass, too shocked to react.

“Is this worth it?” she demanded, her voice breaking as the displays around us continued to flash emergency instructions. “Is any of this worth your life?”

It was then that I felt it. That familiar electric awareness prickling along my spine. I looked past Dawn’s shoulder and froze.

Cipher was standing halfway to our box, his body rigid. What was he thinking? Did Dawn’s words pierce through to him?

He couldn’t have missed them, couldn’t have misunderstood what she meant.

Dawn collapsed against me, sobbing. “Please, Annie,” she whispered. “I want to go home. I can’t watch this anymore.”

Hunter wrapped his arm around Dawn’s shoulders, guiding her toward the exit. I followed behind them, my legs moving on autopilot while my mind remained fractured in a thousand jagged pieces. The emergency lights pulsed overhead, bathing everything in alternating shadows and a harsh red glare.

Dawn’s sobs echoed out in the hall, each broken sound like a needle under my skin. Hunter murmured soothing words into her hair, his body curved protectively around her.

We had to pass directly by Cipher’s box entrance to leave but I kept my eyes fixed on Dawn ahead of me, counting each step toward freedom.

Then he was there, materializing in his doorway.

“Annie.” My name on his lips was barely audible, a whisper meant only for me. Like he had the right to sound concerned.

I didn’t slow. Didn’t turn. Didn’t acknowledge him in any way as I passed within inches of his body.

Not now. Not with Dawn’s tears still wet on my shoulder and the image of that Keeper’s broken body burned into my memory.

Whatever game he was playing would have to wait. I kept walking, my back rigid, my eyes forward. I could feel his gaze on me as I walked down the corridor, but I didn’t look back.

I wiped down the kitchen countertop for the third time, the cloth dragging against the already gleaming surface. The apartment was quiet except for my breathing and the swish of fabric against stone. My mind kept replaying the events at the Nexus in vivid, brutal detail—the Keeper’s death, Dawn’s breakdown, and Cipher.