(POV: Ava)
The city was waking up again, but it wasn't the kind of dawn that promises hope.
It was the dawn of a reckoning.
***
We had barely slept when the noise started—a low, grinding roar like a thousand engines revving up beneath the cracked pavement. The mist thickened, swallowing the skyline and pressing against the shattered windows of the warehouse like a living tide. Shadows shifted, moving with unnatural speed.
Kael was already on his feet, muscles coiled and eyes blazing. He didn't wait for me to move—he just grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a broken wall.
"They're coming," he growled.
I swallowed hard. "Who?"
"The Hunters."
The name sent a cold wave crashing over me. The Hunters were rumored—whispers on the few surviving radio channels—mercenaries who worked for the old government, twisted by power and desperation. They weren't just after Kael. They wanted the secret buried deep in his blood, the power the First Ones had planted inside him.
And now they were here.
The first Hunter appeared like a ghost from the fog—a tall man in black tactical gear, face covered by a visor that glinted red in the dim light. He moved silently, but the weight of his presence filled the room.
Kael's grip on my arm tightened.
"We don't run this time," Kael whispered.
The warehouse door shattered inward in a spray of glass and steel.
More Hunters poured in, their weapons raised, targeting Kael.
But Kael was faster.
He moved with a ferocity I hadn't seen before, a blur of fists and blades, the veins on his skin glowing like wildfire. Every strike was deadly, every dodge precise.
I fought too, wielding a rusted pipe like a warrior born of desperation. My blows weren't perfect, but they were fueled by something fierce—by the need to protect him.
The Hunters fell, one by one, but more kept coming.
***
Amidst the chaos, a sharp voice cut through the noise.
"Kael! Stand down!"
The voice belonged to a woman—sharp, commanding, and terrifying.
She stepped forward, removing her helmet to reveal ice-cold eyes and a cruel smile.
"I'm Commander Livia Grey," she said. "And you're coming with us."
Kael snarled, blood dripping from a fresh wound on his cheek.
"I'm not your weapon."
Livia laughed. "Oh, you will be. Whether you like it or not."
I stepped between them.
"Kael doesn't belong to you."
Livia's eyes flicked to me—surprise, then something darker.
"You're... his?"
He nodded, stepping protectively in front of me.
Livia's smile vanished.
"Very well," she said coldly. "Then you leave. Now. Before we make you both regret it."
We didn't wait for a second warning.
We fled into the mist.
As we ran, Kael pulled me close.
"They'll never stop coming," he said, breathless.
"I don't care," I said, gripping his hand. "I'm not leaving you."
He looked at me—really looked at me—and for a moment, the monster inside him faded.
"I need you, Ava," he whispered. "More than I've ever needed anything."
And that was when I knew: no matter what came next, we'd face it together.