The King let out a weak, rattling laugh, his chest heaving painfully. Even though his life was slipping away and he was in deep, agonizing pain, his eyes still danced with absolute malice."So, little girl..." he wheezed, dark blood bubbling at the corner of his lips. "Tell me... what are you going to do now? It is only a matter of time before more of my men find you. You might be strong, Clara. You might have some parlor tricks. But you stand no chance against my entire army."Clara didn't waste another second listening to his taunts. She reached into the shattered back seat, grabbed him firmly by his jacket, and violently pulled him upward out of the ruined vehicle."Move it!" Clara barked, her voice dripping with pure frustration. She dragged his heavy, uncooperative body along the wet asphalt. "If I leave you here, you will bleed out and die in this dirt. Or worse, Valthera will find you and just put a bullet straight through your brain!"Miles away, the storm raged fiercely over

"Clara, what is it? What happened?" Dorian asked, his voice rising in deep worry.In an instant, all the absolute worst-case scenarios started running wildly through his head. With the entire city hunting her down, with the Syndicate, the Crimson gang, and the Keepers looking for her, Clara was a literal walking bomb. If she was panicking like this, something had gone horribly wrong.Miles away, in a dark, abandoned warehouse kitchen, Clara was using all her remaining physical strength to push a heavy, rusted metal utility trolley across the concrete floor.Sitting inside the trolley was the King. He was slumped over sideways, clutching his chest as a massive amount of blood leaked through his fingers. He was gasping heavily for air, all of his previous arrogance completely fading away as the reality of death finally gripped him."It is the King," Clara said into the phone, her voice shaking violently as she panted into the microphone. "He sustained a terrible gunshot wound during the

Realizing she wasn't going to back down, the doctor exchanged a worried look with his nurse, picked up his scalpel, and went ahead with the brutal procedure.Meanwhile, back at the central police station, Detective Henry stormed out of the private locker room, fully dressed in his tactical jacket with his badge clipped to his belt.Ashley ran down the busy precinct corridor, catching up to him just as he reached the heavy exit doors. "Henry! What the hell are you doing?!" she shouted frantically, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Why are you going out there completely alone? We should inform the entire department right now so that every single officer can be dispatched to the scene to back you up!"Henry quickly spun around, stepping in close to Ashley. He gently took her hands, looking around the hallway before asking her to keep her voice down."Listen to me, Ashley," Henry whispered, his voice deadly serious. "So far, in this entire building, you are the absolute only person I can tru

His heavily armed operators quickly scrambled across the perimeter, scanning the dark area with tactical flashlights. The lead operator approached the glowing digital keypad next to the front door."Boss, the tracking beep seems to be coming directly from inside here," the operator shouted over the thunder. "But it looks like we need a password to get through this heavy door.""A password?" the Butcher growled, his deep, gravelly voice cutting through the sound of the rain. He stepped forward, his eyes burning with malice. "We don't have time for passwords! The King might be on the very verge of dying right now! Blow up the damn door!"The men moved with absolute military precision. Two operators stepped forward, slapping heavy plastic explosive charges directly onto the steel hinges of the door. They sprinted backward for cover.BOOM!A massive explosion shattered the quiet night, completely bringing the heavy door down in a cloud of fire and twisted metal.The operators flooded into

Clara nodded, swallowing her rage. Together, they knelt down, each taking one of the King's arms to hoist him off the dusty floor. But just as they lifted him up between them, a booming, familiar voice echoed from the ground floor below, carrying through the open concrete shafts."Search the entire place! Do not leave a single stone unturned!"Henry and Clara froze instantly. Their breath hitched in their chests.It was Valthera. She was here, and she had her army with her.Henry turned to Clara, his expression turning incredibly intense and urgent. "Clara, go. Take the King and go out through the emergency fire escape at the back right now. I will stay behind and create a distraction so you have a real chance to escape.""No!" Clara refused immediately, shaking her head. "Valthera is my mother. She is my problem to deal with, Henry. I'm not leaving you here to die."Henry grabbed her arms, looking directly into her eyes with absolute sincerity. "Clara, listen to me. The real, honest