The night air was thick with smoke and the acrid tang of burning fuel. Luca’s muscles ached from the battle, but he didn’t dare slow. Every sense screamed danger as Emilio’s men descended from the shadows, surrounding the docks like predators closing in on prey.Grace moved beside him, a phantom in motion. Her blades sang through the night, slicing through steel, flesh, and fear with deadly precision. Luca marveled at her calm amidst the chaos, her every step a statement that she belonged in this war as much as he did.“Left flank!” Luca shouted, pivoting to meet a charging soldier. His weapon cracked, sending the man sprawling into the water.Grace’s laugh rang out, sharp and fearless. “You’re slowing down, Blackthorn. Keep up!” She lunged past him, her blade spinning in a deadly arc, felling two more soldiers before landing lightly on the ground.The ambush was relentless. More men emerged from the shadows, their guns cutting the air with lethal intent. Luca’s chest burned with adre

The warehouse was eerily silent, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the shattered roof. Luca and Grace moved cautiously through the shadows, every nerve screaming. The city outside slept,or pretended to,but Emilio’s reach had no boundaries. They were walking straight into the heart of his trap.Grace’s blades were drawn, her movements precise, silent. “He knows we’re coming,” she whispered. “Everything we’ve done has led him here.”Luca’s eyes narrowed, scanning the dark corners. The curse in his veins hummed with tension, clawing at his control. “Then we end this. Tonight.”A sudden clang echoed through the warehouse. Shadows shifted. From the darkness, Emilio stepped forward, his suit immaculate, his grin full of venom. Behind him, a dozen soldiers emerged, weapons raised.“Welcome,” he said smoothly. “I’ve been expecting you. And now, we finish this game.”Luca’s hand went to his gun, his body ready to release the beast, but Grace stepped in front of him. “Not yet,” s

The city was waking, but the morning air still carried the heavy scent of smoke, burnt metal, and iron. The chaos of the docks had faded, leaving only silence,but it was a silence that pressed down, suffocating, as if the night had left a weight on the world itself. Luca leaned against the crumbling wall of an abandoned warehouse, muscles stiff, chest heaving. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by exhaustion and the tremor of everything he had done. The beast inside him was quiet for now, simmering, waiting. Waiting for a reason to roar again.Grace crouched nearby, sheathing one blade and then the other, moving with her usual precision, yet there was tension in the way her shoulders remained tight, in the way her eyes flicked to every shadow. She had survived the night, but he could see it in her,the small betrayals of fatigue, the sharp edges of doubt, and a lingering trace of something else: guilt.For a long moment, neither spoke. Silence stretched, heavy and thick, filled with t

The city slept, or pretended to, but the streets still smelled of smoke and ash. Luca’s boots clicked softly against the cracked pavement as he followed Grace through the narrow alleys, every shadow a potential threat. Her movements were silent, calculated, but something was different tonight. Tension hung around her like a second skin, heavier than any weapon she carried.“You’re quiet,” Luca said, eyes scanning the darkness. “Too quiet.”Grace didn’t answer immediately. She led him through a maze of abandoned buildings, each corner and doorway a potential trap. Her grey eyes flicked to him briefly, sharp, cautious, almost unreadable. “Quiet isn’t safe,” she finally muttered. “And neither is loud.”He frowned, noticing the edge in her voice, the way her hands trembled ever so slightly when she adjusted her grip on her blades. “You’re holding something,” he said, voice low. “Your past… it’s catching up to you.”Her jaw tightened. “It’s not just my past,” she said quietly. “It’s mine a

The city was alive with shadows, every alley and rooftop holding whispers of danger. The docks were still scarred from the previous battles, the remnants of fire and blood lingering in the air like a warning. Luca and Grace moved with purpose, every step calculated, muscles coiled for the inevitable. Ravyn’s threat had been more than a warning, she was coming back, and this time, she would not fight alone.Luca’s chest burned, the beast inside him whispering, claws of hunger and fury flexing beneath his skin. Every fiber of his being wanted to release it, to tear through whoever dared cross their path. But he kept it restrained, tethered by the trust between him and Grace, by the knowledge that letting the curse run unchecked could cost them more than just the fight, it could cost them each other.“Do you feel it?” Grace asked quietly, her eyes scanning the shadows. “The way she’s moving, the way she’s watching us? She’s not just back, she’s hunting.”Luca nodded, muscles taut. “I fee