Braxton City woke under a low grey sky, as if the weather itself sensed the tension stretching through every street, every tower, every breath. The reconstruction teams moved carefully, their steps quieter than usual, glancing often toward the balcony of the central tower where Leanna usually stood to address them. Today, she wasn’t there. Today, Braxton City was holding its breath.Inside the tower’s medical wing, machines hummed softly around Ethan’s bed. His burns were healing, his breathing steady, but he had not yet opened his eyes. Every time Leanna stepped into that room, the weight of the entire city seemed to settle on her shoulders.This morning was no different.She entered quietly, closing the door behind her. The air smelled of antiseptic and warm metal. Ethan lay still, wrapped in light bandages, the faint rise and fall of his chest the only reassurance that he was still fighting.Leanna pulled up a chair and sat beside him. She didn’t speak at first. She just watched hi

Braxton City was never truly dark….not even in its weakest hours. But tonight, the lights flickered across entire districts like shivering candles fighting against the wind. Screens glitched. Street lamps dimmed. The hum of the city’s power thinned to a nervous whisper.And every time the lights trembled, Leanna felt her chest tighten.She stood in the central command hub beneath Braxton Tower, staring at the live power grid. Red zones pulsed on the map…districts experiencing drops, surges, unexplained outages.It wasn’t random.It wasn’t natural.It was control.Someone was probing the system. Testing it. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.Maren stepped beside her, arms crossed tightly. “They’re getting bolder.”“No,” Leanna said softly. “They’re getting ready.”A sharp beep cut through the silence. A technician spun in his chair.“We’ve got a problem,” he said. “The western substation just went offline. No warning. No alert. It was shut down manually.”Leanna’s stomach dropped.

The chamber was silent….too silent.Korrin stood alone now, his earlier triumph reduced to ash in his throat. The councilors had withdrawn into their private alcove, the heavy obsidian doors sealing behind them with a hiss that felt like judgment itself.For a moment, he allowed himself to sag against the cold pillar. His celebration…his foolish, arrogant, premature celebration played back in his mind like a taunt.He had hought he had won.He’d thought exposing Calder’s network and revealing the smuggling routes would crown him the savior of the Dominion.But Leanna’s confrontation changed the atmosphere instantly.Her voice still echoed through him.“You think the Dominion needs another hero. It needs someone who won’t lie to themselves.”He didn’t understand what she meant…not fully. But her eyes… her eyes had seen something in him he hadn’t acknowledged.And maybe that was what frightened him.A soft footstep pulled him out of his thoughts.Tessa.Her presence was quiet but comman

The chamber felt colder now.Not because the temperature dropped…but because every pair of eyes in that room focused on Korrin, waiting to see which way he would break.Three paths.None of them merciful.Leanna stood at his side, stiff with tension; Tessa hovered just behind him like a blade ready to fly. Even the councilors, usually unreadable, leaned forward…curious, expectant.Korrin swallowed, lungs tightening.He never feared combat.He never feared pain.But this…choosing a future he didn’t fully understand felt like stepping into fog with no ground beneath it.Councilor Vaelor’s voice echoed quietly, “Your decision, Korrin Halden.”Korrin took a breath.And another.“Before I choose,” he said, “I want clarity.”Vaelor nodded. “Ask.”Korrin pointed to the first option. “If I agree to join your strategic core… what does that actually mean?”Marell replied. “It means oversight. Monitoring. You will be deployed under strict command structures. Your access to classified networks will

Ethan lay in a medical transport capsule, oxygen lines running across his chest, IV drips stabilizing his vitals. The emergency team rushed him through the lower corridor into Braxton Tower’s secondary treatment wing….a fireproof bunker built for crisis-level situations.But Leanna never let go of his hand.Not once.As the medics pushed Ethan into the intensive chamber, Korrin and Tessa stood behind her, both covered in soot and burns. Korrin’s shirt was torn at the sleeve, blackened from heat. Tessa’s braid had half-burned ends. Leanna’s jacket still smoldered at the hem.But none of them cared.All that mattered was Ethan breathing.A doctor stepped out as soon as Ethan was stabilized enough for immediate care.“His condition is critical but not fatal,” the doctor said. “Severe smoke inhalation, multiple burns, shock, and blunt trauma from debris. He needs rest and full oxygenation.”Leanna nodded. She didn’t trust her voice.The doctor continued, “Director Leanna, I must insist th