"You’re Right on Ti"
Zara froze, every nerve in her body screaming. Her breath caught mid-inhale, her heart a piston against her ribs.
Adrian’s rifle pressed against Leo’s tiny forehead.
Leo blinked up at the stranger, wide-eyed, confused. His little mouth opened, but no sound ca out—only a quiver. His wide, tear-bright eyes shifted from the steel barrel to Zara.
He whimpered.
"No," Zara breathed, the word barely audible, like the whisper of ash.
Winter’s body tensed beside her, freezing mid-motion, his hand still extended toward the boy he’d just helped up the final rung.
"Don’t," Winter said quietly. His hands rose, palms out.
Adrian tilted his head, as if mildly curious. His finger rested near the trigger—not taut, not teasing. Casual. As though he wasn’t holding a child’s life between two breaths.
"I would suggest," Adrian said, in that familiar, cold syrup of a voice, "no sudden movents."
A crow landed sowhere above, its wings kicking dust off a cracked concrete beam. It felt weird to see animals here. But they couldn’t focus on that at the mont.
The ruined skeleton of an old city complex lood behind him, a jagged halo of rust and rebar. The distant sounds of alarms echoed in the distance showing that even now the base was still on lock down. No one would be coming this way. No one would see them.
Winter’s breathing stuttered. The entire city felt like it had gone silent. Not even the wind dared move.
And Leo—Leo was still beneath the muzzle of that rifle, one grubby fist clenched around the strap of his overalls.
Zara’s body had already moved.
"Get that thing off my son," she said. Her voice cracked. "Now."
"Adrian," he said, voice hoarse from the climb. "You don’t have to do this."
Adrian didn’t look at him. His cold blue eyes were locked on Zara. She was shaking now. Her knees buckled, her entire body screaming with exhaustion, blood loss, and fear.
"Don’t I?" Adrian replied smoothly. He didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t even blink. His tone was composed, almost paternal, like a disappointed father catching wayward children sneaking out after curfew. "You were warned, Zara. I gave you generous ti. Generous distance. But you insisted on making this difficult."
Her ears rang. She didn’t know if it was the blood loss or the fury.
"You think this is difficult?" she spat. "You threaten my son and expect to thank you for your patience?"
Adrian’s head tilted slightly. "Patience is a kindness. One I’ve shown you repeatedly. Don’t pretend you didn’t know this was coming."
"I hoped," she said, "for once, you wouldn’t beco the monster."
He gave a quiet laugh. "Zara. I’ve always been the monster. You just convinced yourself I wasn’t because it was easier."
Winter’s pulse thudded behind his ears. Of all the things that could have happened. Of all the people that they could have t outside here.
"You know what I don’t understand?" Adrian mused. "Why run? You knew I’d co. You know how valuable you are. How valuable he is." He gestured slightly toward Leo. "You could’ve lived in comfort. Supervised. Protected. But instead you run through sewers, fight off rcs, bleed out in the dark. For what? Freedom?"
Zara could barely stand upright. "Freedom matters."
"Not when you’re dead."
She swallowed. "I’d rather die than let you turn him into a weapon."
Adrian’s voice dropped into sothing softer. "Weapon? Oh, no. Not a weapon. A key. One that unlocks sothing bigger than all of us."
"Let him go," she said. Her throat was raw. "Take , take whatever you want, just—he’s a child."
"A unique one." Adrian’s mouth curved into sothing like a smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. "And you’re hardly in a position to bargain, are you?"
Winter clenched his jaw. He kept his hands up. He didn’t move. Didn’t dare. His mind raced—terrain, cover, trajectory, weight distribution—but every path ended the sa way: Leo dead before either of them got close.
Zara could barely breathe. Her vision swam. Her foresight—it wasn’t working. Everything she saw before was scrambled—
—She could still see it—see that vision. The last one that had hit her in the tunnel like a freight train.
Blood. Screams. tal shattering. The stink of oil and ozone. And the bodies—so many bodies—piled like refuse. She hadn’t been able to make out faces, but Leo’s tiny hand had clutched hers in the vision. And then it had gone slack.
She had scread herself hoarse. That wasn’t a future she could let co true.
She had seen this mont—or sothing like it—but nothing was clear enough. Just sensations. Fear. Death. She was flying blind.
"You’re not going to shoot him," Winter said finally. Quiet. Low. Like approaching a cornered animal.
Adrian’s smile widened. "You think I won’t? That I’m bluffing?"
Winter didn’t answer. Instead, he shifted again, just slightly, stepping closer to Zara.
Adrian’s eyes flicked to him.
One movent.
One second.
That was all it would take.
But Leo was between them.
And Adrian was calm.
Too calm.
"You always were dramatic, Winter," Adrian said lightly. "Throwing yourself in front of bullets, playing the noble idiot. But this?" He shook his head as if scolding a slow student. "You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and out of ti. Honestly, I’m disappointed."
He finally looked down at Leo.
The baby’s lower lip trembled. "Mommy?"
Zara’s heart broke clean in two.
"Look at him," Adrian said softly. "No sense of what he is. What he’s capable of. A child holding the gateway to another dinsion—and yet here he is, still wetting himself and chewing on shoelaces."
"He’s three," Zara snapped, stumbling forward. "What the hell do you expect?"
Her baby wasn’t stupid! Who the fuck did Adrian think he was?! To hold her child and threaten him this way. There would be no saving Adrian for doing this!
Her knees buckled. Winter caught her before she collapsed entirely.
Adrian tsked.
"So reckless with your body, Zara. We’re going to need that blood intact, you know. Very poor managent. I would’ve kept you sedated."
"Go to hell," she croaked.
He gave a sigh like a disappointed parent listening to his child’s report. "You always were difficult."
Zara swayed in Winter’s arms. His grip tightened, and she leaned her weight against him. The world was going gray at the edges now, a tunnel of fog. Her head buzzed.
She tried to think. To plan. But the visions wouldn’t settle. Foresight flickered uselessly—like static on a dying screen.
Her power was unreliable now.
Broken.
She looked at Leo. He was shivering, tiny fists clenched. His eyes darted between faces, trying to understand, trying to find her.
"Mommy..." he murmured.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"I’m here, baby," she whispered, reaching out—but her arm wouldn’t lift. It trembled mid-air before falling uselessly to her side.
Adrian tilted his head. "It’s sweet, really. Your protective instinct. But you’ve misunderstood the situation entirely. I’m not your enemy."
Winter scoffed. "You’re holding a baby at gunpoint."
"And yet I haven’t pulled the trigger," Adrian said gently. "Because I value him. I value you. All of you are assets."
He waved one hand, and from the tree line behind him, shadows erged.
Soldiers.
Black armored suits. No markings. No insignias.
They moved in silently, rifles up, each one bearing a magnetic suppression cuff.
Winter shifted again, slightly—tensing.
Adrian caught it. His tone turned amused. "Please don’t try anything heroic. These cuffs are tuned for individuals with enhanced traits. You move, and I drop the child. You try sothing clever, and you’ll be conscious enough to hear the shot before it lands."
The soldiers advanced.
Zara tried to stand again—but the world spun. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate.
Winter helped her stay upright, but he was seething. "If you touch her—"
Adrian raised his brows. "Touch her? Winter, you wound . I’m not a brute. She’ll be treated. Monitored. Maybe even healed—assuming you give permission, of course." His smile was knife-thin. "Do I have your blessing?"
Winter said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
The contempt in his eyes was thick enough to choke.
Adrian only chuckled.
The soldiers reached them.
In a blur of black fabric and tal, their wrists were locked. The magnetic cuffs buzzed faintly, dulling sensation from the elbow down. Zara winced as the cold tal dug into torn skin.
Winter was forced to his knees.
Adrian stepped forward, finally lowering the rifle. Leo was scooped up by one of the soldiers—gently, almost reverently.
Zara let out a strangled cry and tried to crawl toward them.
Leo reached back, arms outstretched.
"Mommy!"
Her fingers scraped dirt. Blood sared across the grass.
"Give him back," she gasped. "Give him—"
The world tilted.
Collapsed.
Winter shouted sothing. Adrian responded, too calm, too quiet.
But Zara couldn’t hear anymore.
Her body stopped responding. Her vision went black around the edges, then completely. Her ears rang. The cuffs humd. Her breath caught.
And the last thing she felt was absence.
Leo was gone from her arms.
Reviews
All reviews (0)