Kelvin woke to the stench of damp stone and iron. His head throbbed like it had been split open, the metallic taste of blood still thick on his tongue. The darkness pressed in from every side, broken only by the faint glow of a lantern swinging just out of reach. Chains bit into his wrists, binding his arms above his head, his feet barely touching the cold floor.
Panic rushed first, then rage.
He struggled, thrashing against the restraints until his skin burned raw. "Damn you!" he spat into the shadows. His voice echoed back at him, hollow, mocking. "You can't keep me here! I have rights! I will—"
The sound of boots cut him short. Slow, deliberate, heavy.
A soldier stepped into view, faceless under the shadows of his helmet. He carried a bucket, slamming it onto the ground with a dull thud. Inside, water sloshed. Kelvin licked his cracked lips, but the man didn't move to give him any. He simply stood there, silent, as though waiting.
Waiting for what?
Kelvin's heart skipped. Then he realized — this wasn't Ezra's doing. Ezra wouldn't waste men on him. Ezra would've chewed him out, maybe struck him, but this… this smelled of someone higher.
Nathan.
A cold dread swept through him. If Nathan had ordered this, then Kelvin's plan had already failed. He had wanted to catch Lexi in a trap, to show Ezra he was worth something. But instead, he was the one in chains, rotting in the dark.
His jaw clenched. His hatred sharpened like a blade. Lexi. This is her fault. Always her fault.
While Kelvin drowned in his rage, Lexi stood pinned against Nathan's door, her breath warm against his lips. His hands gripped her as though letting go meant losing his last shred of control.
"You don't know what you're playing with," Nathan growled. His forehead pressed against hers, his breath rough and hot.
Lexi's lips curved, soft and mocking. "Don't I? Seems to me I know exactly what I'm doing."
Nathan's jaw flexed. She was too calm. Too in control. Every soldier he had commanded bent to his will — fear, respect, obedience. But Lexi? She stood before him like an equal, daring him, teasing him, driving him to the edge of madness.
He should've ended it. His hand twitched at his side, fingers itching for the knife at his belt. If she uncovered the truth about the tunnels, about what lay beneath, he would be forced to silence her forever. That was the rule. That was survival.
But when he looked at her, he saw something else.
That fire. That sharp mind hiding behind an innocent mask. That mouth, curving in challenge.
He wanted to crush it. And he wanted to taste it again.
Lexi tilted her head, lashes fluttering. "What are you waiting for? If you want me dead, then kill me." She leaned closer, her voice a whisper brushing his ear. "But you won't."
He snapped. His lips crashed against hers again, more forceful than before. His hand tangled in her hair, the other pressing her harder against the door. Lexi kissed him back, not with submission but with provocation, her tongue teasing, her smirk present even in the heat of it.
When he broke the kiss, his chest heaved. His hands shook, not from weakness, but from how much he wanted to break her and couldn't.
"You'll ruin everything," he rasped. "If you keep digging, you won't survive."
Lexi's smile was maddening. "Then stop me."
Kelvin was losing himself. Hours had passed — or maybe minutes, time was strange in the suffocating dark. His throat burned from shouting, his wrists bled from the chains.
And then, finally, someone came.
It wasn't Ezra. Or Nathan.
The lantern's light revealed a man dressed in black, face shadowed, posture commanding. He didn't bother giving his name. He didn't need to. Kelvin knew power when he saw it, and this man carried Nathan's scent of command.
The man circled him like a predator, silent, until Kelvin couldn't take it anymore.
"Why am I here?" Kelvin spat. "I've done nothing wrong! I was loyal, more loyal than that bitch you're all protecting!"
The man paused. His head tilted, curious. "Bitch?"
"Lexi!" Kelvin snarled, his voice cracking with desperation. "She's the snake among us. She's hiding something, I know it. I was about to prove it when your men jumped me! She'll destroy us all if you let her—"
The man stepped closer, so close Kelvin could see the glint of his knife in the lantern light. His voice was calm, too calm. "You talk too much."
Kelvin's stomach twisted. He yanked against the chains, his fury turning to fear. "Wait—please, you don't understand—I can help! I'll give you everything, I'll—"
The man pressed the knife's edge under his chin, silencing him with a single sharp breath.
"Not another word," the interrogator said coldly. "Nathan will decide if you live."
Kelvin froze, dread consuming him whole.
Nathan finally pulled away, pacing across his office like a man trying to outrun his own thoughts. His hand raked through his hair, his breaths sharp.
Lexi, in contrast, remained pressed against the door, calm, watching. Like a queen observing her pawn stumble.
"You don't understand what you're walking into," Nathan muttered, his back to her. His voice carried weight, as though he wasn't just speaking to her, but warning himself. "Your curiosity will get you killed. And I…" He stopped, his fists clenched. "I might not be able to stop it next time."
Lexi's smirk softened, but her eyes glittered. She pushed off the door, stepping closer. "Then maybe," she murmured, "you shouldn't want to stop it."
He turned sharply, his eyes blazing, locking onto hers. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to only them — his fury, her calm, desire and danger crashing together in a storm that neither could contain.
Nathan knew he was losing himself. And yet, when he looked at her, he no longer cared.
Kelvin sagged against the chains, sweat pouring down his temples. His mind replayed Lexi's face again and again, twisted by his hatred.
If she lives, I die. If she climbs higher, I burn.
His nails dug into his palms until blood slicked his fists.
"I'll bring her down," he whispered hoarsely. "Even if I have to crawl out of here in pieces…I'll drag her with me."
The dungeon swallowed his vow, carrying it into the dark.