The helicopter hovered like a predator, blades slicing the storm-soaked sky.
The spotlight pinned the ridge, searching for them—merciless, bright, inescapable.
Rhea pressed against the cold rock, her pulse hammering.
Adrian's arm stayed firm around her, shielding her from the blast of wind.
The voice echoed again—deep, smooth, and terrifying in its certainty.
"Adrian Knight. Come out."
The storm seemed to quiet just for that voice.
Like even thunder dared not interrupt the man speaking.
Rhea whispered, "Adrian… who is he?"
Adrian didn't answer at first.
He stared at the helicopter like he was staring at a ghost.
Or a nightmare.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Lucien Hale."
The name alone chilled Rhea's blood.
"Who… who is Lucien?"
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"Not a man," he said quietly.
"A force. The one Soren answers to. The one who built the Shadow Network. The one who controls everything in the dark."
Rhea swallowed hard.
"And he wants you."
"No," Adrian corrected.
"He wants you."
Her breath caught.
The spotlight suddenly jerked, focusing on the rock they hid behind—
closer, sharper, aware.
Adrian pulled Rhea lower.
"Don't move," he warned. "He's scanning for heat signatures."
But a second voice came from the helicopter—
This time from an interior comm, amplified enough for them to hear.
A voice Rhea recognized.
Soren.
"Lucien," Soren said, calm and clinical. "Knight won't surrender. He never has. Use the contingency."
Rhea's heart dropped.
Adrian's fingers dug into the rock.
"No," he whispered. "Not that. He wouldn't—"
Lucien's voice cut through smoothly.
"Drop it."
A metallic click.
Then—
A canister fell from the helicopter, tumbling end over end.
Before Rhea could ask, Adrian threw his body over hers, covering her completely.
"Close your eyes and don't breathe!" he commanded.
The canister hit the ground—
BOOM!
A shockwave slammed into them.
Rhea's ears rang.
Her vision blurred.
A bitter, burning smell hit her lungs.
Tear gas.
Mixed with something stronger.
Heavier.
She coughed violently.
Adrian pressed a cloth against her mouth, his voice rough.
"Rhea—stay with me!"
She blinked, dizzy, as the wind carried the gas across the ridge.
The helicopter descended lower.
A ladder dropped.
Lucien Hale stepped onto the ridge.
Tall.
Calm.
Dressed in black tactical wear like it was tailored to him.
His presence was colder than the storm.
Rhea couldn't see his face clearly through the haze, but she saw the way Adrian reacted—
His entire body tensed.
Not in fear.
In fury.
Lucien walked slowly, hands behind his back, like he was strolling through a garden instead of a battlefield.
"Adrian," Lucien called, his voice cutting through the gas.
"You're wasting my time."
Adrian rose slightly, keeping Rhea behind him, his eyes locked on the man.
"I told you," Adrian growled.
"I'm done being your weapon."
Lucien chuckled softly.
"Everyone is a weapon, Adrian. The question is… who aims them?"
Soren climbed down behind him, expression blank, calculating.
Rhea's vision cleared enough to see Lucien's face—
Sharp.
Handsome, but in a cruel, merciless way.
Eyes like polished obsidian—reflecting everything, revealing nothing.
Lucien's gaze shifted.
And landed on her.
Rhea froze as if ice wrapped around her heartbeat.
He looked at her like she was a puzzle piece he'd been hunting for years.
"So," Lucien murmured.
"The girl with the bloodline. The catalyst."
Adrian stepped in front of her instantly.
"Stay away from her."
Lucien tilted his head.
"You think you can protect her?"
He smiled faintly.
"You're already losing."
Adrian's fists clenched.
Soren stepped forward.
"You know what we want, Adrian. Give us the girl. Give us the drive. And this ends cleanly."
Rhea's stomach twisted.
Adrian laughed.
A low, dangerous sound.
"You taught me to never trust your definition of 'clean.'"
Lucien's smile sharpened.
"And you taught me something too," he said.
"That every man has a breaking point."
He paused.
"And yours… is her."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Lucien lifted a hand.
The soldiers hidden in the shadows stepped out.
Six.
Eight.
Ten.
All aiming at Adrian and Rhea.
Rhea's breath locked in her chest.
"Adrian…" she whispered, gripping his shirt.
He covered her hand with his.
"Rhea. Listen to me."
His voice was low and controlled—but shaking at the edges.
"No matter what happens, I won't let them take you."
Lucien's voice cut through the wind.
"You don't have a choice."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"No," he said.
"You don't."
Lightning struck behind them, illuminating the entire ridge.
And Adrian moved.
Fast.
Deadly.
With a precision that belonged to someone who had been trained by the very men now hunting him.
He grabbed Rhea's waist, pulling her as he rolled behind another boulder as bullets exploded across the ridge.
The storm drowned everything in chaos.
Lucien didn't flinch.
"Bring them to me," he ordered calmly.
"Alive."
Rhea clung to Adrian, heart racing.
"Adrian—there are too many!"
He cupped her face for a split second—
just long enough for her to see the fierce, unbreakable resolve in his eyes.
"Then we'll outrun them."
"But where—"
Adrian pulled a small device from his pocket—
sleek, black, and glowing faint blue.
Rhea blinked.
"What is that?"
He pressed it into her hand.
"A signal scrambler," he said. "It will hide your location."
Her breath trembled.
"But what about you?"
Adrian looked at her with a painful, soft smile.
"They don't need a tracker for me."
A bullet hit the rock above them, sending stone shards flying.
Rhea gasped.
Adrian grabbed her shoulders.
"Rhea," he whispered, voice breaking just enough for her to hear it.
"If they catch me—
You run.
And you don't look back."
Her heart stopped.
"No," she cried. "Adrian, I'm not leaving you—"
He kissed her.
Hard.
Desperate.
Terrified.
The kind of kiss that tasted like goodbye.
When he pulled away, his forehead pressed against hers.
"I will find you," he whispered.
"As long as I'm breathing… I will find you."
Before she could react—
He pushed her down a narrow gap between the rocks—
Hidden.
Protected.
Out of sight.
She hit the ground, breath knocked out of her.
Above her—
Lucien's voice rang out.
"Knight! Surrender!"
Adrian's voice answered, sharp and cold.
"Come and take me."
Rhea's tears blurred everything.
Because Adrian wasn't running.
He was preparing to buy her time.
Even if it cost him everything.