They overwhelmed her with numbers.
Bullets tore through muscle and bone. Shrapnel carved fire into her side. Still she stood, staggering, refusing the ground until strength abandoned her.
When she finally fell, smoke crowned her like a ruined halo.
Rask approached.
"You could have survived," he said.
Athena smiled through blood. "You could have spared him."
He did not understand.
The gunshot was singular. Final.