For a moment, everything held still.
Wind whispered through the docks. The waves lapped against rusted hulls. Serafina's soldiers stood like shadows, fingers twitching on their triggers.
And then
Bang!
A single shot split the air. Chaos erupted.
Luna dove behind a crate as bullets tore through the silence. Damien returned fire with ruthless precision, dropping two of Serafina's men before they hit the ground. The rest scattered, flanking them from all sides.
"Stay down!" Damien barked.
But Luna was already moving fast, low, every instinct sharpened. She hadn't trained all those years in exile for nothing.
From behind the crate, she spotted Serafina walking away walking, like the gunfire meant nothing to her.
"She's getting away!" Luna shouted.
Damien covered her as she broke from cover, sprinting across the dock toward a rusted metal staircase. She climbed fast, the journal strapped to her chest. Every step brought her closer to the truth, to the woman who had betrayed her blood, and to the fire she could no longer outrun.
She reached the top of the platform. Serafina stood at the edge, overlooking the water, her back turned.
"You really do have your mother's stubbornness," Serafina said without turning around. "And your father's temper."
Luna raised her gun.
"Don't speak about them."
Serafina turned slowly. "Then listen about them."
She took a step forward, unfazed by the weapon aimed at her heart.
"Your father wasn't murdered by a rival family," she said. "He was betrayed from within."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "You."
Serafina laughed a cold, bitter sound. "He was a fool, Luna. He wanted to walk away from the Syndicate. To go legit. Your mother was the only reason he lasted as long as he did."
"You killed them."
"I spared you," Serafina countered. "I carried you out of the fire myself."
Luna's breath caught. "You're lying."
"You think I'd let the last Virelli heir die in that blaze? No. I raised you to be strong. Hidden. You disappeared because I made sure no one would find you."
Luna's hands shook. "You kept me from the truth."
"I saved you from it," Serafina snapped, suddenly fierce. "You were never meant to be part of this war. But you came back. And now, the choice is yours."
She held out a hand.
"Come with me. Take back your legacy. Rule the Virelli name with me."
Luna stared at her.
This woman the same one who'd fed her lies, blood, and shadows now offered a throne built on bones.
"I don't want the legacy," Luna said softly. "I want the truth. And justice."
Serafina's smile faded. "Then you've made your choice."
From below, Luna heard Damien shout, "Luna get down!"
Too late.
A flash of light. An explosion. The platform rocked violently beneath her feet.
Luna lost her balance, tumbling over the railing.
And fell into the dark water below.
The cold hit her like a slap.
Luna plunged beneath the surface, the world above muffled by the crushing silence of the sea. Her coat, heavy with the journal tucked inside, dragged her downward. She kicked hard, teeth clenched, but the weight of everything truth, betrayal, legacy pulled her deeper.
A flash of memory. Smoke. Fire. Her mother's scream.
She pushed it back.
She was not that frightened child anymore.
Luna shrugged off the coat, freeing herself from its hold. Her lungs burned, screaming for air. With one final surge, she kicked upward and broke through the surface, gasping, eyes stinging.
Gunfire echoed from the docks above. Lights flared. Voices shouted.
Then a splash behind her.
Damien.
He surfaced beside her, breathing hard, scanning her quickly for wounds. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she choked out. "But the journal "
"We'll get it later," he growled, already pulling her toward a nearby boat moored under the pier. "Right now, we get out."
Luna let him drag her to safety, chest heaving, heart still racing with adrenaline and anger. As they climbed into the boat, she glanced back toward the platform.
Serafina stood at the edge again, watching them.
Not chasing.
Not shooting.
Just watching.
Like a wolf who had set something in motion and knew it was only the beginning.
Damien fired up the engine, and the small boat roared to life, cutting through the waves. Luna sat beside him, soaked to the bone, but fire burned beneath her skin.
"She said my father was betrayed," Luna said, voice low.
Damien didn't look at her, but his jaw tightened.
"She's not wrong," he said. "But she left out the part where she was the knife."
Luna looked out across the black water, eyes narrowing.
"She wants a war."
Damien gave a short nod. "And she just made it personal."
The boat vanished into the darkness, but Luna knew this wasn't over.
This was the spark.
And the storm was coming
The waves slapped against the sides of the boat as Damien pushed the throttle harder. Water sprayed over the edge, but Luna barely noticed. Her fingers were numb, her clothes clung like a second skin, and her heart… it hadn't slowed since the vault.
"Where are we going?" she asked finally, voice raw.
Damien's eyes remained on the open sea. "Someplace safe. For now."
"You knew she'd come."
"I knew she'd try. But I didn't think she'd dare set fire to Virelli soil."
Luna turned toward him. "She didn't care. She wanted to burn the past and bury me with it."
"You're not so easily buried," Damien said, glancing at her. "And Serafina just made a mistake. She reminded you of who you are."
Luna didn't answer. Her gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the sky bled into the water. The weight of the journal she'd just sacrificed pressed on her chest. But even heavier was the truth inside her a truth that had begun to claw its way to the surface.
She remembered the words her father used to whisper when she was a girl: Power doesn't protect you. Fear does. Make them fear what you carry in your name.
She hadn't understood it then.
She did now.
Damien slowed the engine as they neared a quiet cove. An old boathouse came into view, tucked beneath an overhang of twisted rock and ivy.
Luna exhaled. Her muscles ached, but her mind was sharper than it had been in years. She had stared into the fire, into her past, and emerged alive.
She was done running.
Done hiding.
This was her war now.
And she would end it on her terms.