"Some lovers bring flowers. Others bring fire."
---
NYRA – SAFEHOUSE, NIGHT
My blade was under the pillow.
The moonlight slid across the floor like a warning.
Then I felt her. Before I saw her.
The air turned still. My skin prickled.
> "You left the window open," she whispered.
Celeste.
I didn't turn. I knew she was behind me. Closer than breath.
> "And you still wear my perfume," she added, almost purring.
> "Or maybe I wear war now," I said coldly.
She laughed softly. Darkly.
> "You smell like revenge. It suits you."
Her fingers grazed my spine.
> "Why are you here?"
> "To give you a choice. Kill me. Or kiss me."
I turned slowly.
Celeste stood in red. Lipstick smeared. A knife in one hand, rose petals in the other.
> "One of us dies tonight," I whispered.
> "Or we both live, bleeding."
I lunged.
Steel met steel. Her blade caught mine. We spun like dancers. She slashed—missed. I elbowed her shoulder. She laughed through the sting.
> "Still beautiful when you hate me," she hissed.
We crashed into the mirror. Glass shattered.
Blood ran down her lip.
She kissed me.
Hard. Desperate. Hungry.
I shoved her off.
> "This isn't love."
> "It's not," she whispered. "It's obsession that learned to walk on two legs."
She tossed the knife down. Arms out.
> "If you want me dead, do it. But if you don't—let me protect what's inside you."
I froze.
> "You know?"
> "I knew before you did. I always felt your body like mine."
She stepped back.
> "You'll need someone who loves you without limits. Men have lines. I don't."
And then she was gone.
Like a storm that kissed and cut.
---
AARAV – KRAY'S STUDY
He found the folder.
His own birth certificate.
Mother: Nyra. Father: Name… redacted.
He flipped the page.
Photo. Kray. Younger. Standing beside an incubator.
A note: Project Lazarus.
Aarav stared at the word.
> "I was made… not born?"
Kray entered.
> "Now you know. You're not a son. You're a weapon."
Aarav dropped the folder and ran.
---
LEO – BASEMENT HALL
He found Kai's jacket.
Blood-stained. Torn.
No body.
A phone pinged nearby. One message:
> "If you want him back—bring Nyra. Alone."
---
NYRA – ROOFTOP, SUNRISE
I watched the city burn under morning gold.
I didn't cry.
Celeste was right. I was past love.
Only loyalty, obsession, and legacy remained.
> "If they want to hurt my child," I whispered to the wind, "they'll have to kill me first. And this time, I won't come back gentle."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…