Midnight.
The warehouse is old, bones of brick and rust. The Flock's symbol — the crowned crow — sprayed in blood above the chained girl who used to laugh over cheap coffee in the morgue breakroom.
Jess whimpers against the duct tape. Her wrists bleed where she's fought the ropes. In the corners, the Flock's shadows whisper and giggle — waiting for the Raven to come hunting.
And she does.
---
Above the Killing Floor
Selene crouches in the beams — a phantom stitched in rain and rage. Her cloak drips red from the last sentry she gutted on the roof. Her breath mists under the cracked skylight — talon blades gleam black as her thoughts.
Micah's voice scratches in her ear. He's far away but closer than her own heartbeat.
> "Whole place is wired, Selene. Trip alarms, backup. Crow wants your head on livestream. If you go loud—"
She cuts him off with a whisper: "I'm not coming back quiet."
---
Inside
The Flock's leader for the night — a grinning runt called Knox — struts past Jess, tapping her bruised cheek with the flat of a switchblade.
> "Hey there, sweetheart. Guess who's coming to say goodnight? Gonna pluck you both clean."
Jess cries. Tiny sounds. Her mind drifts in and out. She whispers one name through the tape:
> "Selene…"
---
The Descent
Lightning flickers — thunder cracks — the skylight explodes. A black shape falls like a dying star.
Selene hits the floor in silence — cloak unfurls — blades hum. Knox spins, knife raised.
He never lands the swing.
Her talons rake his throat open. Warm spray paints the floor. His boots scuff the concrete as he drops twitching.
The Flock erupts — three thugs lunge. One catches a blade under his ribs. Another takes a throwing feather in the eye socket. The third swings a pipe — catches her shoulder — she twists, pivots, breaks his arm backward at the elbow.
Micah's voice is static and screams: "They're cutting the feed, Selene — it's Crow, he's here, he's—"
She doesn't hear him anymore. The mask is all that breathes now.
---
The Rescue
Selene drops to Jess's side — rips the tape free. Jess gasps, sobbing. Her fingers claw at Selene's cowl, smearing grime and blood.
> "I knew— I knew it was you— I— I—"
Selene cuts her bonds fast, whispering: "Quiet now. Breathe. Head down."
Jess clings to her like a child clutching a ghost.
---
The Betrayal's Teeth
A hidden door rattles open behind the rusted machinery — more masked Flock pour out. A single figure stands among them, motionless, taller than the rest.
A man in a crow mask — gold crown painted on black, voice like poison and silk.
> "I wanted your father's eyes once," King Crow purrs. "Tonight I'll settle for yours."
Selene rises — cloak dragging blood trails behind her. Jess tries to hold her hand — but she steps forward alone.
Crow's guards fan out, machetes glinting under the flickering bulbs.
Selene rolls her shoulders — blade triggers snap in her gauntlets.
> "You should've stayed in the dark," Crow taunts.
Her voice is calm death: "I am the dark."
---
The Clash
She moves. The guards crash in — metal screams. Blades catch on bone. Selene whirls, strikes, rolls. A machete scrapes her ribs — she doesn't feel it. A boot to her knee — she drops, sweeps, severs a tendon.
Jess crawls behind broken crates — hands pressed to her ears, tears mixing with grime.
King Crow circles — never dirty, never close. Watching his myth burn out in real time.
Micah's voice cuts in: "Ward's here — he's inside — Selene, they know you're—"
She sees him too late.
---
Detective Ward
Ward storms through the shattered side door — gun drawn, shouting over the chaos.
> "RAVEN! DROP THE BLADES! HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE—"
He stops dead when he sees Jess — sees Selene. No mask could hide those eyes now.
For a second — everything freezes. Thunder cracks overhead. The only sound is Jess's sobs.
> "Selene…?" Ward breathes it like a confession.
Crow laughs. That cold, vicious laugh.
> "What a sweet tragedy — the hero and her hound."
---
The Final Strike
Crow snaps his fingers. A hidden blade arcs toward Jess's neck — but Selene is already moving.
She crosses the space in a heartbeat — a blur of cloak and talons. The blade meant for Jess buries in Selene's shoulder instead.
She doesn't scream — just spins, carves Crow's masked face with a slash so fast the world can't catch it.
Ward fires — two rounds drop the last guard lunging at Jess.
Micah's drones dive in through broken windows — spinning blades and sparks. Chaos. Shouts. Rain pouring through the busted roof like baptism.
Crow retreats — blood trailing behind his shredded mask. His laughter echoes in the broken warehouse ribs.
> "You can't save them all, little bird. You never could."
---
After
Jess is safe — cradled by Ward's coat. Selene slumps beside her, blood leaking through the talon gauntlet she used as a shield.
Ward crouches. Holsters his gun. Meets her eyes. No mask between them now.
> "I should cuff you. Drag you in."
She coughs a bitter laugh. "Do it."
He doesn't. He just stares at her — at the woman behind the feathers. The broken girl. The myth he spent his life hunting.
Jess whispers: "Selene… please… don't go…"
But Selene's already slipping into the dark — Micah's voice a lifeline in her ear, dragging her back through the storm.
---
Far Away
King Crow's mask sits cracked on a warehouse floor. But his smile is intact as he watches new screens flicker to life — riots blooming, copycat crimes, vigilantes imitating myths.
> "Let the bird bleed. A wounded predator always eats the city alive."
---
END OF CHAPTER TEN