The doors erupted inward with a thunderous crack, splintering wood, showering like shrapnel across the study floor. Black-clad figures poured through the gaping entrance, appearing as sinister shadows, their knives and guns glinting ominously under the dim light.
Before I could react, Tristan thrust me behind him, acting as a protective barrier, but I wasn't about to cower. My blood pulsed in my ears, electrified by adrenaline as I gripped the heavy paperweight I had snatched from Edward's desk, my knuckles turning bone white.
"Down!" Tristan commanded, his voice sharp as he swiftly drew his weapon. The gun fired with a deafening blast that reverberated like thunder. One of the intruders fell, lifeless, while another staggered backbackwardsock evident on his face.
Yet they kept coming.
I bent low, my heart a wild drumbeat in my chest, my gaze honing in on one assailant breaking off from the group and heading straight for me.
"No, not this time," I said in my heart.
With a fierce determination, I swung the paperweight with all my strength, the satisfying impact connecting with his jaw in a sickening crunch. He reeled back, cursing through clenched teeth, and in a surge of rage, I struck again. For a fleeting moment, I transformed. I wasn't just the girl burdened with memories of rain and loss, but also a force fighting for survival.
"Ellie!" Tristan's voice sliced through the chaos, a mix of panic and pride lacing his words. He fired again, his shots resonating through the air, covering me as Edward positioned himself with the calm assurance of a man who had navigated through too many wars.
Another man lunged at us. Tristan intercepted him with brutal efficiency, slamming his body against the wall with a resounding thud. But behind Tristan, another figure raised his gun, deadly aim fixed on him.
Instinct overtook thought. I surged forward, shoving Tristan aside just as the shot rang out. The bullet zipped past, shattering the glass cabinet where Tristan's head had been an instant before.
He spun around, his eyes wide with a potent mix of rage and fear. "Ellie!"
But I was already in motion, scrambling for the fallen weapon that the attacker had dropped. My hands trembled with adrenaline, my chest heaved with each breath, yet when I lifted the gun, my grip was steady and resolute.
As the man charged, I found myself pulling the trigger. I can feel the recoil jolt through me, startling, and the assailant staggered back, collapsing to the floor in a lifeless heap.
An eerie silence descended. A heavy, suffocating blanket that smothered the room, broken only by the ragged sound of our heavy breathing. Three bodies lay sprawled across the ornate carpet, remnants of chaos, while the rest had fled, leaving only the acrid scent of gunpowder and the thunderous echo of my heartbeat in the aftermath.
Tristan turned toward me, his face drained of colour, his gun slowly lowering. His voice trembled, raw with emotion. "Do you know what could've happened just now? You, you could've been..."
"I wasn't," I interrupted, cutting him off, though my hands shook violently now that the adrenaline was waning. My chest burned with the weight of terror and exhilaration, the haunting knowledge that I would do it all again if it meant keeping him safe.
Edward's gaze swept over me, cold yet begrudgingly approving, a flicker of respect hidden beneath his stoic exterior. "She didn't break."
But Tristan pulled me against him, his arms forming an iron cage around my trembling frame.
In that moment, amidst the carnage and the fiery surge of life coursing through my veins, a profound truth settled within me.
I wasn't merely surviving in Tristan's world anymore. I had become a part of it.