Alya
Hule's grip was iron-tight on my arm as he shook me once, knocking the air from my lungs.
I exhaled sharply, nodding. Gun. Target. Fire. That's what mattered. That's what I had been trained for.
"We need to find Siege!" Hule's voice was urgent, but his eyes were darting, analyzing, calculating.
"Who's doing this?" My voice barely found its way out before another hail of bullets forced us to press against the cold earth.
We were too exposed. We needed cover.
Hule must have had the same thought because he pulled me to my feet again, dragging me toward the black cars parked near the second warehouse.
Why that one?
I glanced over my shoulder, my mind racing.
Why did they attack the first warehouse and not this one?
My stomach twisted.
Someone knew we were here. Someone knew about the arrangement between Siege and Isamu if the intention was to blow up the place we agreed to meet. Then that meant Isamu's paranoia was justified. He must have sensed that this meeting was doomed from the start. And now he was right, the consequences for Siege would be nothing short of catastrophic.
"Wan," I muttered.
Hule's jaw clenched. "Isamu."
We came to the same realization at the same time. This wasn't just an attack. This was a test. And Wan Isamu was either the bait or the executioner.
I started to move.
"We need to help them—"
A hand caught my arm, yanking me back so hard I nearly stumbled.
His grip was iron-tight, his fingers digging into my sleeve as he pulled me against the frame of a rusted car. His body followed, pressing close as he peeked through the shattered window, his breath controlled, measured.
"I don't know whether you have survival instincts or not, but you can't 'help' them," he hissed. His voice was low, sharp, barely audible over the chaos beyond us.
Through the broken glass, I could see it—the wreckage, the fire painting everything in violent shades of orange and red. The screaming, the gunfire, the way bodies darted between the wrecked buildings and burning cars like ghosts in the night. But Hule's grip on my arm wasn't shaking. He wasn't scared. He was restraining me.
"You'll be dead before you know it."
He wasn't wrong.
But what struck me wasn't his words—it was the fact that he cared enough to stop me. If anything, he should be glad to see me dead. That was how things worked between us. He was Siege's golden boy, the one who followed orders without hesitation. If Siege had ever given the command to kill me, Hule wouldn't have questioned it. He would've carried it out like it meant nothing. The man took 'teacher's pet' to another level. So why was he holding me back now? I didn't get the chance to ask. A second explosion ripped through the surroundings, shaking the ground beneath us. The impact wasn't as devastating as the first, but it was close. Too close. Heat flashed against my face. Black smoke churned into the night, thick and suffocating, making the world even darker. I coughed, my eyes burning as I tried to see through the haze. The moment stretched too long. Then I saw them.