The metal door exploded inward.
The sound echoed through the warehouse like thunder, shards of rusted steel skidding across the concrete floor. Dust rose into the air, turning the dim light into a hazy fog.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"They're not subtle," I muttered.
Kael didn't respond.
He was already moving.
His blade slid free from its sheath with a sharp metallic whisper as he stepped forward, positioning himself between me and the broken entrance.
Then the hunters walked in.
One.
Two.
Three.
More shadows filled the doorway until I counted twelve figures slowly stepping into the warehouse.
All cloaked.
All silent.
All watching.
Their glowing eyes locked onto me.
The air inside the building suddenly felt heavier, like the room itself understood what was about to happen.
"Well," I said under my breath, "that's definitely more than yesterday."
Kael's voice was calm but firm.
"Remember your training."
"I remember nearly dying during it."
"Then try not to repeat the experience."
A hunter stepped forward from the group.
Taller than the others.
His cloak shifted slightly as he moved, revealing thin silver markings running across his armor.
"Adrian Cole," the hunter said.
His voice was distorted behind the mask, mechanical and cold.
"You are required to surrender."
I blinked.
"Surrender?"
"Yes."
"And if I don't?"
The hunter tilted his head slightly.
"Then termination will be carried out."
I looked at Kael.
"Very polite murderers."
Kael didn't take his eyes off them.
"They follow a code."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
The lead hunter raised his hand slowly.
"Final warning."
I sighed and rolled my shoulders.
"You know," I said loudly, "I really appreciate the offer. But I'm going to pass."
For half a second, no one moved.
Then the hunter lowered his hand.
"Termination authorized."
Everything exploded into motion.
Two hunters lunged forward instantly.
My bloodline reacted before my brain could.
Darkness surged up from the concrete floor like a living wave.
The first hunter swung a blade toward my neck.
I ducked.
A tendril of shadow wrapped around his arm and yanked him sideways into a stack of crates.
The second hunter attacked from behind.
A sharp kick slammed into my back, sending me stumbling forward.
"Okay," I gasped, "still hate fighting multiple people."
Kael's blade flashed across the room.
One hunter collapsed instantly, disarmed and unconscious before he even understood what happened.
Another lunged toward Kael.
Their weapons collided with a ringing metallic clash.
Meanwhile, three hunters circled me.
"Seriously?" I groaned. "Do I look like the bigger threat here?"
One of them answered by throwing a small metallic sphere at my feet.
It burst open with a loud hiss.
Black smoke erupted around me.
My vision disappeared.
"Cheap trick!" I shouted.
A blade sliced through the smoke toward my chest.
Instinct took over.
The bloodline surged violently.
Shadows exploded outward from my body, knocking the hunter backward.
Another shape emerged through the smoke from the side.
I twisted and slammed a wave of darkness into his legs, sending him crashing into the floor.
My heart was racing now.
The bloodline pulsed harder with every second.
And something inside me was changing.
The fear was still there.
But it was… fading.
Replacing it was something colder.
Sharper.
Focus.
A hunter charged through the smoke again.
This time I didn't hesitate.
The shadows moved faster than before, wrapping around his arms and slamming him into the wall.
The concrete cracked.
I stared at my hands.
"Okay… that was new."
Across the warehouse, Kael was fighting four hunters at once.
His movements were precise and brutal.
Every strike was efficient.
Every step calculated.
One hunter lunged at him from the side.
Kael caught the blade with his own weapon and twisted sharply, disarming the attacker before driving a kick into his chest.
The hunter flew across the room.
But more kept coming.
"Adrian!" Kael shouted.
"Working on it!"
Two more hunters rushed me simultaneously.
One high.
One low.
I stepped backward, letting the shadows guide my movement.
A coil of darkness wrapped around the lower hunter's leg.
I yanked.
He crashed to the floor.
The second hunter swung a curved blade toward my head.
I raised my arm instinctively.
The shadows hardened like armor.
The blade struck the darkness and bounced off.
The hunter hesitated.
That was his mistake.
A burst of shadow energy slammed into him and sent him skidding across the floor.
For a brief moment, the warehouse went quiet again.
Seven hunters were down.
Five remained.
The lead hunter stepped forward once more.
His glowing eyes studied me carefully.
"Bloodline confirmed," he said.
I wiped sweat from my forehead.
"You needed twelve people to confirm that?"
The hunter ignored the comment.
"Your power is unstable."
"Yeah, I've heard that before."
"You will not survive what is coming."
I smirked slightly.
"You guys keep saying things like that."
The hunter raised his blade slowly.
"But you misunderstand," he continued.
"We are not the greatest threat to you."
Something about the way he said that made my stomach tighten.
Before I could respond, Kael spoke.
"Enough talking."
The lead hunter glanced at him.
"You were once one of us."
The room froze.
My head snapped toward Kael.
"Wait… what?"
Kael's voice was cold.
"That life ended long ago."
The hunter tilted his head.
"You cannot escape what you are."
Kael's grip on his blade tightened.
"Watch me."
Then he moved.
Faster than I'd ever seen before.
His blade flashed through the air, clashing against the lead hunter's weapon in a burst of sparks.
The remaining hunters rushed forward again.
I stepped beside Kael.
"Well," I said, summoning the shadows around my hands, "guess we're finishing this."
Kael didn't look at me.
"Stay alive."
"That's the plan."
The hunters attacked.
But this time…
I was ready.
The bloodline roared inside my chest.
Shadows surged across the warehouse floor like a living tide.
And for the first time since this war began…
The hunters were the ones being pushed back.