“Run.”
That’s the last word I see on his lips before the world explodes in red and blue.
I don’t run. I freeze. The air tastes like metal, my pulse is like thunder. The front door hangs open, rain pouring in, lights from squad cars slicing through the smoke.
Two officers rush past me, shouting commands I can’t hear. Another one grabs Valen by the arm. He doesn’t resist. His body goes still, like a wolf deciding not to fight the snare.
“Get down!” someone yells, but I’m already on my knees, hands over my head, the shards of glass cutting into my palms.
“Valen!” I scream.
He looks back once,eyes calm, distant. That same impossible calm that terrifies me more than any weapon could.
They slam him against the wall, cuff him, start reading rights that sound more like threats. Someone step
