The lights cut out like someone had ripped the city from its sockets.
Darkness swallowed the cell, thick and choking. Only the thrum of generators and the stutter of boots echoed in the black.
Catalina clutched Gabriel tighter. His small hands dug into her nightgown. Isa’s voice hissed somewhere near the wall—sharp, panicked, “Stay down, Cat. Don’t move.”
Lucien’s growl tore through the dark. “Diego!”
The c***k of rifles split the air, muzzle flashes carving lightning into the room. Sparks rained. Screams followed. Men dropped like stones.
Catalina pressed Gabriel to her chest, trembling, the heat of gunpowder scraping her lungs. She could feel Lucien moving—an animal unleashed—every gunshot punctuated by his roars.
Diego laughed. In the chaos, his voice was steady and smooth. “You c
