Ashes of truth
1015 Words
The hangar was quiet again. The hum of old fluorescent lights above flickered as Aria stood there, a folder clutched in one hand, her spine impossibly straight.
Knox watched her like a man watching a star collapse. Controlled. Cold. But on the verge of something destructive.
She turned away from him, heart still thudding. Her breath felt tight in her lungs as she moved toward the worktable and slowly set the folder down. A weapon in its own right.
Knox broke the silence. “You meant it, didn’t you?”
Aria didn’t look at him. “Every word.”
He stepped closer. “Power isn’t safe, Aria. It consumes. It kills.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “So does being powerless.”
A flicker of pride passed through his expression. But there was a shadow behind it too—something unreadable. Something protective… or possessive. Maybe both.
“I’ll train you,” he said finally. “You want to stop being a pawn? Then you’ll learn how to play the game like a king.”
She turned fully then. “Good. Because I’m done letting everyone else decide how the story ends.”
Knox took a breath. “Then we start tomorrow. Weapons. Intel. Strategy.”
Her jaw clenched. “No. We start tonight.”
He raised a brow. “Why?”
She reached for the phone in her coat pocket—the burner Knox had provided. She pulled it out, fingers moving fast as she dialed the only number that mattered.
It rang once. Twice.
Then—“Hello?” A soft, tired voice on the other end.
Aria’s throat closed. “Lila.”
A pause. Then: “Aria?”
Aria closed her eyes, the sound of her little sister’s voice nearly knocking her breathless. “It’s me, baby. I’m okay.”
Tears stung Aria’s eyes. “I’m safe. I swear. But how are you feeling? Really?”
There was a silence on the other end. Then: “Worse.”
Just one word. Quiet. Honest. It shattered something inside her.
“I need to see you,” Aria whispered. “I’m coming to you, okay? Soon.”
“You shouldn’t,” Lila said weakly. “They’re watching—Dad’s men. They come sometimes. Ask about you.”
Aria’s blood went cold.
“I’ll handle it,” she said. “Just hold on a little longer.”
“Promise?” Lila asked.
“I promise.”
She ended the call before her voice could break completely.
Knox was silent behind her. Until he finally said, “Your sister?”
Aria turned to him. “She’s dying, Knox. And I’m stuck in your war while she’s lying in a second-rate hospital with machines that fail more than they work.”
She stepped closer, rage simmering just beneath her skin. “You said I’d be paid.”
He nodded. “You will.”
“I need the first payment now. Tonight. I’m moving her to a private facility. One with real doctors. Real treatment. No more delays.”
Knox studied her for a beat—then reached into the inside pocket of his coat and handed her a slim, black card.
“Unlimited access. Untraceable. Do what you have to do.”
Aria stared at the card, then at him. “Why are you helping?”
His voice was low. “Because I can’t undo what I’ve done. But I can make sure you don’t lose anyone else.”
She took the card. No thank-you. No smile.
Just a nod.
Then she turned away and walked out of the hangar into the cold night.
She didn’t cry.
She didn’t tremble.
She had a war to fight—and a sister to save.
And tomorrow?
Tomorrow, she would become someone else entirely.
The wind bit at her cheeks as Aria stepped out into the dead airfield, gravel crunching beneath her boots. The sky above was an endless black void, dotted with cold stars—silent witnesses to a war she never asked to fight.
She paced toward the car alone, clutching the black card so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Somewhere behind her, the hangar door creaked shut, and she could feel Knox’s gaze lingering, even through layers of metal and shadow. Watching. Calculating. Maybe even regretting.
But she didn’t turn around.
She couldn’t afford to.
She slid into the passenger seat, heart thudding, and stared straight ahead, jaw clenched. A minute passed. Then two.
The car door opened.
Knox slipped inside. Wordless. Still carrying that lethal calm like armor.
He started the engine, but she stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“One more thing,” she said, her voice sharp.
He looked at her.
Aria faced him fully now, her eyes ice. “There’s someone feeding them information. Someone who knows where we go, what we know, how to hit us.”
“A mole?” Knox asked.
“I don’t think—” she paused. “No. I know there is. That breach wasn’t random. Zurich wasn’t random. They knew about the Prague apartment. About the drive.”
Knox’s features tightened. “I’ve suspected the same. I just haven’t found who.”
“Then find them,” she said coldly. “Or I will.”
He stared at her for a long moment, expression unreadable. “You’ve changed.”
“No,” she said. “I’m just seeing clearly now.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then—Knox’s voice, low. “Be careful with clarity, Aria. Sometimes it burns.”
She didn’t flinch. “So does betrayal.”
He nodded, started the engine, and the car rumbled to life.
They drove through the dark, headlights slicing the night as the forest swallowed the road ahead.
Aria sat back, exhaling slowly, her mind racing.
Her father had lied.
Her mother had died.
Knox had kept truths buried in shadows.
But now?
Now, it was her turn.
Her choices.
Her war.
And if anyone stood in her way—ally, enemy, or even the man beside her—
She’d burn them to the ground.
- Writer
