Chapter 6: Fire in the Dark
810 Words
(Arianna’s POV)
I woke up before the scream.
Something inside me shifted — that sharp, cold instinct that never went away.
The silence felt wrong.
Then I heard it.
A sharp cry.
Followed by gunfire.
I was already on my feet.
My boots hit the floor. My knives were in my hands.
The air smelled like smoke.
Someone had breached the estate.
---
Outside my door, chaos.
Guards running. Blood on the marble walls.
Flames flickering at the end of the hall.
A body slumped near the stairs — Maria.
Her shoulder was bleeding, but she was alive.
Barely.
She looked up at me.
"They’re here," she gasped. "They’re not from any crew we know."
I nodded once and moved on.
No time for questions.
Only survival.
---
I found Leo on the third floor.
Fighting.
Two men with rifles. One already dead.
He ducked behind a stone pillar, gun in one hand, knife in the other.
When he saw me, something in his face changed.
Relief.
Anger.
Fear.
"What took you so long?" he yelled.
I didn’t answer.
Just threw my blade.
It hit the man behind him — right between the ribs.
Leo turned.
"Nice shot."
He tossed me a pistol.
"They came from the east wall. Looks like ten or more."
Ten.
Amateurs.
---
We moved together.
Fast. Silent. Like shadows with teeth.
I covered his left, he covered mine.
It felt easy.
Natural.
Like we’d done this for years.
A man lunged at Leo with a blade — I shot him in the leg.
Another aimed at me from the balcony — Leo took him out with one clean shot to the head.
We were two bodies, one mind.
Every step we took closer to the garden was a step through hell.
Fire licked the hedges.
Screams echoed off the stone.
One of Leo’s men — Paolo — died near the fountain.
No time to mourn.
No time to blink.
---
At the center of the chaos stood a tall figure in gray.
Helmet. Black gloves. Strange rifle.
He turned when he saw us.
Raised the gun — aimed at Leo.
I didn’t think.
I ran.
Tackled Leo to the ground.
The shot hit the stone behind us.
Leo cursed. Rolled over me. Fired twice.
One hit. One miss.
The figure disappeared into smoke.
I sat up slowly.
Leo grabbed my arm.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
He didn’t let go.
---
When it was over, five guards were dead.
Three more wounded.
The attackers had escaped — except for one.
Unconscious, bleeding near the back gate.
Leo stood over him.
"Strip his mask."
One of the guards obeyed.
Underneath was a boy.
Maybe 17.
Sharp cheekbones. Pale skin. Tattoo near his collarbone — the same mark burned into my memories.
The Syndicate’s mark.
Leo looked at me.
"Yours?"
I nodded once.
He turned back to the guard.
"Lock him up. I want him breathing."
---
Later, I sat alone on the rooftop, watching smoke rise from the garden.
The wind was cold.
My arms were bruised. My shirt stained.
But I felt… alive.
Strange.
I used to feel nothing after kills.
Just silence.
Tonight, I felt everything.
Fear. Adrenaline. Anger.
But also something else.
Connection.
---
Footsteps behind me.
I didn’t turn.
Leo sat beside me, quiet for a moment.
Then:
"You saved my life."
I looked at him.
He shrugged.
"Again."
I raised my eyebrow.
He smiled slightly.
"I’m starting to think you like me."
I rolled my eyes.
He leaned back against the roof tiles.
"Those men... They weren’t here for me."
I nodded.
"They were after you."
He didn’t say it like a question.
Just truth.
"This is bigger than both of us, isn’t it?"
I hesitated.
Then nodded again.
---
He was quiet for a while.
Then:
"You looked different when you fought tonight."
"Not just skilled. Wild. Alive."
"It scared me."
I blinked.
"Not because you were dangerous."
"But because I didn’t want you to die."
The wind shifted.
Soft and cool against my skin.
I didn’t know what to do with those words.
They sank into me like rain.
Unwanted.
But needed.
Leo looked at me.
"You’re not just a weapon, Arianna."
"You're a person."
He paused.
"You can stay, if you want."
My chest tightened.
Stay?
No one ever gave me that choice.
I always ran. Or hid. Or obeyed.
But stay?
I looked down at my hands.
They were still stained with blood.
Could someone like me ever stay?
I didn’t answer.
But I didn’t walk away, either.
---
That night, I dreamed of the facility.
Steel walls. Screaming halls. Cold beds.
Mercer’s voice echoing:
"You’re not human. You’re made for pain."
But when I woke up…
I heard Leo’s voice instead.
"You can stay."
And for the first time in years, I wasn’t afraid of the morning.
- Writer
