Silver Blood, Twins Shadows.

*Sam* The weather today felt wrong. I crouched on the rooftop, silver hair tied back in a tight ponytail, the evening breeze slapping cold against my face. My sky-blue eyes narrowed as I studied the building below. Guards patrolled the perimeter like clockwork. Inside, five major gangs were already circling one target like sharks smelling blood in the water. Crimson Serpents. Iron Ravens. Obsidian Wolves. Venom Daggers. And the Shadow Syndicate — Ruger’s crew. My crew. And I was supposed to be the one to put the bullet in its head. Ruger’s voice still echoed in my skull from earlier that evening: “One last job, Nyx. Do this clean and you walk. No more blood. No more chains. Just like you wanted.” I wanted to believe him. God, I really did. After fifteen years of being his weapon, the idea of freedom felt almost cruel — like a joke I wasn’t allowed to laugh at. Marcus’s smug, venomous voice crackled through the earpiece. “Stick to the plan, Nyx. Don’t go lone wolf tonight. This one’s too big.” I ripped the earpiece out and crushed it under my boot. Let him bark orders at someone else. I worked better alone. Always had. My fingers brushed the small tracking device in my pocket. It vibrated softly, guiding me toward the target. I slipped through the service corridor, boots silent on the polished floor. Not long after, gunfire erupted below — the other gangs had finally arrived. Good. Chaos created openings. I dropped down silently from the ventilation shaft and scanned the floor. Marcus was already on the east side, leading Ruger’s team and shouting commands like he owned the night. Let him play soldier. My only concern was the device pulsing faster in my pocket the closer I got. Then I heard footsteps. Light. Desperate. A woman burst out of a side door ahead of me, clutching something tightly to her chest. Two guards flanked her, guns raised. Even from a distance, something about her made my stomach tighten. Long black hair streamed behind her like spilled ink. She moved with a strange, graceful urgency that didn’t belong in a place soaked in blood and greed. I raised my gun, lining up the shot. One clean bullet. Then I could go back to Eleanor, pay for her surgery, and finally walk away from all of this. She turned the corner. I followed silently. Then she stumbled into an open area where the dim emergency lights hit her face. My finger froze on the trigger. She looked… like me. No. Not just like me. She was me — if I had been born with raven-black hair and piercing emerald green eyes instead of silver and sky-blue. The same sharp cheekbones. The same full lips. The same stubborn jawline. For one heartbeat, the entire world narrowed to her face. My pulse roared in my ears. Who the hell are you? Why do you have my face? She was breathing hard, eyes wide with terror, but there was steel in them too. The bundle in her arms whimpered softly. A baby. Before I could process the impossible, gunfire erupted from the other side of the building. Bullets tore through the air. One caught her in the shoulder. She cried out but kept running, shielding the child with her body. I lowered my gun slightly. My instincts — usually ice-cold and reliable — were suddenly at war. This isn’t right. None of it feels right. Something deep in my chest twisted, a strange pull I couldn’t explain. She darted toward the exit, but two Venom Daggers stepped out of the shadows, weapons raised. She turned, trying desperately to protect the baby. Then another bullet slammed into her back. She staggered forward. Blood bloomed across her dark coat like deadly flowers. Her knees buckled and She fell. Something inside my chest cracked open. I moved without thinking, stepping out from my hiding spot. The two gang members turned their guns on me. I dropped them with two precise shots before they could even shout. I approached her slowly, gun still in hand but no longer aimed at her head. When I stepped into her view, time seemed to stop. Her emerald eyes met my sky-blue ones. For the first time in years, my hands trembled. We had the exact same face. “Who… are you?” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. The woman’s breathing came in shallow, wet gasps. She clutched the bundle tighter. “Please… don’t kill my child. He’s innocent. Take me instead. Just… let him live.” I said nothing. I wasn’t used to questions. I wasn’t used to hesitation. But something about this woman made me pause. The same face. The same delicate bone structure. The feeling of wrongness settled deep in my gut. Who is she? Why does looking at her feel like staring at a ghost of myself? A thin, pitiful cry pierced the air. The bundle moved. I lowered my gun further. I had killed many men. Women too. But never a child. Never a baby. The woman noticed the shift in my eyes. With the last of her strength, she reached out a trembling, bloodied hand. “He’s my son,” she gasped. “If they take him… they’ll use him. Or drain him.” That’s when it hit me — she wasn’t the target. The baby was. The baby’s cries grew louder. Something strange twisted in my chest — a pull I couldn’t explain. I knelt to her level. It felt like I was supposed to know this woman. Like I was supposed to protect that child. Marcus’s voice shouted from two floors above. “Nyx! If you’re down there, secure the target!” The woman’s eyes widened in fear. She grabbed my wrist with surprising strength for someone bleeding out. “Take him,” she begged. “Hide him. Protect him for five years. Then… return him to his father. Please. Grant me this one wish.” Tears mixed with the blood on her face. “I don’t know who you are… but I trust you.” She pushed the baby into my arms before I could refuse. He was warm, surprisingly heavy for such a tiny thing, and his small hand curled around my blood-stained finger as if he already trusted me. “His name is Kai,” she whispered. “Promise me… name him Kai.” Her green eyes — so similar yet so different from mine — began to lose focus. “Tell him… his mother loved him.” “Five years… then take him home.” Her body went slack. The baby — Kai — started to cry, a thin, helpless sound that cut straight through my carefully built armor. My hands were shaking. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be my last job. Clean. Simple. Then freedom. Instead, I had just watched a woman who looked exactly like me die… and taken the child of a man I didn’t even know. I should leave him. Walk away. Let the gangs sort it out. But Eleanor’s voice whispered in my head again: Find love. Live. I tucked the baby closer to my chest, shielding him from the violence and the cold. “I’ve got you,” I whispered, my voice breaking for the first time in years. “I’ve got you, little one.” Kai cried louder, snapping me out of my thoughts. Footsteps thundered down the corridor. More gunfire. Closer now. I had to move. I rose swiftly, tucking Kai securely inside my jacket. I headed for the large window at the end of the hallway. Rain hammered against the glass. Below was a fire escape and darkness — my best chance. I was halfway there when a cold voice stopped me. “Where the f**k do you think you’re going, Nyx?” Marcus stepped out from the shadows of an adjacent room, gun pointed straight at me. His eyes narrowed at the slight bulge beneath my jacket and the blood covering my hands and chest. Suspicion burned bright on his face. “Mission’s done,” I said flatly, not turning fully toward him. “Target’s eliminated.” “Bullshit.” Marcus took a step closer. “I saw you take something from that b***h. What are you hiding?” My mind raced. The window was only a few meters away. If I moved fast enough— “Don’t even think about it,” Marcus growled, his finger tightening on the trigger. “Hand it over. Ruger wants whatever that woman was protecting. And you know what happens when you disobey.” Kai whimpered softly against my chest. My jaw tightened. For the first time in years, the orders felt completely, sickeningly wrong.