The silence after the detonation wasn’t silence at all. It was ringing metal, settling dust, and the ragged sound of our own lungs fighting for air. The entire corridor stank of ozone and burnt wiring, the walls blackened where the Blacklist’s EMP charge had fried every system within reach.
We were alive. Barely.
I rolled onto my side, coughing dust from my throat, and caught sight of Adrian dragging himself upright. His jaw was clenched, his face streaked with blood, but his eyes—his eyes were sharp, already calculating.
“Everyone sound off!” he barked.
Kael groaned somewhere to my left. “Still here. Still pissed.” He cradled his leg, though, the jagged tear in his jeans stained deep crimson.
Nora rose from the shadows like smoke, her blade still wet with someone else’s blood. “Clear
