The first sound was subtle. A scrape of gravel outside the relay station, so faint I thought I imagined it. Then came another. Then a third. The silence that followed was worse—like the world itself was bracing.
Adrian crouched near the door, gun angled low, every muscle wired tight. He lifted two fingers to signal quiet, then pressed his ear to the steel. His jaw clenched.
“They’re here,” he whispered.
Kael swore under his breath, hand tightening around his weapon. He looked pale, the bandage at his side blooming darker with every movement, but the fury in his eyes burned bright. “Finally. No more hiding.”
“Shut up,” Adrian hissed. “They’ll hear us.”
Nora stood in the corner, her knife glinting faintly in the dim glow of Adrian’s flashlight. She wasn’t panicked. She wasn’t even tense
