Chapter 6
978 Words
Aria POV
24 hours.
That’s what the text said.
Maya had 24 hours.
I was already dressed, Black pants. Black shirt. Boots.
Damien’s gun was heavy in my bag.
Damien was on the phone in the hall.
"No," he was saying. "I’m not negotiating. You give me 2 hours."
He hung up and looked at me.
His eyes were gold. Angry. Tired.
"Change of plans," he said. "We’re not going to the docks."
"Why?" I asked. "Maya is there."
"No," he said. "She’s not. Lucas moved her an hour ago. My tracker just pinged."
"Where?"
"Blackthorne warehouse. Pier 9," he said. "And the Council is there too."
My stomach dropped. "So it’s a trap."
"It’s always been a trap," he said. "Question is, whose trap."
He grabbed my hand. "Come. We leave in five."
The car ride was silent.
Damien kept checking his mirrors. Checking his gun.
I kept looking at my phone. No new texts.
"What’s the plan?" I asked finally.
"You stay in the car," he said.
"No."
"Aria—"
"I said no," I said. "She’s my sister. I’m going in."
Damien slammed the brakes. The car skidded.
He turned to me. "You don’t understand what they’ll do to you."
"Then teach me," I said. "Right now."
He stared at me. Then he cursed and got out.
He came around and opened my door. Pulled me out.
"Here," he said. He handed me a gun. Small. Black.
"This is a safety," he said. He showed me. "This is the trigger. Don’t point it at anything you don’t want to kill."
"I can do that," I said.
"I know you can," he said. "But I need you to listen. When I say run, you run. When I say hide, you hide. And when I say get down, you get down."
"Got it."
"Good." He pulled me against him. Kissed my forehead. "Because I’m not losing you."
We drove the last block.
The warehouse was dark. One light on.
And in that light, Maya.
Tied to a chair. Gagged. Lucas standing behind her with a knife to her throat.
And around them, 10 Council men.
Damien stopped the car.
"Stay here," he said. "Lock the doors."
I didn’t answer.
He got out. I got out.
"Aria!" Damien snapped. "Get back in the car."
"No," I said. "This ends now."
We walked forward. Together.
Lucas smiled when he saw us. "Took you long enough."
"Let her go," Damien said.
"Not until I get what I was promised," Lucas said. "The girl. The blood."
"The Council promised you money," Damien said. "I’ll give you double. Walk away."
Lucas laughed. "It’s not about money anymore, Alpha. It’s about her." He looked at me. "She left me. For you. I want to watch you break."
Maya made a sound behind the gag. Tears in her eyes.
"Last chance," Damien said. "Let her go."
"No," Lucas said. He pressed the knife harder. A drop of blood ran down Maya’s neck.
I moved before I thought.
I ran.
"Aria!" Damien yelled.
I didn’t stop.
I was 10 feet from Maya when Lucas turned the knife on me.
"Stop," Damien said. His voice was deadly calm. "Or I will kill him."
"Try it," Lucas said.
Damien raised his gun.
And the warehouse doors exploded.
Council.
More Council. Pouring in.
"Drop your weapons!" someone yelled.
Damien didn’t drop his. He grabbed me and pulled me down.
Gunfire.
"Get to cover!" he yelled.
I crawled behind a crate. Maya was 5 feet away.
Lucas was dragging her toward a back door.
"Damien!" I yelled.
He looked at me. Then at Lucas.
He made a choice.
He ran for Lucas.
I ran for Maya.
We met in the middle.
I threw myself on her. Cut the ropes with the glass shard from my palm.
"Maya, go," I said. "Run!"
She ran.
Lucas grabbed me instead.
He had his arm around my throat. Knife at my ribs.
"Now we talk," he said in my ear. "You and me."
Damien stopped. 10 feet away. Gun aimed.
"Let her go," he said.
"Make me," Lucas said. "You want her? Come and get her."
Damien didn’t move.
"Fine," he said. "You want a deal?"
"What kind of deal?"
"You get to walk out of here alive," Damien said. "And I get her."
Lucas laughed. "Deal."
He loosened his grip for one second.
One second was all Damien needed.
He fired.
The bullet hit Lucas in the shoulder.
Lucas screamed and let go.
I dropped.
Damien was on me in a second. Pulling me up.
"Are you hit?" he asked.
"No," I said.
Behind us, the Council was closing in.
Damien grabbed my hand.
"Run," he said.
We ran.
Out the back. Into the alley.
Maya was already there, waiting. Crying.
I hugged her. "You’re okay. You’re okay."
"Go," Damien said. "Car’s there."
We got in. He drove. Fast.
Nobody followed.
For ten minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Damien’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered on speaker.
"Alpha Blackthorne," a voice said. Elder Vance. "That was impressive."
"What do you want?" Damien asked.
"The girl," Vance said. "Or we take her. And her sister. And everyone you love."
"You can try," Damien said.
"Oh, we will," Vance said. "Blood Moon. 29 days. Bring her to the Council Spire. Or we start killing."
The line went dead.
Damien looked at me.
Then at Maya in the back seat.
"Pack your things," he said quietly. "We’re leaving the city. Tonight."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To find the only people who can help us," he said.
"To find the Ronans."
My blood went cold.
"The family that killed your family?"
"The same," he said. "Because if your blood is Ronan, then they’re the only ones who know how to save you."
He looked at me.
"And to save you, I’ll burn the world down."
- Writer
