I was seeing her lifeless body Her body was cold in my arms but there was still hope she was breathing
Shallow Unsteady But alive
The bullet didn't take her heart and that their first mistake
They won't survive now
The bodies will trace over every inch now
The car swerved around the bend, tires screaming against the pavement.
My men sat stone-faced in the front seats, but I saw it in their eyes - fear.
Not for her.
For me.
Because when I lose control, cities burn.
> "I need more pressure on the wound," the medic said, snapping open a field kit.
"If we don't - "
> "She's not dying tonight," I growled.
"Not on my watch. Not in my f**king arms.
Her head tilted toward me, barely.
Blood on her lips.
A whisper like a ghost.
> "Blackwell…"
My heart stopped.
> "I'm here," I said quickly. "I'm right here."
She blinked - slow, dazed - and whispered:
> "They missed… my heart."
God.
That line.
It almost made me lose it.
I kissed her forehead, voice breaking for the first time in years.
> "Then they're going to wish they hadn't."
"Because now I'm not just coming for answers…"
"I'm coming for war."
10 Minutes Later - Hope Private Clinic
She was rushed inside.
Blood trailing behind.
Monitors screaming. Doctors yelling.
I stood outside the operating room, watching through glass, unable to move.
Marcus stepped up beside me, voice low.
> "The shooter's dead."
> "Good."
> "But there's more."
I didn't speak. I just stared at the blood soaking her bandages.
> "We traced his payment."
"He wasn't hired to kill you."
"The contract was exclusively on her.
The words hit harder than the gunshot.
Who the hell wants her dead?" I asked.
"We don't know yet," he said. "But the message was clear."
He handed me a blood-stained envelope - pulled from the shooter's pocket.
I opened it.
Inside was a single line, handwritten in crimson ink:
She knows what she did
Her breathing was shallow.
But she was alive.
And that was the most terrifying part.
Because when you survive something meant to end you…
you don't come back the same.
Neither does the person who almost lost you.
I stood at the window of my private clinic, rain slicking down the glass like it had something to cry about.
Her blood was still under my nails.
It hadn't washed off.
Not in the shower.
Not in the sink.
Not in my head.
> "You didn't see her eyes," I said aloud.
Marcus stood silent behind me.
He knew not to interrupt when I got like this - not angry, but dangerously quiet.
> "She wasn't just scared," I murmured.
"She was sorry."
> "Boss," he said, finally. "We traced more than the payment."
I turned, slow.
> "Talk."
> "The contract came through an encrypted net used by former government operatives. High-clearance stuff. Hidden IDs. You can't buy access to that level.
> "Unless you've already had it," I said coldly
He nodded.
> "Which means whoever wants her dead isn't just rich."
"They're trained. Political. Connected.
I looked back at her through the glass - unconscious, bandaged, still beautiful even half-broken.
> "She lied to me," I muttered.
> "You still love her."
> "That's not the f**king point," I snapped.
"Love doesn't matter when lies like this get you killed."
✦ Inside the Room
She woke up hours later.
Slow. Careful. Like even her bones remembered the bullet.
> "Still here?" she rasped, voice raw like scraped stone
> "You sound disappointed.
> "You sound scared.
I turned toward her. She was pale. But her eyes - God, those eyes still had fire in them.
> "You were the target," I said. "And you knew."
Silence.
> "You almost died in my arms. Do I deserve the truth?"
She didn't look at me. Just stared at the ceiling.
> "What I did before you… I did for survival. But people died. And I left someone behind I shouldn't have."
I felt the burn in my chest before I even understood it.
> "Who?"
> "My sister."
I blinked.
What?
> "They used her to get to me," she whispered. "They're not after me because of what I did."
"They're after me because I got away."
I stepped closer, voice dark.
> "Who. The. F**k. Is they?"
She turned, eyes meeting mine, wet and wide with something between fear and memory.
> "They called it The kings ," she said. "I was part of it.
I worked for them for years
Vael's in shocked
She's bleeding , broken, and holding the truth
The air is thick with everything Unsaid betrayal, Obsession and a past darker than i thought
Her voice wasn't weak anymore It was hallow Flat like she'd buried this
My pluse slowed
And everything inside me burned
"The king "? You said I asked
She looked at me with her beautiful Hazel eyes that used to be pretty now they were just haunted.....
' He took me into his wing when i had no name, no past Just rage
He didn't break me she added eyes locked on mine
He built me
I stare at her like I didn't recognize her
So what were you to him?
" his storm " She said
" His weapon " She said
" He taught me how to kill with a look How to make the world fear a woman who started with nothing "
" He gave you power" i murmured
Yes she said
"I realized powers means nothing if it's mine
Silence.
I felt like a fool - bleeding for a woman carved by another man's hands.
But then she looked at me with something raw. Real. Human.
> "You want the truth, Blackwell?"
"He gave me everything… except a way out."
> "So I took one."
I stepped closer.
> "And now he wants you dead?
> "No," she whispered. "Worse."
"He wants me back."
> "You're mine now," I growled.
> "Then prepare to fight for me," she said.
"Because the King doesn't let go of his creations."
Gunshots outside. Fast. Controlled. A message.
Marcus stormed in, holding a black envelope with a gold seal.
> "He's here," he said breathlessly.
"Message came in directly to our gate."
I took the envelope, sliced it open.
Inside, one card:
> "Return the Queen. Or be crowned in ash"
-k
He stared at the note, his jaw tightening.
> "So he knows."
She didn't look surprised.
Didn't even blink.
> "He always knows," she said. "He probably knew before I ever stepped into your world."
> "And now he's claiming you like some… possession," Blackwell growled
> "Because I was," she said, voice calm.
"Not anymore."
He walked toward her slowly, still holding the card like it burned in his hand.
> "Do you want to go back?"
She looked up, eyes sharp.
> "If I did, I wouldn't be bleeding in your bed, Blackwell."
He tossed the note on the table. It landed like a warning shot.
> "Then we fight."
She gave a weak smirk.
> "You don't know what you're getting into."
> "Neither does he."
---
The room fell silent.
Outside, the wind howled like something ancient and hungry.
Then she spoke again, voice low - almost vulnerable.
> "If I stay, you'll die for me."
> "I might."
> "Then why not run?"
> "Because, love," he said, leaning down he may have trained you but I dont break that easy".
She didn't speak
But something changed in her eyes
Not fear
Not sorrow
But something worse
Hope
And hope always come before blood.