Scene: Entry Point Sigma – Convoy Perimeter Breach
POV: General Soren Vask
The sound split the sky.
CRACK.
Not a warning shot. Not a scare tactic.
A sniper's shot.
A direct hit.
I saw the ripple in Chris's coat—a red bloom blossoming across his chest just above the heart.
He stumbled backward.
The world moved slower than I've ever felt it.
The King—our King—took a step… then another… and dropped to his knees in the snow.
> "NO!"
Amara's voice tore through the ridge like fire across dry leaves. She dropped beside him instantly, hands already pressing into the wound, screaming for a medic, for guards—for vengeance.
But me?
I wasn't looking at Chris anymore.
I was already turning, scanning the ridgelines, calculating wind angles, elevation, distance—origin.
> "Top east! 400 meters!" I roared to the Shadow Hawks. "Sniper nest—NOW!"
Half the Hawks vanished into motion, becoming ghosts again, ascending like wolves unleashed.
I dropped beside the King, hand already reaching for the pulse dampener on my belt to stabilize the wound.
But Amara was already pressing her hand to the wound. Her palm was slick with his blood.
Her voice shook as she barked, "Where's the shooter?!"
> "We're hunting them," I growled. "You protect the King."
---
Chris's breathing was shallow—but his eyes?
Still open. Still burning.
He didn't scream.
He didn't cry.
He looked angry—not at the pain, but at the fact someone dared to try.
> "It's… not deep," he rasped.
> "Stay still, damn you," Amara hissed, one hand under his neck, the other holding the pressure down. "You're bleeding all over me—"
> "You said I left without a word," Chris muttered, forcing a crooked smile even as blood spilled from his lip.
> "Now… I'm giving you one."
> "Stay."
---
The gunfire echoed in the distance—our Hawks engaging the hidden assassin.
---
This was no ordinary ambush.
This was a message.
Someone dared to fire on a king… in front of his Queen.
And someone was about to pay with their entire bloodline.
---