The rain struck harder as soon as we stepped outside, sheets of water blurring the street into a haze of gray and silver. The night smelled of asphalt and iron, the storm drowning every other sound — except the quick thrum of our footsteps against the wet ground.
Aria stayed close, her hand clamped firmly in mine, her body tense like a bowstring. She didn't look back, but her eyes kept scanning the shadows ahead, sharp, restless, haunted.
"This way," I said, tugging her gently toward a narrow alley, hoping the storm would cover our tracks.
Her grip tightened "He'll know we left. He'll know where we're going."
Her words were low, nearly lost in the roar of the rain, but I heard the tremor beneath them — not just fear, but certainty. Whoever he was, she believed in his power to find her and that belief terrified me more than the storm itself.
I pulled her closer, shielding her as a truck splashed through a flooded corner "Then let him follow," I said firmly. "As long as I'm here, he won't touch you."
She looked at me sharply, as though weighing whether my conviction was strength or foolishness. For a second, her lips parted like she wanted to argue, but she said nothing. Instead, she let me guide her, her damp hair clinging to her face, her chest rising and falling with fast, uneven breaths.
We found temporary shelter beneath a half-collapsed awning behind an abandoned shop. The rain drummed above us, leaking in thin streams down the wall. My clothes clung to my skin, but I didn't care. All my focus was on Aria.
She leaned back against the wall, her hands trembling slightly as she pushed wet strands from her face. In the dim light, her eyes looked larger, darker, the vulnerability she tried to hide etched across her expression.
"Aria," I said quietly, "tell me who he is."
Her jaw clenched. She shook her head "You don't want to know."
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't"
Silence stretched between us, heavy with the storm outside. She stared at me — searching, testing — and then finally exhaled, her breath shaky.
"His name is Victor," she whispered, almost as though speaking it aloud could summon him "And he doesn't stop until he gets what he wants."
Victor... The name tasted like metal in my mouth.
"What does he want from you?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
Her eyes flickered down. "Everything... Control... Power... Me."
A fierce heat rose in my chest — anger, protective and consuming. I stepped closer before I realized it, my hands pressing lightly to the wall on either side of her, not trapping, but close enough that she could feel my resolve.
"You're not his," I said "Not now, not ever... Do you hear me?"
Her gaze met mine, wavering but steadying with each heartbeat and then, to my surprise, she let out a small laugh — bitter, broken "You say that like it's easy. Like people like him care about words like 'no.'"
I wanted to reach for her hand again, to anchor her to something other than fear, but I stopped myself. Instead, I let my voice carry the promise. "Then he'll learn because anyone who tries to take you… will have to go through me first."
Her lips parted, but this time no protest came. Just silence — and the way her eyes softened, even as the storm outside raged louder.
The closeness between us shifted again, pulling tighter. The world was narrowed to the sound of her uneven breaths, the droplets sliding down her cheek, the way she looked at me as though daring herself to believe in me.
"You'll get hurt," she whispered finally, her voice cracking like the thunder above "And I couldn't live with that."
I leaned in, close enough that our foreheads nearly touched "Then you'll just have to get used to me staying alive."
For the first time since the warehouse, her lips curved into something almost like a smile. Fragile, fleeting, but real.
The first sign came as a vibration through the ground, muffled footsteps echoing against wet pavement. Aria's head snapped up, eyes wide, body stiffening like a hunted animal.
"They're here," she whispered.
Before I could ask, a figure appeared at the edge of the alley — tall, broad, a silhouette blurred by rain. Another followed and another.
Victor's men.
Aria's breath hitched, panic flashing across her face. I caught her hand quickly, squeezing it firm "Don't let go.... Run."
We bolted into the storm.
The streets had become rivers, water rushing past our ankles as we splashed down one narrow path after another. The storm masked some of our noise, but not enough — behind us, heavy boots slapped the ground, voices shouting over the thunder.
"Aria!" one of them called, the sound slicing through the storm "You can't hide forever!"
Her grip on my hand tightened like iron "Don't listen," I said, pulling her harder "Just keep moving."
We darted through a maze of alleys, the city a blur of rain-slick stone and flickering streetlights. At every corner, I scanned for escape routes, for shadows deep enough to swallow us whole but their footsteps followed, relentless, like predators that had already marked their prey.
We turned sharply into an abandoned marketplace, stalls sagging under the weight of water, tarps flapping wildly in the wind. The storm made it a labyrinth, every corner darker than the last.
I shoved Aria behind one of the stalls, crouching low. My chest heaved with each breath, rain dripping down my hair and into my eyes. I leaned closer to her, whispering, "Stay quiet."
Her face was pale, her lips pressed tight, but she nodded. Her hand, trembling, clung to mine.
The men's voices grew louder as they entered the marketplace.
"Spread out!" one barked.
Shadows stretched long across the wet ground as they fanned through the stalls. My pulse thudded in my ears. I could feel Aria's shallow breaths, the warmth of her shoulder pressed against mine.
"They'll find us," she mouthed silently, her eyes wide.
I shook my head, squeezing her hand tighter. Not if I can help it.
We crouched there, time stretching unbearably. Their footsteps grew closer, the sound of boots slapping puddles echoing against the walls. One shadow passed within feet of us, pausing, scanning. My heart slammed, every muscle in my body coiled tight.
Then — thunder crashed overhead, lightning splitting the sky. The man cursed, moving on, his attention stolen by the storm.
Only when his footsteps faded did I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Aria leaned into me, her forehead brushing my shoulder. I could feel the tension in her body, the way her fingers dug into mine as though I was the only tether she had left.
"They won't stop," she whispered. Her voice was ragged, threaded with despair "Not until he has me back."
I tilted her chin up gently, forcing her to meet my eyes "Then they'll have to go through me first."
Her gaze wavered, caught between fear and something else — something softer, unspoken "Why?" she whispered "Why risk yourself for me?"
I didn't hesitate "Because losing you would hurt more than anything they could do to me."
For a long moment, the storm and the chase vanished. There was only us — two people pressed together in the shadows, caught between fear and desire.
Her lips parted, trembling, as though on the verge of words she couldn't yet say. I leaned closer, close enough to feel her breath mix with mine, close enough that the distance between fear and longing shrank to nothing.
But before either of us could close that space —
"Over here!" a voice shouted.
The moment shattered.
The shout cracked the night open.
Aria's breath caught, her nails digging into my hand. I pulled her sharply, dragging us out from behind the stall just as two men surged into view, their flashlights slicing through the storm.
"Run!" I hissed, and we bolted again, the marketplace erupting into chaos.
They were faster this time, closer, the beams of their lights catching glimmers of us as we wove through the maze of half-collapsed stalls. The storm seemed to roar louder with every step, as though it too had joined the hunt.
Aria stumbled, nearly falling, but I caught her by the waist, hauling her upright without slowing. Her body trembled under my grip, but she didn't let go.
"Left!" she shouted, pointing toward a narrow corridor between two buildings.
We darted in, the space barely wide enough for us to squeeze through. The walls scraped my arms, rainwater running down in cold rivulets. Behind us, curses echoed as the men tried to follow.
At the end of the corridor, we burst into another alley — and straight into two more figures waiting.
"Got you," one of them sneered, lunging forward.
Instinct kicked in. I shoved Aria behind me, my body colliding with his before he could reach her. The impact rattled my bones, but adrenaline surged, numbing everything else. My fist connected with his jaw, sending him stumbling back into a puddle.