The wind picked up as dusk fell, bending the trees and carrying with it the scent of damp earth and impending danger. The group gathered around a smoldering campfire in a hollowed-out cave, deep in the mountains, their breath visible in the chill air. Elias sat at a slight distance, his eyes darting constantly to the tree line as if expecting the shadows to lunge forward at any moment.
Lucia paced in tight circles, the files clutched against her chest. Her voice was low but sharp. "We need to move again. If Elias found us, others can too."
"He didn't track us," Amira replied firmly. "He was sent."
Elias looked up. "I told you ,I left them. I burned my ties to Carter's group after the bloodbath at the factory. But there's someone else now. Someone who filled the vacuum after Dominic fell."
Zion leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Name."
Elias hesitated. "They call her Valeria Kross. European, former intelligence. Now she runs private networks arms, data, mercenaries. She's after what Lucia has."
Amira's jaw clenched. "Then we get to her first."
A rustle outside the cave made everyone freeze. Zion reached for his weapon, Rosalie immediately killing the fire. For a moment, only breathing could be heard.
Then a small voice broke the silence.
"Amira?"
Gabriel, pale and sweating, stood in the cave entrance, his small frame swaying. Amira bolted toward him, catching him before he fell. "You shouldn't be up."
"I… heard yelling," he whispered. "I thought…"
She knelt with him by the fire pit, her arm wrapped tightly around him. "I'm here. You're safe."
"I dreamed of Celeste," he murmured.
The group went silent again.
"I dreamed she was trying to speak… but her mouth was stitched shut."
Rosalie shuddered. "That's not a dream. That's a warning."
Over the next stretch of the chapter, tension tightens. Lucia reveals a hidden part of the files—coordinates tied to an encrypted vault in Prague. If they access it, they might uncover the true scope of Dominic's financiers… and Valeria's network.
Elias offers a deal: he'll get them to the vault, using old safe routes known only to ex-security contractors, in exchange for a clean slate and immunity.
Zion doesn't trust him. Amira doesn't either. But they're out of options.
Amira stands, her voice cold and decisive. "We leave at dawn."
Zion pulls her aside later, his tone urgent. "You're pushing too hard. We need to rest. Regroup."
"I rest when she's avenged," Amira says, her eyes flashing.
Zion grabs her wrist gently. "What if vengeance isn't what you need?"
She stares at him, pain flickering behind her rage. "Then I'll find that out when it's done."
As the group beds down for the night, shadows gather outside. Across the continent, Valeria Kross sits in a glass tower, watching Amira's every move through a live satellite feed. Her smile is slow, dangerous.
"Let the chase begin," she whispers.
The hunt has truly begun.