The blast had torn the night apart. Even hours later, the horizon still glowed faintly orange, smoke curling into the dawn like dying breath. The forest around the old airstrip was silent — no birds, no wind. Just ruin.
Ezra stood at the edge of what was left of the hangar, eyes red and raw, throat hoarse from calling a name that never answered. Kai's name.
The ground was blackened, metal twisted into grotesque shapes, heat still pulsing from the crater's heart. He had come back — against everyone's orders. He didn't care about the risk, the soldiers, the fallout. He just needed to know.
Jace leaned against a broken wing, shirt torn, his usual smirk replaced with a grim frown. "You won't find anything, kid. He was in the center of it."
Ezra didn't turn. "He's not dead."
Mara, sitting nearby with a bloodied bandage on her arm, exhaled softly. "Ezra—"
"He's not dead!" Ezra's voice cracked, desperate and sharp. He dropped to his knees, shoving aside a burnt panel, hands blistering on the metal. "You don't know him like I do. He wouldn't just—he wouldn't—"
Jace looked away, jaw tight. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how strong someone is. Fire doesn't care."
Ezra froze, trembling. The world around him blurred into smoke and ringing silence. His hand fell open, revealing a half-melted bullet casing — one of Kai's. He closed his fingers around it like a prayer.
"He promised," Ezra whispered.
Mara reached out carefully, her voice low. "He saved us. That's what he does."
Ezra's shoulders shook. "Then why does it feel like he's still here?"
Elsewhere — Unknown Location
Pain was the first thing he felt.
Pain, and the taste of blood.
Kai opened his eyes to darkness. For a second, he thought he was dead — until the throbbing behind his ribs reminded him he wasn't that lucky.
He was lying on cold metal, wrists bound, his jacket gone. The air smelled of rust and antiseptic. A faint hum vibrated through the floor — machinery.
"Welcome back," a voice said.
Kai lifted his head slowly. Draven stood a few meters away, arm bandaged, face smeared with soot. The bastard was smiling.
"Guess we both survived," Draven said lightly. "Though I have to admit, you look worse."
Kai tried to move, but his muscles screamed. "You rigged the detonator."
"Of course I did. I needed leverage."
Kai's voice was low and venomous. "You blew up your own men."
Draven shrugged. "Collateral damage. They knew the risks. But you — you're too valuable to waste."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "You think I'll give you what you want?"
"I think you'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe."
That name hung unspoken between them, heavy and dangerous.
Draven grinned wider. "Ezra's alive, by the way. You're welcome."
Kai's jaw tightened. "Where is he?"
"Far enough not to find you." Draven crouched beside him, voice dropping to a whisper. "You left him with questions, Kai. Big ones. When he learns the truth — when he realizes what's inside him — he'll come looking for answers. And he'll come to me."
Kai lunged, but the chains held. "You touch him—"
"Oh, I'll do more than touch." Draven's smile vanished, his tone suddenly cold. "You made me lose my entire network. You made me start from ashes. So I'll build a new one — using him as the blueprint."
Kai's breathing sharpened, rage trembling under his skin. "You think I'll let that happen?"
"You don't have a choice."
Draven stood, turning toward the door. "Rest up, Kai. You'll need your strength when I start carving the truth out of your boy."
The door slammed shut.
Kai sat in the dark, blood pounding in his ears, the taste of iron thick on his tongue. He pulled against the cuffs until his wrists bled, his mind running through a thousand plans, a thousand failures.
He could survive anything — but the thought of Ezra in Draven's hands made survival feel like punishment.
Back at the Safehouse
Ezra sat on the edge of a worn mattress, staring at the floor. The room was dim, lit only by a single oil lamp. Jace and Mara argued quietly near the doorway.
"He's not thinking straight," Mara whispered. "We should move before the next wave tracks us."
Jace's tone was sharp. "And go where? He's not listening. If we leave now, he'll just follow on his own and get himself killed."
Ezra didn't speak. His thoughts were a storm — fragments of memories, flashes of Kai's face, Draven's words. You were engineered.
He pressed his palms to his eyes until colors danced behind them. The more he tried to forget, the clearer it became — the way Kai always avoided certain questions, the way he flinched when Ezra bled, the quiet fear in his eyes whenever they talked about the implants.
"Ezra," Mara said softly, stepping closer. "You need to rest."
"I need answers."
"From who? Kai's gone."
Ezra looked up sharply. "He's not gone. I can feel him."
Jace sighed, rubbing his face. "You sound like a lovesick psychic."
Ezra ignored him. "When Draven talked about the drive… it wasn't random. He knew things about me — things no one should."
"You're saying he's telling the truth?" Mara asked.
Ezra hesitated. "I don't know. But if he is… then I need to know why."
Jace crossed his arms. "You're talking about walking straight into his trap."
"Maybe," Ezra said. "But if Kai's alive, that's where he'll be."
Jace stared at him for a long moment, then swore under his breath. "You're out of your damn mind."
"Probably," Ezra said, rising to his feet. "But I'm going anyway."
Hours later, as rain poured against the tin roof, Ezra sat alone, staring at the small black casing he had found in the wreckage — the chip Draven had dropped.
He turned it over in his hands, fingers tracing the faded emblem. It pulsed faintly with blue light, rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat.
He hesitated… then pressed it against his temple.
The world fractured.
For a split second, everything went white. Images flooded his mind — flashes of metal halls, sterile lights, surgical masks, and voices speaking his name like a code.
"Subject 02 — adaptive memory sequence initiated."
"Emotional link established. Anchor: Kai."
Ezra gasped, ripping the chip away. The light vanished. He was shaking, breath coming in ragged bursts.
Anchor.
Kai wasn't just protecting him. Kai was the reason he existed at all.
The realization cut deep — sharper than any blade.
When Jace came in minutes later, Ezra was already loading his weapon, jaw set.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jace demanded.
"North," Ezra said quietly. "To finish what he started."
Jace frowned. "You're not seriously—"
"I am." Ezra looked up, eyes burning with something new — fury and grief and determination tangled into one. "You can stay or come with me. But I'm done running."
For a moment, Jace just stared at him — then huffed a dry laugh. "You're both insane."
He grabbed his jacket. "Give me five minutes."
Mara groaned from the doorway. "Guess we're all going to die together, then."
Ezra didn't smile. He looked out into the rain, the glow of the burning horizon fading behind them.
"Not die," he said softly. "Find him."
Meanwhile — Draven's Lab
Kai lay on the floor of his cell, blood dried at the corner of his mouth. The faint hum of power vibrated through the air — the same signal that had haunted his nightmares for years.
He looked toward the wall, where a small red light blinked steadily.
Draven's voice came through a speaker. "Still alive, I see. Good. You'll want to be awake for what comes next."
"What are you doing?" Kai growled.
"Reuniting you with your creation."
The red light turned blue.
And somewhere out there, in the storm, Ezra's implant pulsed in response.
For the first time since the explosion, Kai's expression changed — not fear, not anger. Resolve.
He whispered into the dark, voice rough but steady:
"Hold on, Ezra. I'm coming for you."