Kael hit the ground hard, the impact rattling through his bones. Mira was there in an instant, pulling him to his feet. Around them, rebels scattered as crimson searchlights cut through the dark. The air filled with the whine of drones and the thunder of boots.
"Fall back!" Daren's voice roared over the chaos. "To the tunnels!"
Kael and Mira sprinted through the broken streets, weaving between crumbling walls. Behind them, rebels fought to hold off the Guards—flickers of light, muffled clashes, and then silence again as lives were snuffed out.
They reached a concealed hatch in the ground. Mira yanked it open, shoving Kael inside. He slid down the ladder, boots hitting damp stone. Others piled in behind them, the hatch slamming shut as the first drones swept overhead.
For a moment, the tunnel was nothing but harsh breathing and the pounding of blood in Kael's ears. Then Daren dropped down, slamming the hatch shut with a curse. His face was stone, but his fists were tight.
"They were waiting for us," he growled. "They knew exactly where we'd strike."
The words fell heavy in the dark. Kael felt it too—the precision, the timing. The Accord hadn't just stumbled onto them. Someone had led them straight into the trap.
Mira's jaw clenched. "A traitor."
Daren's gaze swept over the group—exhausted rebels, bloodied and wide-eyed. Suspicion hung in the stale air like smoke.
Kael's stomach twisted. He'd only just begun to trust these people, and now the ground beneath him felt unsteady. Who among them would trade lives for safety? For silence?
One of the rebels, a wiry man with sharp features, shifted under the weight of Daren's stare. "You can't just accuse us all," he snapped. "Maybe you miscalculated. Maybe—"
Daren moved faster than Kael expected. He slammed the man against the tunnel wall, forearm across his throat. "I don't miscalculate." His voice was a growl. "Someone here fed them our plan."
The man's face reddened, his hands clawing at Daren's arm. Mira stepped forward, tense, but Kael barely heard them. His eyes drifted to the scarred stone around them—the marks, the words etched deep. If even one of those voices was betrayed, it meant all of them were at risk.
For the first time, Kael realized the fight wasn't only against the Accord. It was against the fractures within.
And fractures could break faster than walls.