The tunnels stretched endlessly, their damp walls closing in like the Accord's iron grip. The rebels moved in silence now, each glance over the shoulder edged with suspicion.
Kael stayed close to Mira, his mind replaying the night's ambush over and over. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the certainty—they were walking with a traitor.
The air grew colder as they descended deeper. The hum of hidden machinery echoed faintly, almost like the Resonance itself warning them. Kael opened his mouth to speak when—
A sudden flash.
Pain slammed through him as a pulse round cracked against his chest. He staggered, breath knocked out, ears ringing. Before he could recover, armored Guards poured from a side tunnel, their crimson visors glowing like demons in the dark.
"DOWN!" Mira shouted, firing her stolen blaster. A Guard fell, but more swarmed in, shields sparking against the tunnel's stone.
Chaos erupted. Rebels scattered, some fighting, others retreating. The air filled with fire and static. Kael struggled to rise, but a heavy boot pinned him to the floor. Cold restraints clamped around his wrists, locking with a hiss.
"Mira!" he gasped, twisting, reaching for her through the chaos. She was a blur of motion, cutting down one Guard, then another. For a heartbeat, their eyes met—hers wide with fear, desperate to reach him.
Then a shock baton cracked against her side, sending her crumpling into the shadows.
"No!" Kael roared, but his cry was drowned in the blare of Accord sirens.
Two Guards hauled him upright, dragging him through the tunnel. The rest of the rebels scattered into the darkness, their voices fading. Daren's command to retreat echoed faintly, but it was too late for Kael.
As he was pulled toward the surface, the Resonance throbbed faintly in his ears—distant, broken, but still there. It whispered not of surrender, but of endurance.
The city above awaited him, its lights cold and merciless. And for the first time, Kael felt what it meant to be truly seen by the Accord.
Not as a citizen.
As a threat.