The safehouse was hidden behind a crumbling bookstore on the edge of the northern district — the kind of place where the world forgot to look. The sign outside still read Marrow's Tales, though most of its letters had fallen long ago.
Kael entered first, his gun drawn. The dim interior smelled of dust and old paper. Shelves leaned at odd angles, their books eaten by time. Liora followed silently, clutching the metal case close to her chest. The faint creak of the wooden floor echoed like a warning.
"She's supposed to be here," Kael muttered, scanning the shadows. "Mara never leaves this place unattended."
Liora's voice trembled. "Maybe she knew we were coming."
"Or maybe someone else did."
He led her through a hidden passage behind the counter — a narrow stairwell descending into darkness. At the bottom was a steel door, slightly ajar. Kael froze. His instincts screamed trap.
He raised his weapon and nudged the door open with his boot.
The sight inside stopped him cold.
The room was small, lined with monitors and scattered files. A faint blue glow from the screens illuminated a woman slumped against the desk — her lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
Liora gasped, stepping back. "Is that—?"
"Mara," Kael said grimly. He crouched beside the body, checking her pulse though he already knew. "She's been dead for hours."
The air felt heavier now. On one of the screens, a surveillance feed flickered — footage of the station, the tunnel, them. Someone had been watching.
Liora's voice was barely a whisper. "Kael… how did they find us?"
He didn't answer immediately. He moved closer to the monitors, scanning through the feeds. Every step they had taken since the train station was there, recorded from multiple angles. His jaw tightened.
"There's only one way they could have tracked us this precisely," he said. "Someone fed them our coordinates in real time."
Her stomach twisted. "You think it was me?"
Kael turned sharply, his eyes burning. "No," he said, softer this time. "But someone close to us is selling information."
He reached for a small data chip on the desk, labeled in Mara's handwriting. He inserted it into one of the monitors — a final message appeared, the recording flickering with static.
Kael… if you're seeing this, it means they got to me first. Someone inside the network turned. Don't trust anyone. Not even those you think you saved.
The video cut off abruptly, replaced by the encrypted symbol of the organization they once worked for — a silver serpent coiled around a winged key.
Liora's breath hitched. "Seraph…"
Kael smashed the keyboard in frustration. "They're one step ahead of us."
The walls suddenly buzzed with a low hum. A red light blinked near the ceiling — motion sensors reactivated. Kael's head snapped up.
"They know we're here."
"Then we need to go—" Liora started, but Kael grabbed her hand and yanked her toward the exit.
They raced up the narrow stairs, boots slamming on the wood. A second later, an explosion tore through the lower floor, flames swallowing the safehouse in a storm of heat and debris. They burst through the front door just as the windows shattered behind them.
Liora stumbled, coughing in the smoke. Kael pulled her into an alley, his arm tight around her waist. "Keep moving," he said, voice hoarse. "They'll sweep the area."
They didn't stop until they reached the river, where the city's lights shimmered faintly through the haze. Liora fell to her knees, trembling.
"She was your friend," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Kael didn't speak for a long time. His expression was blank, unreadable — the mask of a man who'd buried too many people. Finally, he said, "Mara saved my life once. I trusted her with everything. And now…" His fists clenched. "Whoever did this will regret it."
Liora touched his arm gently. "Kael… we can't fight them head-on. Not like this."
He looked at her, the fire in his eyes softening just a little. "Then tell me, Liora — what's in that case that's worth all this death?"
She hesitated. The truth was heavier than she could bear.
Inside the metal case lay not money, not evidence — but a small device, no bigger than a coin, capable of unlocking every encrypted file tied to Project Seraph. Proof that the organization had used human test subjects — including her.
Her lips trembled. "If this gets out, Seraph falls. But so does every government that funded them."
Kael exhaled slowly, realization dawning. "That's why they want you silenced."
The night wind carried the sound of distant sirens. He looked toward the river, his mind already calculating their next move.
"We go east," he said. "There's a cargo train that leaves before dawn. It'll take us past the border."
Liora stood, brushing the dirt from her clothes. "And after that?"
Kael turned to her, his face half-lit by the city glow. "After that, we find out who betrayed us."
She nodded — but her heart was heavy. Because in the depths of her mind, a small, unwelcome thought whispered:
What if the traitor isn't gone? What if they're still close… too close?
The two figures vanished into the fog, their silhouettes merging with the darkness. Behind them, the flames of the safehouse burned bright — a funeral pyre for trust, friendship, and the past they could never escape.