The city never slept.
Neon lights bled through the fog, car horns screamed in rhythm, and somewhere above it all,Kael Arden watched from the edge of a rooftop, the barrel of his pistol catching the glow of the skyline.
His comm buzzed.
"Target's moving east. Two minutes."
Kael didn't answer. He never did. He preferred the silence ,the hum of the night, the pulse of danger beneath his fingertips. The mission was simple: intercept the courier before the files left the city. No mistakes. No witnesses.
But when he saw who the courier was, his finger froze on the trigger.
Sera Donovan.
The journalist who'd almost exposed his division six months ago. The same woman who'd called him a monster in a suit on live television.
Now she was walking straight into a trap, one she didn't even know existed.
"Of course it's her," Kael muttered under his breath, lowering his weapon. The world had a twisted sense of humor.
He leapt from the roof, landing silently in the alley below. The air smelled of rain and rust. She was only a block away, holding her phone like a weapon, eyes sharp beneath the brim of her coat.
"Donovan," he said from behind her.
She spun, voice dripping with venom. "Arden. Should've known you'd be lurking somewhere dark."
"I could say the same about you," he replied, stepping closer. "You're about to walk into a death trap."
"I've been in worse," she said, brushing past him. "Don't pretend you care."
Kael's hand shot out, gripping her wrist, not hard, but firm enough to stop her.
"I don't care," he said quietly. "But I don't need another body on my record."
She yanked her arm free. "Then get out of my way."
And that's when the explosion hit.
The building ahead erupted into fire, shards of glass raining down like deadly stars. Kael tackled her to the ground, shielding her from the blast. The air thundered, lights flickered, and for a moment, it was just heat, chaos, and the sound of her heartbeat against his chest.
When the dust settled, she pushed him off, coughing.
"Get your hands off me!"
"Saved your life," he snapped.
"I didn't ask you to."
Kael stood, eyes on the burning building. "Someone knew you'd be here. You were bait."
Her expression faltered. "Bait for what?"
He didn't answer and just grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the shadows as sirens wailed in the distance.
They ended up in an abandoned parking structure, lit only by the flicker of a dying bulb. Sera's coat was torn, her hair wild, her face streaked with ash. She still looked like she could kill him with a sentence.
"You still think I'm the enemy?" he asked, leaning against a pillar.
"I know you are," she shot back. "You work for Division Nine, the same people I'm trying to expose."
He smirked. "And yet, here you are, alive because of me."
She crossed her arms. "Don't flatter yourself, Arden. You saved me because it benefits you."
He said nothing, but the silence between them was heavier than words.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "There's something bigger at play. That explosion wasn't meant for you. It was meant for me."
Sera frowned. "Then why was I there?"
"Because someone wanted us both dead."
Their eyes met, defiance clashing with something unspoken. Kael had seen plenty of faces before missions, before death, but hers lingered in his mind longer than he liked.
"Give me the drive," he said.
She raised a brow. "You think I'd hand over evidence to a government dog?"
"I'm not asking."
He stepped closer, close enough to smell the smoke on her skin, to feel the tension sparking like static between them.
Sera didn't back down. "Shoot me then."
Kael's jaw tightened. He could. He should. But he didn't.
Instead, he holstered his weapon, eyes dark. "You're not the only one trying to uncover the truth, Donovan."
She blinked. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," he said, stepping past her, "that the enemy you're chasing is the same one who burned my life to the ground."
As he walked away, her voice followed him.
"Kael!"
He didn't turn, but for the first time in years, the sound of his name made something inside him ache.
Chapter One: Sparks and Shadows
The city never slept.
Neon lights bled through the fog, car horns screamed in rhythm, and somewhere above it all,Kael Arden watched from the edge of a rooftop, the barrel of his pistol catching the glow of the skyline.
His comm buzzed.
"Target's moving east. Two minutes."
Kael didn't answer. He never did. He preferred the silence ,the hum of the night, the pulse of danger beneath his fingertips. The mission was simple: intercept the courier before the files left the city. No mistakes. No witnesses.
But when he saw who the courier was, his finger froze on the trigger.
Sera Donovan.
The journalist who'd almost exposed his division six months ago. The same woman who'd called him a monster in a suit on live television.
Now she was walking straight into a trap, one she didn't even know existed.
"Of course it's her," Kael muttered under his breath, lowering his weapon. The world had a twisted sense of humor.
He leapt from the roof, landing silently in the alley below. The air smelled of rain and rust. She was only a block away, holding her phone like a weapon, eyes sharp beneath the brim of her coat.
"Donovan," he said from behind her.
She spun, voice dripping with venom. "Arden. Should've known you'd be lurking somewhere dark."
"I could say the same about you," he replied, stepping closer. "You're about to walk into a death trap."
"I've been in worse," she said, brushing past him. "Don't pretend you care."
Kael's hand shot out, gripping her wrist, not hard, but firm enough to stop her.
"I don't care," he said quietly. "But I don't need another body on my record."
She yanked her arm free. "Then get out of my way."
And that's when the explosion hit.
The building ahead erupted into fire, shards of glass raining down like deadly stars. Kael tackled her to the ground, shielding her from the blast. The air thundered, lights flickered, and for a moment, it was just heat, chaos, and the sound of her heartbeat against his chest.
When the dust settled, she pushed him off, coughing.
"Get your hands off me!"
"Saved your life," he snapped.
"I didn't ask you to."
Kael stood, eyes on the burning building. "Someone knew you'd be here. You were bait."
Her expression faltered. "Bait for what?"
He didn't answer and just grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the shadows as sirens wailed in the distance.
They ended up in an abandoned parking structure, lit only by the flicker of a dying bulb. Sera's coat was torn, her hair wild, her face streaked with ash. She still looked like she could kill him with a sentence.
"You still think I'm the enemy?" he asked, leaning against a pillar.
"I know you are," she shot back. "You work for Division Nine, the same people I'm trying to expose."
He smirked. "And yet, here you are, alive because of me."
She crossed her arms. "Don't flatter yourself, Arden. You saved me because it benefits you."
He said nothing, but the silence between them was heavier than words.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "There's something bigger at play. That explosion wasn't meant for you. It was meant for me."
Sera frowned. "Then why was I there?"
"Because someone wanted us both dead."
Their eyes met, defiance clashing with something unspoken. Kael had seen plenty of faces before missions, before death, but hers lingered in his mind longer than he liked.
"Give me the drive," he said.
She raised a brow. "You think I'd hand over evidence to a government dog?"
"I'm not asking."
He stepped closer, close enough to smell the smoke on her skin, to feel the tension sparking like static between them.
Sera didn't back down. "Shoot me then."
Kael's jaw tightened. He could. He should. But he didn't.
Instead, he holstered his weapon, eyes dark. "You're not the only one trying to uncover the truth, Donovan."
She blinked. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," he said, stepping past her, "that the enemy you're chasing is the same one who burned my life to the ground."
As he walked away, her voice followed him.
"Kael!"
He didn't turn, but for the first time in years, the sound of his name made something inside him ache.
Chapter Two: Terms of Survival
Rain came down hard that night, washing blood and smoke from the streets. The city looked almost clean again, well almost.
Sera sat on the edge of a rusted chair in a half-lit safehouse Kael had dragged her to. It used to be a mechanic's shop, now littered with dusty files, empty ammo boxes, and the smell of old oil.
Kael was across the room, crouched beside a table, checking his pistol with practiced calm. Every motion was precise, silent.
She hated that, how he seemed in control even after chaos.
"You going to explain," she started, "why you're suddenly playing the hero?"
Kael didn't look up. "Hero isn't the word I'd use."
"Right," she said, folding her arms. "Because that would require having a conscience."
He looked up, eyes steady, that calm, unreadable stare that made her pulse tick up for reasons she refused to name.
"I don't need you to like me, Donovan," he said evenly. "Just stay alive long enough to finish this."
Sera laughed, sharp and humorless. "You act like I need your protection."
"You do," he replied. "Because whoever planted that bomb isn't done."
Her smile vanished. "You think it was Dante Rios?"
Kael's jaw flexed at the name. "It was his style. Big, loud, precise. He doesn't miss."
"And you'd know that how?"
He hesitated, just a second too long.
"Because," she pressed, "you used to work with him, didn't you?"
Kael didn't answer. The silence was all the confirmation she needed.
Sera leaned back, shaking her head. "So that's it. Two ghosts from the same war now on opposite sides."
His eyes darkened. "You don't know what war you've walked into."
She met his gaze. "Then enlighten me."
He sighed, straightened, and walked over to the window. Beyond the glass, thunder rolled over the skyline. "Rios used to be my partner in the field. We took down networks, silenced traitors. Then he realized the system we worked for was dirtier than the criminals we hunted. He flipped, and started his own empire."
"And now you're cleaning up the mess you helped make."
Kael turned, his voice low. "We all have blood on our hands, Donovan. The only difference is who we're bleeding for."
For a while, the only sound was the rain.
Sera studied him, the scar along his jaw, the faint twitch in his left hand, the exhaustion buried behind his composure. He wasn't the monster she'd written about. He was something far more complicated.
Still dangerous though. Definitely dangerous.
She tore her gaze away. "So what now?"
"Now," he said, pulling a tablet from his duffel, "we find out who leaked your location to Rios."
He tapped a few commands, and a list of encrypted logs filled the screen. "You had three contacts who knew about that meeting. One of them's dirty."
"You hacked my files?" she asked, incredulous.
"I saved your life," he corrected. "You're welcome."
Her glare could've cut through glass. "You're impossible."
He almost smiled, almost. "So I've been told."
Hours passed in tense silence. They worked opposite each other, she decoding names and messages, he tracing coordinates and signals. The hum of rain filled the pauses between keystrokes.
At one point, she noticed the bandage on his arm, dark with blood.
"You're hurt," she said, frowning.
"I've had worse."
"That's not the point."
He didn't look up. "Don't waste sympathy on me, Donovan."
She got up anyway, found a first-aid kit on the shelf, and dropped it beside him. "I'm not wasting anything. Just don't bleed on my notes."
He glanced at her, quiet amusement flickering for a second before fading. "You're bossy."
"You're stubborn."
"Fair."
The corner of her mouth twitched, not quite a smile, but close.
It was past midnight when Kael finally pushed away from the table. "Found something."
Sera leaned over his shoulder. A face stared back from the screen... Lena Brooks.
Her stomach sank. "That's… that's my tech analyst."
"She sold your route data to Rios two nights ago. Fifty thousand dollars wired to an offshore account."
Sera felt the floor tilt under her. "That can't be right. Lena wouldn't—"
"She did."
"No," Sera said firmly. "You don't know her."
"I know betrayal when I see it."
Kael stood, grabbed his coat. "Pack your things. We're moving."
She blinked. "Moving? To where?"
"Somewhere Rios won't find you."
"I'm not hiding."
"This isn't a debate," he snapped.
Her eyes flared. "You don't get to order me around. I'm not one of your soldiers."
Kael stepped closer, close enough that his voice dropped to a dangerous calm. "No. You're a journalist who just found herself on a kill list. And unless you want to end up another name on it, you'll do exactly what I say."
The silence stretched. Sera's heart thudded hard, but she didn't look away.
Finally, she grabbed her laptop and muttered, "Fine. But I'm only doing this because I want to stay alive long enough to prove you wrong."
Kael's lips twitched, forming a smirk. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
They left the safehouse under the cover of rain. The streets were slick with reflections, and somewhere far off, a siren wailed like the city's heartbeat.
Sera followed a few steps behind, watching the way he scanned every shadow, every corner like a man who trusted nothing, not even the air he breathed.
For the first time, she wondered what it would be like to see him when he wasn't at war with everything around him.
She pushed the thought away. She had work to do, a story to finish and truth to uncover.
And he… he was just a means to an end.
At least, that's what she told herself.
Chapter Three: Ghost in the Glass
They reached the next city before dawn, a cold, steel maze called Havencrest, where the skyline glimmered like a knife's edge.
Kael drove in silence, eyes never leaving the road. The hum of the engine filled the space between them, thick with everything unsaid.
Sera watched the world blur past outside, high-rises, flickering billboards, stray flashes of life that seemed too normal for what they'd just escaped.
When he finally spoke, it was quiet.
"You ever get tired of chasing ghosts?"
She turned to him. "I chase the truth."
He gave a short, humorless laugh. "Truth is just another ghost. Everyone sees it differently."
"Maybe," she said softly, "but I don't stop running."
They checked into a forgotten apartment near the city's edge bare walls, one flickering bulb, and the kind of silence that pressed against the skin.
Sera dropped her bag on the couch. "This place screams 'paranoia.'"
Kael shrugged, locking the door. "That's why it's safe."
"Do you ever relax?"
He gave her a look that said no without saying it.
She rolled her eyes, pulled out her laptop, and started setting up. "Fine. You play the stoic soldier, I'll find us answers."
Hours passed. Rain tapped against the window. Sera worked while Kael sat nearby cleaning his weapon, an oddly domestic rhythm of chaos and control.
"Found something," she murmured at last, frowning at the screen. "A coded message from Lena's server. Sent last night."
Kael leaned closer. "Read it."
She hesitated, eyes scanning the text. "It says… 'The files are in Havencrest. He doesn't know. But she will.'"
His expression hardened. "He doesn't know? Who's 'he'?"
Sera swallowed. "Kael… I think they're talking about you."
Before he could reply, the lights flickered once, twice then went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Kael moved instantly, hand on his gun. "Stay behind me."
A faint hum echoed through the building, not footsteps, not machinery. Something deeper. Wrong.
Sera's heart pounded. "What is that?"
"Signal interference," he muttered. "Someone's here."
Then came the sound, a sharp click from the hallway.
Kael turned just as the door burst open. A flashbang went off, flooding the room with blinding light and smoke.
Sera screamed. Kael grabbed her, dragging her down as glass shattered around them.
Gunfire. Voices. Chaos.
When the smoke cleared, two men in tactical gear lay unconscious, and one figure stood in the doorway, calm and smiling.
Dante Rios.
He looked almost regal black coat, silver cufflinks, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Kael," he said smoothly, "you've been hard to find."
Kael's grip on his gun tightened. "You should've stayed gone."
"Gone?" Dante chuckled. "No, no, brother. You of all people should know, ghosts never stay buried."
Sera blinked. Brother?
Kael froze. His silence was louder than any denial could've been.
Sera turned to him, disbelief cutting through the haze. "Brother?"
Dante smirked. "Did he not tell you? Oh, Kael, still keeping secrets from your women, I see."
"Shut up," Kael growled.
But Dante only stepped closer. "You were always the obedient one. The soldier. And look at you now, protecting the same journalist who ruined our father's legacy."
Sera's pulse raced. "Your father's legacy?"
Kael's voice was low. "Our father was the architect of Division Nine."
Her blood ran cold. "The same agency that—"
"That started all of this," Kael finished grimly.
Dante's eyes gleamed. "You see now, Sera? You were never chasing corruption. You were chasing his shadow."
Kael aimed the gun at Dante's chest. "Leave her out of this."
Dante tilted his head. "You think she'll still trust you once she knows what you really are?"
Kael didn't blink. "I don't care."
Sera stepped between them, anger and fear tangled in her voice. "What is he talking about, Kael?"
He didn't answer. His silence said too much.
Dante smiled softly, almost pitying. "Our dear Kael didn't just serve Division Nine. He was their enforcer, the one they sent to erase evidence. To erase people."
Sera stared at Kael, searching his face for a lie, a denial, anything.
He looked away.
Dante chuckled. "There it is. The truth, clean and ugly."
The air thickened with betrayal.
Sera's voice cracked. "Tell me he's lying."
Kael lowered his gun. "It's not that simple."
"Then make it simple," she snapped. "You killed for them."
His voice broke on the edges of control. "I killed to stop worse men. To stop him."
Dante laughed, low and sharp. "You really believe that?"
Then, without warning, Dante raised his weapon, not at Kael, but at Sera.
Kael moved before thought, a blur of motion and fury. The shot went wide, grazing his shoulder. He fired back but Dante had already vanished into the smoke.
When it cleared, the hallway was empty.
Sera stood frozen, eyes on Kael. "You lied to me."
He winced, clutching his arm. "I didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice."
"Not for me," he said quietly. "Not back then."
She turned away, trembling. "You're no better than him."
Kael's voice was rough. "You're right."
Silence filled the space — heavy.
Outside, thunder rolled across Havencrest.
Fire in the Veins stood on the same side of a war neither of them fully understood — both realizing the line between love and hate was thinner than the barrel of a gun.
And somewhere in the city, Dante smiled in the dark, whispering into his comm:
"She knows now. Let it burn."
End of Chapter Three
Chapter Four: Smoke and Mirror
The city didn't rest that night.
Neither did Sera.
She sat on the cold floor of the apartment, staring at the blood drying on her hands — Kael's blood. The gunshot wound wasn't fatal, but he'd refused treatment, as if pain was something he welcomed.
Now he sat on the opposite side of the room, shirt torn, shoulder bandaged, his face lit only by the dull glow of a broken lamp.
Silence stretched between them, too thick for words.
Finally, she spoke — quiet but sharp. "You should've told me."
He didn't look up. "You wouldn't have listened."
"Don't," she said, her voice trembling. "Don't you dare make this about me."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You wanted the truth. I just gave it to you."
Sera laughed, not with humor, but disbelief. "You think truth works like that? You can't drop a bomb like that and expect me to just—" She cut herself off, breathing hard. "You were the monster I was writing about all along."
His eyes lifted to hers, — steady, broken. "I know."
That quiet admission hurt more than a scream ever could.
Outside, thunder rolled through Havencrest again.
Kael pushed himself to his feet, wincing. "We need to move."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she said coldly.
"Rios will come back," he said. "And when he does, he won't miss."
Sera stood too, chin high. "Then I'll be ready for him."
"You don't understand," Kael said, stepping closer. "He's not after me anymore. He's after you."
"Why me?" she demanded.
Kael hesitated. Then, slowly: "Because you're proof. Proof that Division Nine still exists."
Sera frowned. "You mean—"
"You were never supposed to find the files," he said. "They weren't leaked by mistake. They were sent to you."
Her heart dropped. "Sent… by who?"
Kael's silence was her answer.
She stepped back, horror dawning. "You."
He didn't deny it.
"You leaked the files," she whispered. "You used me."
"I needed someone who could expose them without getting caught in their web," he said. "Someone with reach, credibility—"
"You needed a pawn," she cut in. "You let me risk my life for your revenge."
His voice cracked. "It wasn't revenge."
"Then what?"
He looked at her then — eyes burning with something raw. "Redemption."
Sera's anger faltered, replaced by something worse: pity.
Across the city, far from their crumbling hideout, Dante Rios stood in a high-rise penthouse, watching Havencrest through glass walls that reflected his smile.
Beside him, a young woman typed furiously at a console — Lena Brooks.
"They took the bait," she said. "They're still in the city."
"Good," Dante murmured. "Let them believe they're free."
Lena hesitated. "You're really going to do it? Detonate the core?"
He turned to her, eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction. "Division Nine built this city on lies. I'm just lighting the fuse."
"But Kael's still—"
"He made his choice," Dante interrupted. "Now he gets to watch it all burn."
He stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "You did well, Lena. When it's over, you'll have your freedom."
She forced a nod, though guilt trembled behind her eyes.
As Dante turned away, her hands hovered over the keyboard, one command away from mass destruction.
She whispered, "I'm sorry, Sera."
Back in the safehouse, Sera sat with her laptop open, trying to ignore Kael's presence. Her screen flickered — a strange pulse, almost like a heartbeat.
"Kael," she said slowly, "something's wrong."
He crossed the room in an instant. "What did you do?"
"I didn't touch anything—"
The screen flooded with code, then a message appeared in red:
WELCOME TO HAVENCREST. YOUR TIME IS UP.
Kael's face went pale. "It's a failsafe."
"What kind of failsafe?"
He grabbed his bag, scanning the wires connected to the router. "The kind that turns this entire city into a grave."
Before Sera could respond, the ground trembled — faint at first, then growing. Distant booms echoed through the streets.
Kael looked out the window. A section of the skyline flickered and then exploded in a chain of fiery blossoms.
Havencrest was burning.
They ran.
Down the stairs, through corridors filled with smoke and panic. Sirens wailed, buildings shook, the air itself screamed.
Outside, chaos reigned — civilians running, alarms blaring, the night sky alive with flame.
Sera stumbled beside Kael, coughing. "He's doing this! Dante....he's destroying the city!"
Kael grabbed her hand. "Then we stop him."
She pulled away. "After everything? You think I'm helping you?"
He met her gaze, desperate. "You can hate me later. Right now, we need each other."
She hesitated.
The city roared around them, and in that chaos, something in her broke — not forgiveness, but survival.
She nodded once. "Then let's end this."
Meanwhile, high above the flames, Dante watched the city crumble.
He spoke softly into his earpiece. "Tell me when they reach the tower."
Lena's voice trembled through the line. "What happens then?"
Dante smiled. "Then the real game begins."
He turned away from the window, his reflection splitting across the glass — one half angel, one half devil.
"Blood for blood," he whispered.
Chapter Five: The Last night
The city was burning from the inside out.
Skyscrapers bled flame into the night, sirens screamed through the streets, and the rain that had once softened the edges of Havencrest now carried the ash of everything falling apart.
Kael and Sera moved through the chaos like ghosts — one wounded, the other furious, both driven by something they didn't have a name for anymore.
Every explosion drew them closer to the source: the Apex Tower, Dante Rios's stronghold.
"That's where he's controlling the detonations," Kael said, voice ragged. "If we don't shut it down, the entire grid collapses."
Sera kept her eyes forward, jaw tight. "Then we make sure it ends there."
They reached the edge of the tower just as another blast lit the skyline. The entrance was guarded — armored men, rifles drawn, faces hidden behind mirrored masks.
Kael motioned for Sera to stay back. "Follow my lead."
"Don't tell me what to do," she muttered, but she stayed low.
He moved like a shadow — fast, precise. Two guards down before they even registered his presence. The third turned, Sera's hand darted out, cracking a metal rod across his jaw.
Kael glanced at her, a flicker of surprise breaking his composure.
She shrugged. "Journalism teaches you resourcefulness."
For the first time that night, he almost smiled.
Inside the tower, the air hummed with electricity. Every screen pulsed with cascading code — countdown timers, red warnings, data feeds from across the city.
"Fifteen minutes," Sera said, reading one display. "Then what?"
"Then Havencrest implodes," Kael said. "Every system tied to Division Nine's servers will detonate."
"So we cut the servers."
Kael shook his head. "They're encrypted into the tower's core. Only one person can override it — Dante."
"Then we find him."
They took the stairs — twenty, thirty, forty floors up through smoke and flickering lights. Each step was agony; Kael's wound reopened, blood staining his shirt, but he kept moving.
"Kael," Sera said between breaths, "why didn't you tell me sooner? About Dante. About all of it."
"Because you'd have walked away."
She laughed bitterly. "You're right. I would've."
He nodded once. "And I couldn't afford to lose you."
The words hung between them — fragile, raw, almost lost in the roar of collapsing concrete.
They reached the 60th floor — the control hub.
Dante was waiting.
He stood in the center of the room, surrounded by glass walls overlooking the inferno below. Screens flashed red behind him. Lena Brooks knelt nearby, hands bound, tears streaking her face.
"Welcome home, brother," Dante said.
Kael raised his gun. "End it."
Dante smiled. "Always so predictable."
Sera stepped forward. "You're killing thousands of innocent people!"
"Innocent?" Dante's eyes blazed. "The same city built on the corpses Division Nine buried? You think innocence still exists here?"
Sera's voice broke. "You don't fix corruption with more blood."
He looked at her and for a moment, his expression softened. "You sound like our mother."
Kael's grip tightened. "Leave her out of this."
Dante tilted his head. "I can't. She built us both — one loyal to order, the other loyal to truth. Pity she died believing either mattered."
Kael's voice dropped, dangerous. "Where's the kill switch?"
Dante gestured to the console. "Right there. But you'll never reach it in time."
The air trembled — the sound of engines spinning, explosives syncing across the grid.
Ten minutes left.
Kael moved first.
Dante fired.
The room exploded in motion — glass shattering, bullets sparking off steel, echoes of rage and memory colliding all at once.
Sera dove behind a pillar, dragging Lena with her. "Stay down!"
Kael rolled behind the server rack, firing back. "You always were a lousy shot!"
Dante laughed through the chaos. "And you always played by the rules!"
A shot clipped Kael's shoulder, spinning him sideways. Pain blurred his vision, but he steadied his aim — one clean pull of the trigger.
The bullet grazed Dante's arm, drawing blood.
Dante's smile faded. "You really mean to kill me, don't you?"
Kael's voice was quiet. "You already did."
Sera crawled toward the main console. The countdown read 00:07:34.
Her hands shook. "I can't stop it without a code."
Lena looked up weakly. "I can. But he'll kill us both."
Sera grabbed her shoulders. "Then we make sure he doesn't get the chance."
Lena nodded — tears mixing with sweat and soot — and began typing.
Kael saw Dante shift, gun raised toward them. He didn't think — he ran.
The shot rang out.
And Kael took the bullet meant for Sera.
He hit the floor hard, blood blooming across his chest.
"Kael!" Sera screamed, dropping beside him.
He gasped, eyes clouding, hand reaching for hers. "Stay… focused…"
Dante froze for a second, guilt flickering across his face — brief, human. Then he hardened again. "You chose her over me."
Kael coughed, blood at his lips. "I chose what was right."
The console beeped — Lena's voice shaking. "Code's in. But I need one last confirmation. Manual override."
Sera looked at Kael. "Tell me what to do."
He forced a breath. "Power core. Under the panel. Pull the red fuse when the timer hits ten."
She hesitated. "That'll kill the sequence?"
"It'll kill everything."
Her eyes widened. "Including—"
He nodded weakly. "Including this tower."
Tears filled her eyes. "You'll die."
He smiled faintly. "Wasn't planning on retiring anyway."
"Don't joke," she whispered.
His hand found her's — trembling, warm. "You were right, Sera. Truth's worth bleeding for."
Then he let go.
Sera turned, rage and grief igniting in equal measure. "Dante!"
He looked at her, defiant, but there was something hollow behind his eyes now.
She raised Kael's gun, hands steady. "You took everything from him."
He smirked sadly. "He took it first."
Sera didn't pull the trigger. She couldn't. Instead, she turned to the console and slammed the red fuse out.
The countdown froze.
Then reversed.
00:00:10… 09… 08…
Kael's eyes opened just enough to see her running toward him.
"Sera!"
She dropped beside him, shaking. "We have to go!"
He smiled faintly. "Too late."
The building groaned — steel twisting, glass raining down.
Dante's expression cracked. "You fool!"
Kael's last words were barely a whisper. "Tell the world… the truth."
And then the tower exploded.
The blast tore through the skyline, swallowing Apex Tower in a bloom of fire and light. The shockwave shattered windows for miles. For one terrible, beautiful moment, the city was pure flame — the old world burning away.
When the smoke cleared, Havencrest was broken — but alive. The failsafe had been destroyed before the final detonation could spread.
In the aftermath, rescue teams combed the ruins.
They found no trace of Kael Arden's body.
Only a burned ID tag, marked with the Division Nine insignia.
Sera Donovan watched the sunrise over the wreckage, wrapped in a blanket, blood still on her hands. The city was quiet now — eerily so.
Lena sat beside her, eyes red. "He saved us."
Sera nodded, voice trembling. "He saved everyone."
"Do we… tell the world?" Lena asked.
Sera stared at the rising sun, her reflection pale in the light. "No," she said softly. "We show them."
She opened her laptop — Kael's encrypted drive blinking alive — and began typing.
Her first line was simple.
"This is the story of a man who burned for redemption — and the city that rose from his ashes."
Far below, in the smoke and ruin, a figure moved — limping, bleeding, but alive.
Kael Arden opened his eyes beneath the rubble, staring at the faint glow of dawn above.
He smiled, barely. "Guess I'm not done yet."
End of Chapter Five — and Book One of Fire in the Veins