The moment stretched thin, brittle as glass.
Zariah stood frozen, her body locked between instinct and disbelief, staring at Kellan as if her mind refused to accept what her eyes clearly saw. Alive. Standing. Smiling like he hadn't once destroyed her life and vanished into the dark.
"You're lying," she whispered.
Kellan tilted his head, studying her like a memory he hadn't expected to resurface so vividly. "That's the first thing you say to me after all this time?"
Adrian shifted subtly, positioning himself half a step in front of her again. His hand brushed the concealed weapon at his side not in panic, but readiness.
"You shouldn't be breathing," Adrian said coldly.
Kellan's smile sharpened. "People say that a lot. Turns out death and I don't get along."
The armed figures behind him fanned out, boots echoing softly against the concrete floor. Zariah felt the trap closing not violently, not suddenly, but with deliberate precision. Like predators who knew their prey had nowhere left to run.
Adrian scanned the chamber quickly exits, angles, numbers. Too many. Too open. No immediate advantage.
Kellan noticed. "Still calculating. You always did that well."
Adrian's eyes flicked to him. "And you always mistook chaos for intelligence."
Kellan laughed softly. "Funny. I learned that from you."
Zariah's heart pounded painfully. "Kellan," she said, forcing her voice steady. "If you're alive… then everything you let me believe"
"I didn't let you believe anything," he interrupted. "You assumed. That was your mistake."
Her throat tightened. "You disappeared. I was hunted. My life collapsed."
"And yet," he said calmly, "here you are. Alive. Stronger. Wrapped in luxury and danger."
His gaze slid to Adrian. "Protected."
Adrian's jaw flexed. "You don't get to analyze her."
Kellan's eyes darkened briefly. "You don't get to own her."
The air between them snapped taut.
Zariah stepped forward before either of them could escalate. "Why are you here?" she demanded. "Not your games. The truth."
For a moment, Kellan looked almost impressed.
"Because your father trusted the wrong people," he said. "And because you were always meant to be the key whether you knew it or not."
Zariah shook her head. "I don't know anything."
"You know more than you realize," Kellan replied. "Your memories aren't empty. They're locked."
Adrian's voice dropped dangerously low. "You're not touching her mind."
Kellan sighed. "Still emotional. That's going to get you killed."
Zariah's chest tightened. "What do you want from me?"
Kellan met her gaze fully now. "I want you to remember."
Silence swallowed the chamber.
Adrian turned slightly toward her. "Don't listen to him."
"I don't have a choice," she whispered back. "Do I?"
Kellan spread his hands. "You do. That's the irony. You always have."
One of the men behind him stepped forward, holding a small metallic device sleek, unfamiliar, humming faintly.
Zariah recoiled. "What is that?"
"A neural trigger," Kellan said. "Not invasive. Just… persuasive."
Adrian moved instantly. "Touch her and this ends in blood."
"It ends in blood either way," Kellan replied calmly. "The only difference is how many people survive."
Zariah felt her breathing turn shallow. Her mind raced images flashing too quickly to grasp. A room filled with blue light. Her father's voice, urgent. A hand pressed to her temple. Pain. Then darkness.
Her knees buckled slightly.
Adrian caught her. "Zariah."
"I—" She swallowed hard. "I think… something's there."
Kellan nodded slowly. "There it is."
Adrian's grip tightened. "No."
Zariah looked up at him. "Adrian… if what he's saying is true"
"Then I'll deal with it," he said firmly. "Not them."
Kellan chuckled. "You don't get to decide that anymore."
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the tunnel behind them.
Reinforcements.
Adrian cursed under his breath.
Kellan glanced back briefly, then returned his attention to Zariah. "Time's up."
He extended his hand toward her. "Come with me willingly. No force. No trigger. Just answers."
Adrian shook his head. "This is how they break you."
Zariah's heart tore between them. Fear clawed at her chest but beneath it, something else stirred.
Truth.
Her father's ghost haunted her every step. The unanswered questions. The feeling that her life had been hijacked by secrets she never chose.
She looked at Adrian. "If I go… will you let them take me?"
His eyes burned. "Never."
Kellan interjected, "You won't survive staying."
Adrian shot him a lethal glare. "You're not part of this decision."
Zariah exhaled shakily. "I don't trust him," she said softly. "But I don't trust what I don't remember either."
Adrian's expression shifted pain flickering through the steel.
"This is a trap," he said quietly. "One designed for you."
"I know."
She gently loosened her grip on his jacket.
The world seemed to tilt.
"I need answers," she whispered. "And running won't give me those."
Adrian caught her wrist. "If you walk toward him"
"I'm not leaving you," she said quickly. "I'm choosing to face what's already chasing me."
Kellan watched intently.
Zariah stepped forward just one step.
The air cracked with tension.
Suddenly....
Gunfire erupted from the upper tunnel.
Shouts. Chaos.
Adrian moved instinctively, pulling Zariah back as bullets ricocheted off concrete. Smoke filled the chamber. Screams echoed.
Kellan swore. "They weren't supposed to breach this fast."
Adrian used the distraction instantly, dragging Zariah toward the vehicle. "Get in."
She hesitated, torn.
Kellan shouted over the chaos. "Zariah! If you leave now you may never remember!"
Adrian slammed the car door open. "NOW!"
She looked at Kellan one last time.
Then at Adrian.
Trust.
She chose him.
They dove into the vehicle as explosions rocked the chamber. Adrian gunned the engine, the armored car roaring to life as debris rained down.
They burst through a hidden exit tunnel just as the chamber behind them collapsed in fire and smoke.
Silence followed heavy and ringing.
Zariah's hands shook as adrenaline crashed through her system. "Did we..?"
"We escaped," Adrian said tightly. "For now."
She leaned back, breath trembling. "He knows something."
"Yes," Adrian admitted. "And now he knows how close you are to remembering."
Zariah closed her eyes, pain pulsing behind them.
"Adrian…"
He glanced at her. "What?"
"What if the truth changes everything?"
His grip tightened on the wheel. "Then we survive it."
Ahead of them, the tunnel split two diverging paths.
The navigation system flickered.
Unknown interference detected.
Adrian cursed.
Zariah opened her eyes.
And realized....
The past had finally caught up with them.
And it wasn't done taking pieces