ARIA'S POV
"Maya!" I screamed, running toward her through the chaos.
Marcus and his team flooded into the basement, weapons drawn, shouting orders. The guards Cross had brought were gone—vanished in the darkness along with their boss and my brother.
I reached Maya and started working on her chains. She was sobbing behind the gag, eyes wild with terror. Kael appeared beside me with bolt cutters, snapping the metal links.
Maya collapsed into my arms the second she was free. I pulled off her gag, and she gasped for air.
"They took him," Maya choked out between sobs. "Right before you came in. Cross grabbed Asher and dragged him through a tunnel behind the wall. There's a hidden door—"
"Show me," I demanded.
Maya pointed with a shaking hand at the wall where Asher had been chained. Up close, I could see the seams—a door built to look like solid concrete.
Kael pressed against it, searching for a release mechanism. "It's locked from the other side. We'd need explosives to—"
Marcus ran over carrying something—a metal box he'd found in the corner. "There's a tunnel system under the entire campus. Look."
Inside the box were old construction blueprints showing a network of passages connecting every major building. The old gymnasium connected to the science building, which connected to the administration offices, which connected to...
"The headmaster's private residence," I breathed. "Cross has a house on campus. That's where he took Asher."
"Then that's where we're going," Kael said, his voice hard as steel.
"Wait." Luna's voice crackled through our earpieces. "I'm tracking something on the security feeds. There are vehicles leaving campus right now—three black SUVs heading toward the north gate. Moving fast."
"Can you see who's inside?" I asked desperately.
"Negative. Windows are tinted. But one of them is moving differently—heavier, like it's carrying extra weight. Or extra people."
Asher. They were moving Asher off campus.
"If they get him out of the Academy, we'll never find him," Marcus said grimly. "Campus is neutral territory with limited outside police jurisdiction. But once they cross the border into the city—"
"They can disappear him completely," Kael finished. "We have to stop those vehicles before they leave campus."
"How?" I asked. "We're on foot and they've got a huge head start!"
Marcus grinned suddenly. "No, they don't. Follow me."
He led us out of the gymnasium at a dead run. My legs burned, lungs screaming for air, but I pushed harder. Asher was alive. So close. I wasn't losing him again.
Marcus brought us to the combat training facility and kicked open a storage shed. Inside were a dozen motorcycles—the ones used for advanced pursuit training.
"Can you ride?" Marcus asked me.
"Asher taught me when we were sixteen," I said, grabbing a helmet. "I can keep up."
Kael swung onto a bike, and I climbed on behind him. Marcus and two of his friends took the other bikes. Luna stayed connected through our earpieces, tracking the SUVs on security cameras.
"They're approaching the north gate," Luna reported. "You've got maybe two minutes before they're off campus."
Kael gunned the engine, and we shot forward into the pre-dawn darkness. The wind screamed past us as we raced down campus paths meant for walking, not high-speed chases.
"Left at the science building!" Luna directed. "Then straight through the main quad!"
We took the turn so sharp I thought we'd flip. My arms wrapped around Kael's waist, holding on for dear life.
Ahead, I could see the north gate—and three black SUVs approaching it.
"They're going to make it!" I shouted.
"No, they're not," Kael growled. He accelerated, the motorcycle leaping forward with terrifying speed.
Marcus and his team spread out, flanking the SUVs from different angles. We were intercepting them, forcing them to stop or crash.
The lead SUV's brake lights flared red. They'd seen us.
But instead of stopping, they accelerated toward the gate.
"They're going to ram it!" Luna warned.
The SUV hit the metal gate doing sixty miles an hour. The gate crumpled like paper, and the vehicles burst through onto the road beyond.
"No!" I screamed.
But Kael didn't slow down. We followed them through the destroyed gate, onto public roads, sirens already wailing in the distance from the crash.
The chase continued through empty streets. The sky was lightening—dawn coming fast. Cars would be on the roads soon. Innocent people who could get hurt.
"We need to stop them now," Kael said. "Marcus, can you get ahead of them?"
"On it!" Marcus's bike roared past us, taking a side street that would put him in front of the convoy.
"Luna, call the police," I said into my earpiece. "Tell them there's been a kidnapping. Give them our location."
"The real police or campus security?"
"Real police. FBI if you can reach them. Tell them everything—the murders, the Legacy Program, all of it. We need help."
"Roger that," Luna said. "Uploading all evidence now. This is going public in three... two... one... Done. Every news station in the country just got our files."
The lead SUV swerved suddenly, taking a sharp right toward the industrial district. Abandoned warehouses. No witnesses.
Perfect place for an ambush.
"It's a trap," Kael said, but we followed anyway. What choice did we have?
The SUVs pulled into a warehouse parking lot and screeched to a stop. Doors flew open. Cross emerged from the middle vehicle, flanked by six guards. And they were dragging Asher between them—my brother, barely able to stand, hands bound.
We skidded to a stop fifty feet away. Marcus and his team formed a line beside us, engines idling.
"Let him go, Cross!" I shouted, pulling off my helmet. "It's over! The evidence is public. Police are coming. You've got nowhere to run!"
Cross smiled—that same cold smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Oh, Miss Sinclair. You think you've won? You've revealed our research, yes. Caused a scandal. How unfortunate."
"You're going to prison," Kael snarled.
"Am I?" Cross pulled out a gun, pressing it to Asher's temple. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to stand down. You're going to tell the police this was all a misunderstanding. A student prank gone wrong. And if you don't..."
He cocked the gun.
Asher's eyes met mine across the distance. Even beaten and broken, he tried to smile. Tried to tell me it was okay.
It wasn't okay. Nothing about this was okay.
"Don't hurt him," I begged. "Please. I'll do anything."
"Anything?" Cross's smile widened. "Then come here, Aria. Trade yourself for your brother. One life for another. Seems fair."
"Don't," Asher croaked, his voice destroyed from screaming. "Don't do it, Ria. Run."
But I was already walking forward, hands raised. Kael tried to grab my arm, but I shook him off.
"Let my brother go," I said. "Take me instead."
Cross nodded to his guards. They released Asher, shoving him forward. He stumbled but stayed on his feet.
I kept walking until I was close enough to see the madness in Cross's eyes. This man had killed dozens of students. He'd torture me until I died.
But Asher would be free.
"Run!" I screamed at my brother.
Asher didn't run. He tackled Cross.
Everything exploded into chaos. Guards rushed forward. Marcus and his team charged. Gunfire erupted.
I hit the ground, covering my head. Someone was screaming. Multiple someones.
Then strong hands grabbed me, pulling me up. Kael. His face was fierce, protective.
"We need to go NOW," he shouted over the noise.
But I couldn't leave without Asher. I ripped free from Kael's grip and ran toward where my brother and Cross were wrestling on the ground.
Asher had Cross's gun. They were fighting for control. The barrel swung wildly—
The gun fired.
Someone fell.
The world went silent.
I couldn't tell who'd been shot. Everything moved in slow motion as I ran forward, screaming my brother's name.
Asher rolled off Cross and stood up, shaking. Alive. Unhurt.
Cross lay on the ground, clutching his leg where blood poured between his fingers.
"It's over," Asher said, his voice barely a whisper. He dropped the gun and turned to me. "Ria. You came for me."
"Of course I came for you, you idiot," I sobbed, crashing into him. "You're my brother."
Police sirens screamed closer. Actual police, not campus security. Luna had come through.
Cross was cuffed and dragged away, shouting threats that no one listened to. His guards surrendered without a fight.
It was over. Really over.
Asher held me while I cried. Kael stood nearby, watching us with something soft in his usually cold eyes.
"Thank you," Asher said to him. "For protecting my sister."
"She didn't need much protecting," Kael replied. "She's stronger than anyone I've ever met."
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
My blood turned to ice as I read it:
"Cross was just a puppet. The Legacy Program continues. Enjoy your victory while it lasts. You've only made us more careful. —RK"
Below was a photo.
Of Luna.
Tied to a chair in a dark room, unconscious.
Roman Kane had our friend.