The gunshot shattered the silence.
Adrian shoved me to the ground, covering my body with his as bullets tore through the wooden carriage behind us.
"Stay down!" he shouted.
For once, I obeyed.
Mostly because my heart was trying to escape through my throat.
Adrian fired twice toward the guards. One collapsed behind a stack of crates, while the other disappeared into the darkness.
"Lucian!" Adrian yelled.
His brother struggled against the ropes binding his wrists. "A little help would be appreciated!"
"Keep your head down!"
"Wonderful advice! I'll treasure it forever!"
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
Almost.
Victor had vanished.
"Where did he go?" I demanded.
Adrian grabbed my hand and pulled me behind a concrete pillar. "Probably somewhere he can watch us suffer."
"Charming man."
"Remind me to introduce you properly."
"Absolutely not."
Another shot rang out. Adrian leaned around the pillar, fired once, then turned to me.
"Do you still have the key?"
I checked my pocket.
Empty.
My blood ran cold.
"No."
His expression changed instantly. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean it's gone!"
"Elena—"
"I was a little distracted by the bullets, Adrian!"
He swore under his breath, then glanced toward the tracks.
A figure emerged from behind the abandoned train.
Victor held the brass key between two fingers.
"Looking for this?"
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I stood up.
Adrian caught my arm. "Don't."
"He wants me. That's why he hasn't killed us."
"He wants what your father left behind."
"Then perhaps I should ask him what it is."
"Absolutely not."
I stared at him. "You can't protect me from everything."
His grip loosened.
For a moment, the gunfire, the cold night, and the terrified shouts seemed to disappear. There was only Adrian, looking at me as if the thought of losing me frightened him more than death itself.
"I'm not trying to control you," he said quietly. "I'm trying to keep you alive."
Before I could answer, Victor called out.
"Enough sentimental nonsense! Adrian, put your weapon down, or your brother dies."
Lucian's captor pressed a gun against his head.
Adrian went rigid.
I looked between the brothers, then at Victor.
"Let Lucian go," I said.
Victor chuckled. "You really haven't learned anything."
"No. But I know you need something from me. And if you kill Lucian, Adrian will kill you before you get it."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
I took a careful step forward.
"So here's my offer. You let Lucian walk away, and I'll help you open whatever that key unlocks."
"Elena, don't," Adrian warned.
Victor studied me for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Your father had the same weakness. He always believed he could bargain with monsters."
"And yet," I replied, "here you are, still bargaining."
His smile vanished.
"Bring her to me."
The guard seized Lucian by the collar, but before he could move, a burst of gunfire erupted from the station entrance.
Everyone turned.
Men in black suits stormed between the carriages, their weapons trained on Victor's guards.
For one wild second, I thought Adrian had brought reinforcements.
Then I saw the emblem on their jackets.
A silver snake coiled around a crown.
Adrian's face drained of color.
"No," he whispered.
I had never heard that tone from him before.
Not anger. Not fear.
Recognition.
Victor laughed as the new arrivals surrounded us.
"Allow me to introduce the people your father spent his final years trying to destroy."
A tall man stepped through the smoke, removing his leather gloves.
Adrian stared at him as though he were looking at a ghost.
"Uncle Marcus?"
The man smiled.
"Hello, nephew."
Then he pointed his gun at Adrian.
"Now, shall we discuss what really happened to your father?"