It started with a low hum—barely noticeable, like the sound of an engine far in the distance. But I knew better. I’d heard it before. That steady drone meant only one thing.
Drones.
“Down!” someone screamed.
The sky split open as the first explosion rocked the outer gate. The ground beneath me shook violently, knocking me to my knees. Fire burst into the air like a dragon’s breath, hot and blinding. Shards of metal whistled past my head, embedding themselves in the walls and vehicles around us.
“Move! Move!” Helios’s voice cut through the chaos.
He grabbed my arm, yanking me behind a concrete barricade just as another blast hit the opposite end of the compound. I felt the heat against my back, the concussion of the explosion slamming into my lungs. My ears rang. Smoke curled thick in the air, turning the early morning into a hellish twilight.
Automatic gunfire opened up from the east wall. A swarm of dark figures poured through the breach—Volkov soldiers in black gear, sho
