~ThorneI walked slowly away from them, each step heavier than the last, and returned to my room.I didn’t expect to see her there.Elena.God, I wished she wasn’t.“You look like you just saw something supernatural,” she said softly, stepping closer. Her voice was gentle, curious, but I could barely process it.I flinched, taking a step back. My hands fumbled behind me, trying to find something to anchor me, anything until my back hit the wall.Trapped.Elena’s brows knit in concern. “Thorne…”She got up and moved toward me.“Don’t come near me!” I snapped, panic slicing through my voice sharper than I intended.But she didn’t stop.She dropped beside me, pulled me into her arms like I was something fragile, breakable. Her grip tightened, firm and real. A hug. Not to comfort herself but to hold me together.I didn’t hug back. I didn’t breathe.But I didn’t move either.“Get away from me!” I screamed, my voice cracking.But she didn’t move.“Why?” she asked quietly, “Because they said
~RavenIf laughter were possible right now, I’d have let it out, loud, bitter, and echoing.Luna is alive? What a pathetic excuse to claw your way out of death. This… this was Katherine’s last card? Desperation always brings the dramatic, doesn’t it?“You…” Thorne chuckled lowly, shaking his head. “You never cease to amaze me.”His voice wasn't impressed. It was amused. Like a man standing on the edge of a cliff, watching the waves crash, waiting to see if he'd fall or fly.Katherine didn’t flinch.“If you didn’t believe me…” she tilted her head, eyes fixed on him, “then why did you put out the fire?”Her smile was faint. Dangerous. Almost cruel.Thorne said nothing. His silence was a language all its own.And Katherine filled it.“I didn’t want to tell you before,” she said. “But since it’s my way out…” Her smile deepened, dark and slow. “I had to.”I looked between them.Katherine was gambling with flames. And Thorne… Thorne was the fire.But for the first time, he looked unsure.T
~KatherineFreya was the first to speak, her voice cracking. "We didn’t even know Luna. We never touched her.”“He doesn’t care about facts,” I muttered, keeping my eyes on the door. “He only cares about eliminating threats. Loose ends. Anyone who’s ever been in the same room as Zoey.”“Which means us,” Lorenzo growled. “Because we’ve all stood by you.”I gave him a look. “Not out of love.”He didn’t argue.Rosy whimpered as she shifted on her bound wrists. “There’s no way out. You know that, right? He’s going to burn us alive.”I leaned back against the wall, pretending not to care. “You’re smiling,” Raven said suddenly, voice low and quiet.I turned my face toward him, tilting my head. “Am I?”“You’ve thought of something,” he said.I said nothing. But I didn’t deny it.He leaned his head back against the wall, eyes on the ceiling. “Don’t gamble with us, Katherine. If you’ve got something say it.”I breathed in deep. “I need time,” I said. “And luck. Both of which we don’t have.”
~KatherineI coughed as I regained consciousness, the taste of metal and smoke clinging to my tongue. My eyes fluttered open, blurry at first but it didn’t take long to register the silhouettes around me. I was the last one to wake up.Raven. Lucien. Lorenzo. Freya. Rosy.All of them bound like me, wrists tied behind their backs, legs restrained. They were breathing, awake but too quiet. It was the kind of silence that knew death was just around the corner.My head pounded as I tried to shift, only to feel the tight bandage cutting into my wrists. I looked down or as far as I could tilt and saw it, scattered gas canisters. Dried leaves formed a ring around us.And then I saw it. Three lighters. Neatly placed, as if we were a ceremonial offering.He was going to burn us alive.Of course he was. It wasn’t enough to kill us. He wanted us to feel it. Watch each other go up in flames. Suffer.I swallowed hard. My heart should’ve been racing, but it wasn’t. It was slow. Cold. Because dee
~ThorneThey began to walk back to their car, slow, cautious steps, every single one of them checking over their shoulder at me like prey unsure if the predator was finished toying with them.Elena’s hand suddenly wrapped around my arm from behind. Her voice was soft, but anxious. “That’s all, right? That’s it? You’re not going to—”“Stay out of this, Elena,” I cut in, not even glancing at her. “Lucia, escort her back to the car.”Lucia obeyed without question, tugging Elena gently but firmly away.Raven’s hand gripped the handle of the car door.Then it happened.A sound. Low. Subtle. Beeping.Not from one car.All of them.Simultaneous.A synchronized countdown started blinking on the dashboards, digital red numbers ticking down from 60.“What the hell is that?” Rosy muttered, stepping back instinctively.Lorenzo’s voice cracked through the tension, “It’s a time bomb! Just sixty seconds!”Panic hit their eyes, but they didn’t scatter yet. Not until I opened my mouth.I tilted my hea
~ThorneThe shower poured over my head like judgment. Cold. Relentless. I stood beneath it longer than I’d planned, letting the chill bite into my skin, hoping it would numb the heat still boiling under it.It didn’t.My mind was louder than ever. Katherine’s voice echoing, twisting truth with madness.“She's your Zoey now.”“You only ever had eyes for Luna.”“She buried her with her own hands.”A breath. Then another. Still not enough.I stepped out at last. The fog clung to me like regret. Lucia stood by the doorway, silent, towel in hand. She didn’t speak. Just extended it like she hadn’t just seen me stripped bare, physically and otherwise.But I caught it, the way her eyes flicked to my face, then away. Like she wanted to ask what was breaking me but knew better."Thank you," I said, voice low.She gave the smallest nod and turned, as if it was routine.I dried off without hurry. The towel scratched against my scars like a reminder: I’m not a man. I’m a weapon. And weapons don’