CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE WAR SHE WOKE UP

Damon’s POV

The moment the door shut behind Liana, the room felt like it had been hollowed out and left echoing.

Not quiet.

Empty.

The kind of empty that follows an explosion, when the noise fades and all that’s left is damage you haven’t fully counted yet.

Aria stood frozen near the desk, arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep her body from splitting apart. Her breathing was off. Too shallow. Too fast. Every instinct in me flared sharp and immediate.

“Aria.”

She didn’t respond.

I crossed the room in three strides and stopped in front of her, careful not to crowd her, careful not to touch her too suddenly. Her eyes were open but unfocused, staring at nothing, pupils blown wide like she’d just watched something unspeakable.

“Look at me,” I said softly.

Nothing.

I reached out anyway, slow, deliberate, and placed my hands on her upper arms. Warm skin. Trembling. Real. She flinched at the contact but didn’t pull away.

“Aria,” I repeated, firmer now. “Stay with me.”

Her gaze finally shifted. Landed on my chest. Then lifted to my face like it weighed a thousand pounds.

“I’m not real,” she whispered.

The words cut deeper than anything Liana had said.

I tightened my grip just enough for her to feel it. “You are very real.”

Her breath stuttered. “She said I was designed. That I was made to replace someone else. That my life was planned.”

I shook my head slowly. “She told you pieces. Not the whole.”

Her eyes flickered. “You knew.”

The accusation wasn’t loud. It wasn’t angry.

It was worse.

It was hurt.

“I knew there were irregularities,” I said carefully. “I knew there was a connection. I did not know about you until after you were already gone from the system.”

Her jaw tightened. “You still didn’t tell me.”

“No,” I admitted. “Because I didn’t know how. And because I was trying to keep you safe.”

Her laugh came out brittle and sharp. “By lying.”

“By waiting,” I corrected. “There’s a difference.”

She looked away, shoulders curling inward. The room felt smaller again, tighter, like the walls were leaning in to listen.

Daniel cleared his throat quietly from near the console. “Sir. Security just flagged movement.”

My head snapped up. “What kind of movement.”

“Multiple vehicles,” he said. “Unmarked. Coordinated. They’re not trying to hide.”

My stomach dropped.

“How long.”

“Minutes. Maybe less.”

Aria stiffened instantly. “They’re coming here.”

“Yes,” I said.

Her breath hitched. “Because of me.”

“Because of what you represent,” I said, and immediately wished I’d phrased it differently.

She recoiled slightly, pain flashing across her face. “That’s not better.”

I stepped closer again, lowering my voice. “Listen to me. Whatever they think you are, whatever they built or planned or failed at, none of that changes what you choose to be now.”

Her hands shook. “You don’t understand. If they made me once, they can take me again.”

“No,” I said. “They can try.”

Daniel spoke again, faster now. “Sir. We’ve lost external cameras on the south side.”

That did it.

I turned sharply. “Initiate lockdown protocol. Level black. No exceptions.”

Daniel hesitated. “That will draw attention.”

“Do it anyway.”

He nodded and moved quickly, fingers flying over the console.

The building lights dimmed slightly as the system shifted. Steel shutters began sliding into place over lower level windows. The faint sound of reinforced doors sealing echoed through the floors like a warning bell.

Aria’s breathing sped up again. “This is my fault.”

I caught her face between my hands before she could spiral further. Her skin was warm. Her pulse wild beneath my thumbs.

“This is not your fault,” I said firmly. “This started long before you ever knew my name.”

Her eyes searched mine, desperate. “Then why do I feel like everything I touch breaks.”

Because someone broke you first.

Because they never gave you a chance to be ordinary.

I didn’t say it.

Instead I said, “Because you’re waking up in the middle of a war.”

Her lips parted. “A war.”

“Yes.”

Daniel turned back toward us. “Sir. They’ve breached the perimeter.”

My blood went cold.

“How.”

“Inside access,” he said grimly. “Someone had clearance.”

Liana.

I felt the realization hit like a punch to the gut. Of course she had. Of course she’d already set it in motion before she ever opened her mouth.

Aria saw it on my face. “She planned this.”

“Yes.”

Her shoulders squared slowly, something shifting in her posture. Not fear. Something harder. Sharper.

“She said she wanted me awake this time.”

I nodded once. “And now you are.”

The monitors flickered again.

Figures appeared on screen. Moving through lower corridors with purpose. Not guards. Not employees. Too clean. Too coordinated.

Hunters.

Daniel swallowed. “Sir. They’re heading toward the elevators.”

“How many.”

“At least six. Possibly more.”

Aria’s hand slid into mine. Not shaking this time. Firm.

“What do we do.”

I looked at her. Really looked. Past the fear. Past the cracks. At the woman standing in front of me, breathing through panic, choosing not to collapse even when everything she believed about herself had been ripped away.

“We don’t let them take you,” I said. “That’s what we do.”

Her grip tightened. “And if they don’t want to take me alive.”

My jaw clenched. “Then they’ve made a mistake.”

Another alert sounded. Louder.

Daniel’s voice rose. “Sir. They’ve overridden floor access.”

The lights flickered again.

Footsteps echoed faintly somewhere below us.

Closer.

Aria leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. “Damon.”

“Yes.”

“If I really was made to survive… then let me help.”

I stared at her.

“No,” I said immediately.

Her eyes didn’t waver. “I won’t be dragged out like a package.”

I could hear it now. The truth Liana had dropped like a match.

Whatever they built her to be, it wasn’t weak.

And whatever they were coming for, it wasn’t just information.

I squeezed her hand once. Hard.

“Stay with me,” I said. “Do exactly what I say.”

She nodded. “I am done being erased.”

The elevator chime sounded down the hall.

Too close.

Too soon.

Daniel looked at me, pale. “Sir. They’re on this floor.”

I turned toward the door, positioning myself in front of Aria without thinking.

Whoever was coming wasn’t here to talk.

And this time, I wasn’t losing her.