Hundred Four

JULIA’S POV

The gunfire had begun to die down, not fully gone, but fading into scattered cracks that seemed to echo from a distance rather than directly around them. My ears still rang, my breathing was shaky, and before I even understood what my body was doing, I realized I was pressed against Lucian again, clinging to him like I had no sense of dignity left. It shocked me because he wasn’t even looking at me. He stood steady, unmoving, one arm slightly angled as he kept his gun pointed outward, waiting for anyone stupid enough to charge at us again. He didn’t tremble. He didn’t shake. He didn’t even blink fast. He simply watched the room with the cold patience of someone who had seen worse nights than this. I felt ridiculous holding onto him like that, but I could not let go. My body refused to accept that the danger had passed.

“Who are these people?” he asked Andrew, not loudly, but sharply enough that it cut through the thick air. His voice carried the kind of anger that didn’t n