Nathan stood nearby, gun raised, watching the corridor entrances. He looked exhausted, blood-spattered, and desperate. When he saw me, relief flashed across his face. "Alexei, thank God. We need to get her out of here before—" Guards burst from three different corridors, weapons firing. Nathan returned fire, dropping two before the others took cover. More would come. They always did. I ran to Maya, dodging bullets that sparked off the floor. "Maya! We need to leave. Now." She didn't look up. Just kept painting, adding another symbol to the growing circle. "Maya!" I grabbed her shoulder. She turned slowly, and those white eyes focused on me. My blood ran cold. This wasn't Maya. Something else looked out from behind her eyes, something that had existed long before humans learned to make fire. "Alexei," she said, but the voice was wrong. Layered, echoing, like multiple people speaking through one throat. "The Mother says we're not truly bonded. The blood bond was incomplete.
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