Aria "Run, Aria! Run!"My father's voice cut through the night like a blade, raw and desperate in a way I'd never heard before. But my legs wouldn't move. I stood frozen in the marble foyer of our estate, watching smoke curl through the air like black serpents, watching our world come apart at the seams.Gunfire cracked somewhere in the east wing. Glass shattered. A woman screamed, Maria, maybe, or one of the other staff. My heart hammered so hard I could taste it in my throat, metallic and sharp."Papa..""Go!" He grabbed my shoulders, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. His eyes were wild, darting between me and the heavy oak doors behind us. Blood streaked across his shirt collar, not his own, I thought, but I couldn't be sure. "Take the north passage. Don't look back. Don't.."The doors exploded inward. I stumbled backward, my father's hands torn from my shoulders as armed men poured into our home like a flood. Black tactical gear. Weapons raised. Cold, efficient, unsto
Last Updated : 2025-10-15
LOGIN
