Chapter 4 - The Midnight Extraction
Adrian returned to the marketplace under the cover of a moonless night. He needed to get Elara out of the city; Vane’s men were already moving, and the "bread cart" had been smashed to pieces.
He found her hidden in the cellar of a bombed-out bakery. She wasn't afraid. She was sharpening a knife on a whetstone, the rhythmic shhh-shhh sound filling the damp air.
"They know," she said without looking up. "I saw their black carriages circling the square."
"We’re leaving," Adrian said, grabbing her arm. "I have a contact at the southern border."
"No," Elara stood, tucking the knife into her belt. "If we run, we’re just prey. If we stay, we’re the hunters. Adrian, you have the military code. You can access the internal servers. We need to prove that the war didn't end because of the treaty—it ended because they ran out of resources to sell."
May you like
Adrian hesitated. To break the code was treason. It meant the death penalty. "If I do this, there’s no coming back."
Elara stepped into his space, her hands on his cheeks. "My son, you left your life behind in the trenches long ago. It’s time to decide if you want to be a puppet or a man."
