Chapter 25: Under Siege

Chapter 25: Under Siege

Silvia's POV

The city of Ravenspire was no longer just a dangerous place—it was a hunting ground, and she and Dragon were the prey.

Silvia's lungs burned as they sprinted through the maze of alleyways, dodging overturned crates and discarded metal scraps. The sounds of boots pounding behind them, the crackle of energy rifles charging up, and the sharp whistles of enforcer commands were all closing in.

They didn't have much time.

"Left!" Dragon barked, grabbing Silvia's wrist and yanking her into a darkened passageway. She barely had time to adjust before she was sprinting again, adrenaline surging through her veins.

A bolt of blue energy whizzed past her head, striking the wall beside her. The force of the blast sent up a spray of sparks, illuminating the alley for a split second.

Silvia grit her teeth. "That was too close!"

Dragon smirked, his breathing still steady despite their relentless sprint. "You always say that."

"Because it's always true!"

They twisted through another narrow passage before bursting into the lower district's open marketplace. Dozens of people crowded the street, merchants shouting over one another, the smell of grilled meat and burning oil mixing with the damp air. The moment they entered, chaos erupted.

"There! Enforcers!" someone yelled.

"Get out of the way!"

A blast of plasma fire tore through a wooden stall, sending flaming debris flying. The marketplace turned into a frenzied mess of people running, screaming, and diving for cover.

Silvia yanked her hood lower, dragging Dragon behind a set of stacked crates. "We can't outrun them forever. We need an escape route!"

Dragon's golden eyes flicked around the marketplace, scanning. "We need height. The rooftops."

Silvia exhaled sharply. "You just love dramatic exits, don't you?"

"Admit it—you'd be disappointed if I didn't."

Before she could reply, the sound of metal clanking against the cobblestones rang out. A smoke grenade.

"Move!" Dragon shoved Silvia forward as the street filled with thick, choking smoke.

She coughed, eyes stinging, but didn't stop moving. She had trained for worse than this.

Through the fog, Dragon's hand found hers, guiding her toward a stack of abandoned scaffolding leading up toward the rooftops. "Go! I'll cover you!"

Silvia didn't argue. She vaulted upward, gripping the metal bars and hauling herself onto the roof. Just as she rolled onto the flat surface, she turned to see Dragon pulling out two daggers, spinning them fluidly before lunging into the smoke.

She heard the clang of steel on armor, the grunt of an enforcer as he hit the ground, and then Dragon was moving, scaling the scaffolding with ease and swinging himself onto the rooftop beside her.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked, breathless.

Dragon wiped a streak of blood off his cheek, grinning. "You know me. I love a good fight."

"You love chaos."

"Same thing."

Silvia huffed but didn't waste time arguing. More enforcers were climbing after them, their boots pounding against the metal supports.

"We need to go, now!" she warned.

Dragon nodded, and together they sprinted across the rooftops, the city stretching below them in a blur of neon lights and rising smoke.

A Temporary Sanctuary

After what felt like an eternity of running, they finally stopped at the edge of an old industrial district. The rooftops were rusted, lined with broken antennae and abandoned ventilation units. No pursuit. No alarms. Just silence, except for the distant hum of the city below.

Silvia slumped against the side of a crumbling water tower, catching her breath. "Tell me we lost them."

Dragon crouched beside her, scanning the rooftops. "For now. But they'll keep looking."

She wiped the sweat from her brow, then reached into her coat, pulling out the stolen data drive. "We need to see what else is in here."

Dragon frowned. "Are you sure it's safe? That thing could be tracked."

"Then we figure out how to stop them before they find us again."

She pulled out a small hacking device, connecting it to the drive. The interface flickered to life, and the files began unraveling in front of her eyes.

She skimmed through the coded documents, decrypting logs, maps, and…

Her breath caught. A list.

A list of facilities.

Each one labeled with different codes—"Training Grounds," "Test Subjects," "Viability Reports."

One in particular made her stomach drop.

"Extraction Target: Silvia Earthstar."

She stared at the words, her pulse thundering in her ears.

"Dragon… they weren't just tracking me. They were coming to take me."

Dragon's playful smirk vanished. "Not happening."

Silvia scrolled further, her hands shaking slightly. One of the facilities wasn't far from Ravenspire. If they moved fast, they could reach it.

She looked up at him, determination hardening in her gaze. "We need to hit this facility. Find out what they're doing."

Dragon studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Then we hit it. Hard."

The Next Move

Silvia and Dragon stayed low as they navigated the crumbling factory district, heading toward the underground tunnels that would take them out of Ravenspire unnoticed.

Dragon glanced at her. "So… how bad is it?"

She exhaled. "They're not just making an army. They're taking people like me and turning them into weapons."

Dragon ran a hand through his hair. "That's worse than I expected."

Silvia clenched her fists. "We have to stop them."

"We will." His voice was firm. Certain.

She looked at him, really looked at him, and felt something warm settle in her chest. For all his reckless antics, Dragon never doubted her. Never hesitated.

She smirked. "You know, for a thief, you're kind of a hero."

He leaned closer, grinning. "I prefer 'charming rogue.'"

Silvia laughed softly. "Whatever you say, Dragon."

As they disappeared into the tunnels, heading toward their next battle, she knew this was just the beginning.

And this time, she wouldn't run.

She turned back to Dragon as they walked deeper into the underground. "You know, we might need backup for this."

Dragon raised a brow. "Thinking of calling in Tarren?"

Silvia nodded. "And maybe some of the others. If Echelon is as big as we think, we'll need all the help we can get."

Dragon exhaled. "Alright. But let's make sure we don't get killed before we make that call."

She rolled her eyes. "Great vote of confidence."

Dragon grinned. "What else am I here for?"

As they moved forward, the weight of what was coming pressed down on Silvia. They were going to war. And she wasn't sure how many of them would make it out alive.