Chapter 243: A King Falls

CRACK! CRACK!

Two gunshots rang out.

Chris barely had time to react before searing pain tore through his chest.

The force knocked him backward, his vision blurring as he hit the cold concrete. The world around him tilted, the distant shouts of his men sounding muted.

Cole's voice was the loudest. "Chris!"

Skylar's breath hitched. No.

Chris lay still, staring at the ceiling, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. His body felt heavy, his fingers twitching as warmth pooled beneath him.

He had been shot before. Stabbed before. But this was different.

The shadows around him shifted as Cole dropped beside him, pressing a hand against the wound. "Stay with me, damn it!"

Chris blinked slowly. His mind screamed at him to move, to speak—but his body was betraying him.

Skylar knelt beside him, her face pale, eyes wide with something between shock and panic. She was saying something.

He couldn't hear it.

The soldiers scrambled, securing the area, dragging a struggling Ava into view. Blood smeared her face, her wrists bound, but her eyes—her eyes held victory.

Chris tried to focus, tried to push through the fog clouding his thoughts.

He wasn't supposed to fall.

Not like this.

The edges of his vision darkened.

Then—

Everything went black.