Enough of the games. The storm was coming.
Emir sat on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together—the look in his eyes? Deadly. Calculated. A man on the edge of war.
Beren stood by the window, watching the city lights, her own mind a battlefield.
Revenge. Power. Survival.
That's all it came down to.
She turned, arms crossed. "We don't have time for this, Emir. The enemy is moving."
Emir looked up at her, his smirk sharp. "And you think I'm not?"
She knew him.
She knew that smirk meant someone was about to die.
Beren sighed, stepping closer. "What did you do?"
Emir leaned back, stretching lazily, but his eyes held pure violence. "I sent a message."
Beren's brows furrowed. "A message?"
He tilted his head, looking at her as if she was slow. "Yes, Butterfly. A very… bloody message."
Her stomach twisted. "Emir—"
The door burst open.
One of their men rushed in, face pale. "Boss, we have a problem."
Emir exhaled through his nose, annoyed. "That's not news. Be specific."
The man swallowed. "It's Ece."
Beren's breath caught.
Ece.
The woman who had betrayed them before. The woman who had almost gotten Emir killed.
Emir's jaw clenched. He stood up, rolling his shoulders. "What about her?"
The man hesitated. "She's back. And she has Kanat's old allies with her."
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Dangerous.
Then—Emir laughed.
Low. Amused. Deadly.
Beren frowned. "This isn't funny, Emir."
He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Oh, Butterfly." His dark green eyes locked onto hers, gleaming with something terrifying. "It's hilarious. Because now I finally have an excuse to kill her."
And just like that—the war truly began.