Aftermath

The docks were eerily quiet now, the chaos of battle reduced to nothing but distant echoes. The morning sun bled across the horizon, painting the sky in hues of crimson and gold. A poetic contrast to the bodies that had fallen just hours before.

Luca stood near the water's edge, his knuckles raw, his side still bleeding from Adrian's blade. But he didn't feel the pain. He barely felt anything.

Adrian was gone. Dead. Finally.

Yet, the weight in his chest hadn't lifted. If anything, it had only grown heavier.

Behind him, Sofia sat on the hood of Dante's car, wrapped in Elena's jacket. Her hands trembled as she sipped from a bottle of water, her eyes distant, haunted. Dante stood nearby, phone in hand, coordinating the cleanup. The bodies. The weapons. The blood.

By midday, there would be no evidence of what had happened here.

But Luca would remember.

Elena stepped beside him, arms crossed. "It's over."

Luca let out a slow exhale, his gaze fixed on the dark water. "Is it?"

She turned to him, studying his face. "You got what you wanted."

He clenched his jaw. "I wanted Sofia safe." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "But it doesn't change what we lost."

Elena's eyes softened. "Revenge doesn't heal wounds, Luca. It just stops the bleeding."

Luca finally met her gaze. "And what if I don't know who I am without the fight?"

Elena tilted her head. "Then it's time to find out."

A gust of wind blew through the docks, carrying away the last remnants of smoke. The war was over. But Luca had no idea what came next.

And that terrified him more than anything.

—

Next Chapter: A New Fire – In the wake of Adrian's death, new enemies rise, and love is tested in ways Luca never expected.