Fire in the Silence

The engine growled like a beast beneath him, but Levan's thoughts were louder.

What the hell happened to her?Why didn't I see this coming?Where was I when she needed me the most?

His hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles white, heart pounding. The city lights blurred past as he sped through the night, each flash of light illuminating the storm behind his eyes.

Alea. His little sister. His responsibility.

He had left that world—left the gang, the violence, the blood—but now it was clawing its way back through her.

"She shouldn't have been part of this," he muttered through clenched teeth.

A memory flashed in his mind—Alea laughing in their tiny kitchen, wearing one of their mother's old aprons, flour on her nose. She was light. Warmth. Everything pure he swore to protect after burying their mother.

And now someone had taken that light and dragged it through the dark.

His jaw clenched harder.

Was it Ryzen's fault? Kael's? Hers?Did she get caught up in something, or was she dragged into it?

He didn't know. And not knowing burned more than anything.

As he turned the corner, tires screeching against the pavement, a single thought settled deep in his chest—cold and unforgiving:

Someone's going to pay for this.