Chapter 84. She Screamed for You

S:

The city slips by in shadows and rusted metal.

Kieran drives like he always does after a kill—focused, fast, saying nothing unless necessary. The scent of smoke still clings to me. Blood too. Leonardo's. Mine. Doesn’t matter. He’s gone now.

The bastard’s final scream still rings in my head.

“You don’t deserve this empire—she’ll destroy you!”

His last words.

Not a plea.

A promise.

I see Rae’s face then.

Her eyes.

That wild, terrified look she gets when she’s fighting not to break.

I killed a man tonight.

But all I can think about is how she’ll look at me when I get home.

Like she already knows.

I shift in the seat. The weight of it all pressing on my chest.

Not regret.

Not guilt.

But something like… weariness.

“You’re quiet,” Kieran says after a while.

“I’m thinking.”

“About what?”

I glance at him.

He knows.

But he’s asking anyway.

“About