The city never slept but tonight it felt like it was holding it's breath.
Zariah sat rigid in the passenger seat as Dorian weaved through the late-night traffic, his jaw tightened, eyes locked on the road. The glow of passing headlines illuminated his features in brief flashes, haunted determined and dangerously close on the edge.
"They're watching everything," Zariah said quietly, fingers digging into the hem of her coat. " They knew we were at the loft. They knew we found Nova's name."
Dorian didn't look at her. "That text was a threat, designed to make you hesitate."
"Did it work?" She asked, unable to mask the tremor in her voice.
His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "Not a damn chance."
They pulled up in front of an abandoned office building near the docks, one Dorian swore hadn't seen a tenant in years. The place looked like it could crumble under the weight of a strong breeze but tonight, it would be their refuge or at least, a place to think.
Inside, the air smelled of rust and dust. Dorian set up a makeshift workspace with his encrypted laptop, his gun within arm's reach. Zariah watched him, the weight of their isolation pressing heavily on her chest.
"You still don't trust me," he said, not looking up.
Zariah hesitated, "I want to."
He paused, then straightened. His gaze just softened just slightly. "I need you to, Zariah. Because if we can't stand together in this, if you doubt me now, we won't survive what's coming."
The vulnerability in his voice rattled her more than any threat.
Before she could reply, the laptop beeped.
A security alert, someone was pinging the flash drive, remotely trying to access it.
Dorian cursed under his breath "They're trying to wipe it, we have to move."
As they packed up, Zariah's phone buzzed.
Another message but no number.
A friend or a ghost? Meet me where it began.
Her blood ran cold.
"Nova," she whispered
Dorian glanced over "What?"
Zariah showed him the text.
"She's reaching out," Zariah said, hope flickering through fear. "It has to be her".
Dorian shook his head. "Or it's a trap. They know how to pull your strings."
But Zariah was already deciding.
"I have to go, I have to know the truth."
An hour later, the storm returned, lightening splintering the sky as they stood at the gate of Zariah's old university campus. The place where it all began. Where she'd first met Nova. Where her mother's final investigation had quietly started.
A figure stepped out from the shadows, drenched in rain , hood pulled low.
Nova
Or what was left of her.
"Zee," she rasped. She looked thinner, worn, as if hunted by more than shadows. "They're coming, you have no idea how deep this goes."
Before Zariah could reach her, headlights flooded the courtyard.
Doors slammed, footsteps pounded.
"Run!" Nova shouted, moving a small device into Zariah's hand.
Dorian grabbed Zariah's arm. Together, they disappeared into the storm, chased by ghosts of the past and predators of the present.