After the chaos of the car chase, I took Calyx to a safehouse provided by the organization. It was a discreet location, off the grid, where no one could track us unless we wanted them to.
The driver hadn't said a word about his injury during the entire ordeal—probably too focused on keeping us alive—but by the time we stopped, the blood loss was undeniable. It wasn't until he staggered that we realized how bad it was. I had him sent to the hospital immediately.
Zero dispatched a cleanup team, handling the bodies, the wreckage, and smoothing things over with the authorities. They would make sure any trace of the attack was buried before it could raise questions.
But what unsettled me most was the silence.
I hadn't heard anything from Dos, Uno, Fifth, or Kaiser yet.
And that meant one of two things.
Either they were still in the middle of infiltrating the Shadestones' Melbourne hideouts.
Or something had gone very, very wrong.
"Stop walking around, Severa. Watching you is making me dizzy," Calyx commented, his voice edged with exhaustion as he sat at the small two-seater table.
I forced myself to stop, but the restless energy buzzing through me didn't settle. My arms crossed over my chest as I exhaled sharply, glancing at him. "I can't just sit still, Calyx. Not when I don't know what's happening out there."
His gaze met mine, steady despite the weight of the night still hanging between us. "Pacing won't change anything."
"No," I admitted, running a hand through my hair. "But it stops me from thinking the worst."
"What are you thinking?" Calyx asked, his voice softer this time.
"A lot." I let out a breath, my fingers tightening around my arms. "About the ambush. About who sent them. About why Dos, Uno, Fifth, and Kaiser are still silent." I shook my head. "And about you."
Calyx leaned back slightly, studying me. "Me?"
I met his gaze. "Tonight changed everything, Calyx. And we both know it."
He didn't argue. He didn't deny it.
Instead, he exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face before murmuring, "Yeah. It did."
His fingers tapped lightly against the table, a restless rhythm betraying the thoughts running through his head.
I almost forgot—tonight was the first time Calyx had ever shot someone. He hadn't killed them, but he'd pulled the trigger. And I had finished the job.
It was protocol. A lesson ingrained in me since my earliest days in the organization. No loose ends. No second chances.
And it was a part of me that Calyx had never truly seen before.
Until now.
I watched him carefully, waiting for a sign of hesitation, of regret, of anything that might tell me how he felt about what I had done—about what I was.
But he just exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "This is normal for you, isn't it?"
I hesitated, my fingers curling against my arms. "It's necessary."
He met my gaze, searching for something in my expression. Maybe for the girl I used to be. Maybe for the woman he thought he married.
But that woman had never truly existed.
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths.
Calyx's gaze didn't waver. He wasn't looking at me with fear or disgust—not yet. But there was something else there, something unreadable. A realization, maybe. A quiet understanding that whatever lines had once separated our worlds had blurred tonight.
Finally, he spoke. "How long have you been doing this?"
I exhaled through my nose, turning my gaze toward the floor for a brief moment. "Long enough."
"Long enough," he echoed, his voice thoughtful. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "And you were never going to tell me, were you?"
I looked at him then, really looked at him. "Would you have wanted to know?"
A humorless chuckle left his lips as he rubbed a hand down his face. "Maybe not." A beat of silence. Then, softer, "But I wish I had."
Something in my chest twisted, but I ignored it. Now wasn't the time.
I straightened. "You should rest. The organization will move us again soon. It won't be safe here for long."
Calyx studied me for a long moment before nodding. He didn't press, didn't demand more answers.
Maybe he knew he wouldn't like them.
-
Calyx and I relocated to a different safehouse, following the organization's directive. The change in location wasn't just precautionary—it was a statement. Whatever had happened last night had escalated things, and now, the higher-ups wanted us under tighter control.
I'd heard that the others had arrived in the Australia, assessing the situation on their end. They were being brought up to speed on everything we had uncovered about Shadestone. The ambush. The pursuit. The possible leaks within our network.
But there was one thing I hadn't told them.
Calyx's father.
That secret still belonged to me. For now.
"Do we have to stay here?" Calyx asked, his tone edged with frustration.
I knew what he was thinking. The safehouse was in a different country, far from everything he had built, and his company was likely at the forefront of his concerns. But Sebastian had already stepped in, taking control of Lockhorst Corporation to ensure it wouldn't suffer in Calyx's absence.
Calyx knew that. And yet, the weight of leaving his life behind, even temporarily, was something he couldn't shake.
But he also couldn't say no.
"Yes," I answered shortly, focused on arranging my weapons.
Silence stretched between us as I worked. I expected him to make some remark about the sheer number of knives, guns, and ammunition I had brought along. But he didn't.
He didn't even flinch.
And for some reason, that unsettled me more than if he had.
After securing my weapons and double-checking our supplies, I turned to face him. The tension between us had been thick since we arrived, but now, it was palpable—his frustration radiating off him in waves.
"I know this is a lot," I said, keeping my voice steady. "But we have to do this, Calyx. Don't worry, I'm here to protect you. I'm—"
I didn't even get to finish.
"Damn it, Severa!" Calyx's voice cut through the air, sharp with frustration. He ran a hand through his hair before leveling his gaze at me, his expression dark with something I couldn't quite place. "I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around. Do you even understand how this makes me feel?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but he didn't stop.
"I feel useless, Severa. Watching you handle everything, watching you fight and kill without hesitation while all I could do was stand there—I've never felt more like a spectator in my own damn life." His jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "I'm the man in this relationship. But right now, I don't feel like I am."
I exhaled, forcing myself to stay calm. I understood where this was coming from, but that didn't mean it was easy to hear.
"You think this is about making you feel like a man?" I asked, my voice quieter now, but no less firm. "This isn't about your pride, Calyx. It's about survival. It's about keeping you alive."
His chest rose and fell in sharp breaths, but he didn't argue.
"I don't need you to prove anything to me," I continued, stepping closer. "I need you to stay alive. I need you to let me do what I was trained to do. If I let you take the lead just to make you feel like a man, you'd be dead, Calyx. And I'm not willing to lose you."
He swallowed hard, his gaze searching mine.
I softened, just a little. "I know this isn't easy for you. But right now, I don't have the luxury of easing your pride. I only have the luxury of keeping you safe."
A heavy silence settled between us, thick with things neither of us had the strength to say.
Finally, Calyx let out a slow breath. His shoulders didn't relax, but some of the fight left his eyes. "I just… I hate feeling like this," he admitted, quieter now.
I nodded. "I know."
For a moment, we just stood there. Two people trapped in a war neither of us had asked for, bound by a marriage that was already unraveling.
And yet, even now, I couldn't walk away.
I wouldn't.
Because no matter how much Calyx hated feeling powerless—there was only one undeniable truth.
I would protect him. Even if it meant breaking him in the process.