I snapped back to the present, the weight of the past still coiled around me like chains. The memory of that night burned fresh—Malik's shouts, the flashing lights, the guilt that never stopped gnawing.
I wanted to come back for you, bro.
But I never did.
And now, here we were again.
The trucks were almost gone, their taillights fading into the dark, when a scream ripped through the air—high, sharp, and raw. Not just any scream. Her scream.
The force of it slammed into the trucks, shaking their metal frames. Tires screeched against the asphalt as the convoy skidded to a halt. The air itself seemed to vibrate, the aftershock of the sonic blast sending a ripple through my chest.
Then, movement—small, fast, unstoppable.
Lily broke free.
She darted past Malik's men like they were statues, slipping through their grasp like smoke. They reached for her, but she was too quick, too desperate. Before I could react, she was in front of me, throwing herself into my arms.
Her tiny fingers clutched at my jacket like I'd disappear if she let go.
"Don't leave me, Jamal," she whispered, her voice cracking, barely holding back tears.
A lump formed in my throat. I held her close, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Then, the rumble of engines reversing. The trucks backed toward us, and a door swung open. Malik jumped down.
His gaze found mine.
And just like that night, I saw it—the betrayal, the pain, the years that had carved their way into his face. The silent question: Why didn't you come back?
He reached for Lily, trying to pull her away, but she clung even tighter.
And before I could stop myself, the words slipped out.
"I wanted to come back for you, bro. I just didn't know how."
The second they left my mouth, I felt them shatter. They weren't enough. They never would be.
Malik's grip on Lily loosened. His eyes darkened, his jaw tightening as he let the silence hang between us, thick and suffocating.
Then, his voice came low and sharp. "I'll do it for the kid. Not you."
The cut was deep. I felt it.
But I didn't have time to process it.
The air shifted.
The enforcers had arrived.
The first shots rang out, loud and violent. Muzzle flashes lit up the dark as containment squads poured into the street, their rifles aimed to kill. Malik's men fired back, the fight exploding into a full-blown warzone. Sparks flew as bullets tore through metal, through bodies. Screams and gunfire blurred together.
And then everything changed.
Eliana woke up.
No—she rose.
I felt the shift before I saw it, the air around her charged with something unnatural. She floated above the chaos, her body weightless, eyes glowing with an eerie, golden light.
Then she unleashed Hell.
A wave of force blasted outward, ripping through the enforcers. Bodies were thrown like rag dolls, crashing into trucks, slamming against buildings. The ground cracked beneath her. Those too close were erased in an instant.
I froze, watching the sheer destruction unfold.
Beside me, Malik let out a low whistle. "Damn…"
That's when I saw it.
His hands were glowing—faint, but unmistakable. Energy crackled along his fingers, flickering like lightning, like something barely contained.
Malik had powers too.
But before I could even react, he charged in, his movements faster, sharper than humanly possible. He tore through the enforcers with brutal efficiency, fists glowing as he struck them down one by one.
The night had become warrior's nightmare.
We were barely hanging on. The enforcers kept coming, relentless, while the bodies of those left behind piled up.
And yet—somehow, we made it.
We threw ourselves into the trucks as the engines roared back to life. Tires screeched. The world blurred past as we sped off, leaving nothing but smoke, fire, and the echoes of a battle we barely survived.
I turned back, watching the city shrink behind us.
The past had caught up with me.
And this time, there was no outrunning it.