The compound loomed in the distance rusted gates, skeletal buildings, and floodlights that flickered like dying stars. It was the kind of place meant for secrets and silence. Exactly Lena's style.
Talia crouched beside Kian in the snow, the cold seeping into her bones. Her heart pounded not just from fear but fury. Nova was in there.
Alive. Terrified. Alone.
Kian passed her a comms earpiece and a sleek black pistol.
"Safety's off," he said, voice low. "If you see her, run. Don't wait for me. Don't play hero."
"I don't need to be a hero," Talia replied. "I just need to be her mother." Their eyes locked. No more words.
The mission had begun.
Kian slipped in through the west wall breach silently disabling the first guard with a tranquilizer dart. Talia moved around to the rear loading dock, crouching in shadow.
Inside, the place reeked of oil, blood, and old sins. Talia's boots barely made a sound as she crept through the hallway. Dim lights flickered overhead. She passed empty cages, cracked floors, rooms filled with silence.
Until she heard it.
A soft whimper.
She froze.
Nova.
The sound came from behind a steel door with a security panel. Just as she reached for it—
"Drop the weapon."
Lena's voice slithered in from behind. Talia spun, gun raised— But Lena was faster.
A hard crack to the temple sent Talia crashing to the ground. Her pistol skidded across the concrete.
She blinked through the stars, trying to stay conscious. Lena stood over her, a blade in one hand, and her phone in the other. "You always were too emotional. Like your mother."
"Where is she?" Talia gasped.
"She's safe. For now." Lena's smirk was venom. "But children are very… persuasive. Especially when they cry."
Talia lunged, pain screamed through her head but Lena kicked her back down.
"You really thought you could outmaneuver me?" Lena spat. "After everything I cleaned up for your family?"
Blood filled Talia's mouth but she smiled.
"No," she whispered. "But he can."
Behind Lena, Kian's gun cocked. "Step away," he growled. Lena stiffened. "How touching. The broken heir, trying to play protector."
"I'm not trying," he said. "I am." In one blink, chaos erupted.
Lena spun, firing first.
Kian dove.
Bullets shattered the corridor. Sparks flew. Alarms blared.
Talia scrambled to her feet, grabbing her gun just in time to cover Kian.
He returned fire — controlled, merciless.
One bullet clipped Lena's thigh. She staggered. Snarled. "I should've killed her when I had the chance," she spat, dragging herself back into the shadows.
Kian stormed forward, but she was already gone, a ghost fading into steel and smoke.
They didn't waste time.
Kian kicked the door open.
Inside was a small cot. A dim light. A little girl curled in the corner.
Nova.
Her eyes were red. Her cheeks streaked with tears. But the moment she saw Talia—
"MOMMY!"
Talia dropped to her knees, arms open.
Nova ran into them, sobbing, shaking, clinging so tight it nearly shattered Talia's spine.
"I knew you'd come," Nova cried.
Talia wept, kissing every inch of her daughter's face. "I'm here, baby. I'm here."
Kian watched them, a tightness in his chest he didn't have a name for.
Then Nova turned to him, lip trembling.
"Did you come too?"
Kian knelt. "Of course I did."
She looked at him, long and deep.
"Are you my daddy?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah. I am."
She launched into his arms and the weight of everything Kian had lost fell into place soft, small, and perfect.
They got out fast.
No more enemies. No more threats.
But as they sped away, the compound burning in their rearview mirror, Kian spoke without turning:
"This doesn't end here."
Talia looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"They came for my daughter. That's a war they just declared."
She nodded.
"I'll fight with you," she said. Kian's voice was low. "No. I'll fight for you. For both of you. And this time, I won't stop until every last ghost is ash."
That night, in a safe house far from Montana, Nova finally fell asleep between them. Her tiny body curled under Talia's arm. Kian watched them both, the two halves of his soul he never thought he'd have again. Talia looked at him across the pillows.
Eyes tired.
Voice soft. "She looks like you."
"She has your fire," he murmured.
Talia reached out and touched his face.
"You still want me?"
Kian leaned over and kissed her, not with heat this time, but with everything he never said.
"I never stopped."