Rain fell in electric sheets over the city.
Mira ducked into the alley, her boots splashing
through glowing puddles of runoff.
"Still got that hex on ice?" Her
contact, a wiry
hacker named Jax, leaned from the shadows.
"Melting fast," she said, thumbing the
runestone
in her coat. "You got the data?"
He tossed her a chip. "Billionaire’s penthouse.
Top floor. You sure you want to do this?"
"Been waiting five years." She turned,
cloak sna
pping behind her.
The elevator ride up was silent, glass walls sho
wing the city’s endless sprawl.
Mira stared at her reflection—green eyes sharp,
lips painted midnight red.
She wasn’t the girl he’d left behind.
The doors opened to a rooftop lounge.
A man stood at the edge, back to her, trench coa
t flaring in the wind.
"Kai Mercer." Her voice cut through
the storm.
He turned. His face was still carved from stone,
but his eyes—those NFLstar eyes—were tired.
"You shouldn’t be here."
"I came for the hex," she said. "
And the truth."
His jaw tightened. "You think I had a
choice?"
A flicker of pain in his voice. She ignored it.
"The night you walked out, my coven burned."
"I was protecting you."
"Bullshit." She raised her hand. A red
flare pul
sed around her fingers.
He didn’t flinch. "You think I don’t know what t
hey did to you?"
Her breath caught. "What do you know?"
He stepped closer. Rain didn’t touch him. "I was
marked too. The night they took me."
She stared at the faint scar on his neck. A twin
to hers.
"They made us fated mates," he said.
"Then tore
us apart."
A beat passed.
Wind howled. Thunder cracked.
"Why come back now?" she asked.
"Someone’s using the old blood rites,"
he said.
"And they’re after you."
She snorted. "Since when do you care?"
"Since I realized I never stopped."
Their eyes met. The air snapped between them lik
e live wire.
A blast shattered the window behind them.
Kai shoved her down. "They found you."
"Who?"
"Old ghosts. New enemies."
He pulled her up. "We’ve got to move."
They ran through the lounge, glass crunching und
erfoot.
"Your penthouse isn’t safe," she said.
"Never was."
They hit the elevator.
"Do you still have the dagger?" she asked.
"The one that killed your coven leader?"
She nodded.
He reached into his coat. "Right here."
"It’s not a weapon," she said. "
It’s a key."
"To what?"
"The truth."
They exited into a garage. A sleek black hoverca
r waited.
Kai opened the door. "You drive."
"Since when do you let a witch drive?"
"Since I saw you outrun a drone in the
Quarter."
She smirked. "You were watching me?"
"Always."
They sped through the neonlit streets.
Behind them, black drones took flight.
"Fast, huh?" she said.
"Faster."
She twisted a dial. The car lurched forward.
He gripped the dash. "I see you kept your
edge."
"Only one of us needed to survive."
A drone fired. The back window shattered.
"Hold on!" She yanked the wheel. They
veered int
o an alley, sparks flying.
More drones blocked the exit.
"Got a spell for that?" Kai asked.
She grinned. "One."
She threw the runestone out the window. It hit t
he ground and exploded in a wave of blue fire.
Drones flipped like toys.
He stared at her. "That’s new."
"Five years is a long time to stay mad."
He reached for her hand. "Still beautiful when y
ou’re furious."
She pulled away. "Don’t."
He didn’t let go. "We were made for each other.
Literally."
She stared at the road. "And yet, here we
are."
They reached the old district. The ruins of her
coven stood in the distance.
"Place is cursed," he said.
"Exactly why they won’t look here."
They slipped inside. Dust and silence.
She knelt at the altar. The dagger hummed in her
hand.
A glow pulsed beneath the stone.
Kai stepped back. "That’s not magic I recognize.
"
"It’s older," she whispered. "
Before the coven.
Before the city."
The stone cracked. A sphere of light rose.
Inside—a face.
Her mother’s.
"You were never meant to find this,"
the voice s
aid.
Mira choked. "Why?"
"You were the key. And the sacrifice."
Kai stepped closer. "I won’t let them take
you."
The light dimmed. The voice softened. "He was me
ant to protect you. Until the end."
She turned to him. "You knew?"
"I didn’t. Not until tonight."
Footsteps echoed.
They turned.
A figure in black armor stepped forward. "You’ve
opened the gate."
Kai drew his gun. "She’s not going with you."
The figure smiled. "You think you can stop fate?
"
Mira raised the dagger. "Try me."
They fought. Sparks flew. Blood spilled.
The figure fell.
But not before a final whisper.
"The hex is breaking. But so is the world."
Silence.
Kai looked at her. "You’re not just a witch. You
’re a god."
She stared at the dagger. "And you’re my fated m
ate."
He smiled. "Still mad at me?"
She kissed him. Hard.
"Not enough words."
Outside, the sky lit with stormlight.
"We’ve got work to do," he said.
She nodded. "Together."
They walked into the storm, hand in hand.
Revenge wasn’t the end.
It was the beginning.
