The first explosion shook the hideout like a thunderclap.
Dust rained from the ceiling. Monitors flickered, glitching as the power grid struggled to hold. The air filled with the acrid scent of burning circuitry.
"They're breaching!" Marek barked, already moving toward the entrance.
Kiera barely had time to process the weight of Aerin's revelation before reality came crashing back in. There was no space for emotions now. No time to untangle the knots in her mind.
She could grieve what had been stolen from her later.
Right now, she had to survive.
Aerin moved fast, flipping a panel on the wall to reveal an emergency escape route—a grated tunnel leading deeper underground. "We have another way out," they said, voice tight. "It'll take us to a passage outside the district, but we have to go now."
Rhys pulled his weapon free, eyes scanning the walls. "How much time before they cut off every exit?"
Aerin's fingers flew over a keypad, initiating some kind of manual override. "Minutes. Maybe less."
A second explosion tore through the air—closer this time. The distant hum of drones was now a deafening roar.
Kiera's pulse pounded in her ears.
Then the ceiling vent above them burst open.
A sleek, spider-like drone dropped into the room, its mechanical limbs unfurling, targeting systems flashing red.
No hesitation.
Kiera moved on instinct—twisting, reacting—before the Architects' programming could even attempt to seize control.
The drone fired.
She was faster.
She slid low, pivoting mid-motion, and drove her knife into the drone's exposed sensor port. Sparks erupted, and the machine convulsed before collapsing in a heap of metal and shattered optics.
For a moment, everything was silent except for the sharp hiss of its dying circuits.
Then Marek exhaled. "Okay. That was unsettlingly efficient."
Kiera barely heard him. Her hands were steady, but her mind was raging.
That had been too easy. Too natural.
The Architects had done more than just erase her memories. They had rebuilt her reflexes. Rewired her instincts. They had turned her into their weapon.
And yet… she had chosen to turn those reflexes against them.
Maybe she couldn't erase what they had done to her.
But she could decide how to use it.
Aerin didn't waste time gawking. They waved her toward the tunnel. "Impressive, but if we don't move, there will be a hundred more of those on us in seconds."
Kiera pushed her thoughts aside and followed.
The tunnel was narrow, the metal damp and rusted. They moved fast, the distant sounds of the Architects' enforcers echoing behind them. The entire city above was waking up to their presence.
As they ran, Kiera felt the weight of Aerin's words pressing down on her.
"You were the key to something. A secret the Architects buried so deep, they couldn't risk you remembering it."
She clenched her fists.
The Architects didn't just take her past. They had taken her purpose.
And she was going to take it back.