Jaxon had nearly dozed off when the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the underground lair. Instinct kicked in, and his fingers twitched toward his knife. But before he could reach for it, Celeste sighed.
"It's them."
Sure enough, Rea, Aster, and Christy walked in, looking less than thrilled—well, Rea and Aster weren't. Christy, as usual, looked far too amused.
Rea crossed her arms, waving her phone in frustration. "I hope you're all happy. Elena just called to inform me that Aster and I are apparently getting married."
Silence.
Then—
Jaxon choked. "Wait, what?"
Aster, completely unfazed, plopped onto a chair. "Yup. Guess skipping school together means we're engaged now."
Christy clutched her stomach, already howling with laughter. "Oh, this is gold. I knew there was something going on between you two."
Rea scowled. "There's nothing going on between us."
Christy wiped fake tears from her eyes. "Denial. The first stage of love."
Jaxon smirked. "So, do we get an invite, or is this one of those super-secret elopements?"
Rea spun around to glare at him. "You shut up."
Aster, resting his chin on his palm, pretended to think. "I mean, if we had to elope, I'd pick somewhere warm. Somewhere with unlimited food."
Rea groaned. "You are not helping."
Christy gasped dramatically. "I bet she already has a dress picked out."
"Okay, that's it—" Rea lunged for Christy, who dodged her, cackling like a maniac.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the chaos, Rina just stood there, silent.
Staring.
At Aster.
He could feel her eyes on him, heavy and unrelenting. He knew who she was—of course, he did—but he refused to acknowledge her. Instead, he focused on the ridiculousness of Rea's fake wedding scandal. Anything to avoid looking at her.
But Rina didn't stop staring.
She barely blinked, her expression unreadable, her grip on the necklace in her hand tightening.
Rea finally gave up trying to strangle Christy and turned back to the real reason they were here. "Let's just—ugh—get this over with." She tossed the necklace toward Rina, who caught it effortlessly without breaking her gaze from Aster.
Celeste, ever the one to steer things back on track, cleared her throat. "Alright, let's focus."
Rina finally tore her gaze from Aster and examined the pendant in her hand. She ran her fingers over its ridges before pulling out a sleek, metallic device from her pocket. With a press of a button, a soft beep filled the room.
The pendant split open.
Inside, a small chip gleamed under the dim light.
Jaxon leaned forward. "That's it?"
Rina shot him a look. "Don't let appearances fool you." Carefully, she removed the chip and slotted it into a tablet. "This holds everything Collaway wanted hidden."
The screen blinked to life, scrolling through lines of encrypted text and images.
Celeste inhaled sharply. "That's… that's a list of names."
Aster, finally looking at Rina—only because he was now interested in what she had found—tilted his head. "What kind of names?"
Rina's face darkened. "Targets."
The room stilled.
Eric's voice was grim. "You're telling me Collaway kept a list of people he wanted dead inside this thing?"
Rina nodded slowly, scrolling further. "Not just any people. These are high-ranking officials, underground leaders, key players in this entire war." Then, suddenly, her hand stopped moving.
Her face paled.
Celeste frowned. "What is it?"
Rina's grip on the tablet tightened. "…Your name is on here."
A heavy silence fell.
Then Jaxon spoke, his voice low and deadly. "So is mine."
Rea stiffened. She reached forward, swiping through the list, her breath catching when she saw it. "So is mine."
Aster frowned. "Same here."
For once, Christy didn't have a joke. "Well, isn't that charming? Collaway's got a hit list, and we're all on it."
Jaxon exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. "That son of a—"
Celeste cut him off. "It means he sees us as threats."
Eric crossed his arms. "And threats get eliminated."
Aster cracked his knuckles. "Not if we eliminate him first."
Rina's eyes flickered toward Aster again, something unreadable in them.
"Then we better move fast," she said.
Because now, it wasn't just about revenge.
It was about survival.