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M y warrior senses sharpened as we burst through the final gate, the subtle transition from artificial to natural environment registering instantly.

The manufactured tang of recycled air gave way to Arenix’s complex night scents—mineral-rich soil, the subtle decay of forest undergrowth, the faint ozone of distant geothermal activity.

My hearing adjusted, filtering the compound’s artificial sounds from the natural whispers of wind through vegetation.

Zara stumbled beside me, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her silver markings were visible beneath her skin, a lingering effect from the systems she’d bypassed.

But her eyes—normally sharp and observant—remained unfocused, damaged from the neural interface. Through our strengthening bond, her pain reached me in waves, fueling the protective instinct building in my chest.

I scanned our surroundings, cataloging threats with the precision my Shadow Canyon training had instilled. Guards converged from three directions.

Six humans, four corrupted automatons. Weapons raised, the distinctive whine of charging plasma cutters slicing through the chaos of alarms.

Hammond’s elite security forces, not the regular sentries we’d evaded earlier.

My tail whipped low, balancing my stance as I positioned myself between them and Zara.

The familiar weight of my ceremonial blade—recovered from Hammond’s trophy room during our initial escape—rested in my palm, its distinctive blue-black metal absorbing rather than reflecting the compound’s harsh lighting.

“Stay behind me,” I ordered, not taking my eyes off the approaching threat. Through the bond, I could feel her fear—not for herself, but for me.

Her engineer’s mind had already calculated our odds, found them wanting.

The first guard fired. I moved, faster than human reflexes could track, my blade deflecting the energy bolt into a nearby console.

Blue-white energy exploded in a shower of sparks and melted composite, the acrid smell of burned circuitry filling the air. The explosion bought precious seconds, enough for me to close the distance.

No time for mercy. These were Hammond’s loyal followers, the ones who captured my kind for experimentation, who treated Zara as a tool rather than a person.

My blade found the first guard’s weapon, severing metal and hand together. His scream was cut short as my tail swept his legs, sending him crashing into two others.

A precise strike to his temple ensured he wouldn’t rise again.

An automaton lurched forward, ancient gears grinding. Its sensors glowed crimson as they locked on Zara, recognizing the energy signature of her markings.

Pre-Division technology corrupted by Hammond’s crude reprogramming, designed to capture marked women for his experiments. I intercepted, driving my blade through its central processing core.

Sparks cascaded over my arms as it collapsed, the smell of hot metal and leaking hydraulic fluid momentarily overwhelming my senses.

“Ravik, left!” Zara’s voice cut through my combat focus.

I pivoted, sensing rather than seeing the guard approaching from my flank. Too late to dodge the plasma bolt entirely—burning pain erupted across my back and shoulder as the energy grazed me.

The smell of my own burned flesh filled my nostrils, a sickeningly sweet odor that triggered primal warning signals. I grunted, the injury registering but unimportant.

There would be time for pain later.

My vision narrowed to the path ahead, the world falling away except for immediate threats and the escape route. Freedom lay beyond the perimeter, past the final line of defense.

I advanced relentlessly, each strike creating space, clearing the way for Zara. The bond carried her determination to me, strengthening my resolve.

A guard aimed at her; I caught the plasma bolt on my blade, the energy discharging down its length and into the ground. The metal grew hot in my hand, nearly too hot to hold, but I maintained my grip.

My clan forged these weapons to withstand far worse than Hammond’s technology.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth—I’d bitten my tongue without realizing it. The pain from my shoulder sharpened my focus rather than distracting from it.

Two more guards fell before my blade, their training insignificant against a Shadow Canyon warrior fighting to protect his bondmate.

Movement behind us—Phillips, Hammond’s second. His thin face contorted with rage and fear as he raised his weapon, targeting Zara.

No conscious thought drove me then, only instinct. I lunged backward, placing my body between Phillips and Zara as his weapon discharged.

White-hot agony exploded across my back, the plasma cutting through clothing and skin in a line of liquid fire. The pain was absolute, consuming, different from the earlier graze—this was a direct hit, full power, at close range.

The smell of my own burned flesh intensified, joined by the copper-sweet scent of Nyxari blood. Nerve endings screamed as damaged tissue registered the full extent of the injury.

But I remained standing, my people’s natural resilience keeping me conscious despite trauma that would have incapacitated a human instantly.

Phillips’ eyes widened as I advanced on him, wounded but unfaltering. His second shot went wide as his hands shook with fear.

My blade did not miss, finding the vulnerable spot beneath his sternum with practiced precision. His weapon clattered to the ground as he fell.

“Ravik!” Zara’s voice pulled me back from the edge of battle focus, from the primitive state that threatened to consume a wounded Nyxari warrior. Through our bond, I could feel her fear, her desperation.

“The perimeter—we’re clear! Move now!”

The cool night air of Arenix registered dimly through the pain and combat haze. We’d breached the compound’s outer defenses.

The wilderness stretched before us, dark and sheltering, promising cover if we could reach it before reinforcements arrived.

“Run,” I managed, grabbing her arm to steady myself as much as her. My back flared with renewed agony at the movement, blood flowing freely down my spine and soaking into my clothing.

We crossed the invisible line where compound lighting ended and Arenix’s natural darkness began. Behind us, alarms still screamed, but the sounds grew more distant with each stumbling step.

Search beams cut through the night, weaving patterns that missed us by increasingly wider margins.

Only when the forest closed around us, the dense undergrowth providing natural concealment, did I allow myself to feel the true extent of my injuries. The plasma burn cut deep across my back and shoulder, muscle and nerve damaged beyond my body’s immediate ability to compensate.

Blood soaked my clothing, dripping down my spine and pooling at the base of my tail.

One step. Another.

The bond connected me to Zara’s concern, her determination keeping me upright when my body demanded collapse. I focused on moving forward, on putting distance between us and our pursuers.

Each footfall sent fresh waves of pain radiating from the wound, but I forced my legs to continue, my tail now dragging uselessly behind me rather than providing its usual balance.

My vision began to tunnel, darkness encroaching from the periphery. Not from pain—pain was a companion I had trained with extensively—but from blood loss.

The plasma burn had cauterized some vessels but severed others, and fluid loss was reaching critical levels.

“Just a little further,” Zara urged, though our bond told me she had no specific destination in mind. Just away.

Always away from Hammond.

But even a warrior’s will has limits. My knees buckled beneath me, strength deserting limbs that had never before failed me.

The ground rose to meet my face, rough bark and fallen leaves pressing against my cheek. The forest floor smelled of decay and renewal, the natural cycle of Arenix that continued regardless of the small dramas played out upon its surface.

Zara’s voice came from far away, urgent but indistinct. I felt her hands on me, turning me onto my side to prevent suffocation.

The bond connected us weakly as my consciousness faded.

The last thing I felt before darkness claimed me was her fingers finding my lifelines, her silver markings meeting the gold of my own. A connection that transcended physical touch, reaching for me even as awareness slipped away.