While Lina searched the hall for her father, a guilty thought kept circling: she had dragged Chrissy into this just to annoy her father. Stupid and thoughtless. Now the poor girl was caught in the crossfire of the family and their enemies.
She tried not to think too hard about what Chrissy meant to her. Beautiful, yes. Kind, certainly. But more than that, something Lina hadn't expected to find. The fact that Chrissy was in danger because of choices Lina had made… it felt more than mere responsibility. It is almost personal in a way she couldn't afford to examine too closely.
Lina searched the reception hall but couldn't find her father. She spotted her aunt Carlotta and uncle near the far wall and approached them, hoping they might know where he'd gone.
Carlotta stood with perfect posture, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from her sleeve. She had inherited the Marcelli height and sharp angles, and her expression was severe.
Beside her, Marco shifted his weight, one hand stroking his beard. Champagne had left a faint sheen on the dark hair, and his eyes held the patient wariness of a man long accustomed to navigating his wife's moods.
Lina remembered laughing at her aunt's choice of husband when she was a teenager. Carlotta had probably been holding grudges about those comments since.
"Lina, what a surprise to see you here." Carlotta greeted her with a shallow smile.
"Aunt Carlotta," Lina replied. "Have you seen my father? I need to speak with him."
Marco tilted his head. "He stepped away a few minutes ago. Seemed like he had something on his mind."
Lina felt uneasy. Her father wouldn't just disappear in the middle of his own reception.
"Señorita Marcelli!" Mateo appeared at her side, breathing hard. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Lina was surprised to see her young attendant here at a reception; he almost never left the house. She turned to him. "What's wrong?"
"Father Reyes took Chrissy. Said they were going to pray for her parents' health. They left five minutes ago."
The words hit her like ice water. "Where?"
"The church on Harrisburg. I heard them mention it."
Lina's chest tightened. Agreement or not, the Church had taken Chrissy. Her head felt split between too many directions. She ground her teeth, the servos in her arms giving a faint whine as her hands curled into fists.
She didn't walk—she shoved the door open into the side room. The Marcelli guards were there, Yuri Sokolov and his men laughing over a card game. Their laughter died when they saw her expression.
"What happened?" Yuri stood immediately.
"The Church took Chrissy." Lina's voice was rough with rage. "My father's missing. I'm not sitting on my hands while they spit in our house."
One of guards muttered something about teaching priests a lesson. Lina slammed her palm flat against the table, cards scattering.
"No killing unless they start it," she cut him off. Her eyes burned as they locked on Yuri. "But I want them crawling back to their holes knowing what line they crossed."
Lina led a dozen men out of the house, dressing in her combat gear. Carlotta and Marco stared, speechless, as boots struck the floor in unison. At the far table Adrian Caldwell stood with his glass, the wine catching the light so that his eyes seemed to flare once, then harden back to stone. Guests bent their heads together, whispering in low tones. The laughter thinned until only the strings played on, brittle and hollow.
These guards were the family's best. More would be gathering from the city before long. By night's end, their enemies would remember whose name still ruled its streets.
When they reached the church on Harrisburg, the street was already a battlefield in waiting. Nearly fifty Marcelli foot soldiers had gathered outside the iron gates, rifles slung, voices low, the tension sharp enough to cut. Their presence drew wary glances from the windows above; curtains twitched, then stilled.
Yuri stepped forward, his heavy boots grinding on the pavement. He rested a hand briefly on Lina's shoulder, his voice low and firm.
"Careful, Lina. Your augments are advanced, no doubt. But you've only just stepped into the path of an Augmenter. Don't force yourself too much. We've got numbers here. Let us carry the weight."
Lina gave a small nod, saying nothing. The augments stirred under her skin, a faint vibration running up into her shoulders. Around them, the foot soldiers shifted, fingers drumming on rifle stocks, too quiet for the numbers they carried.
Across the iron gate the church loomed, its black doors sealed, no sound from within. But Lina had seen what walked out of those doors before, men in monk's robes, faces set in pious calm even as their hands dripped red.
And then the doors opened. He emerged with the same patient smile, robes trailing like shadows.
"Lina," he said warmly, as if greeting an old friend. "The last time I saw you, you were still at St. Augustine University. One of my brightest students. Always good to see talent flourish."
Lina took a step forward, her voice cutting sharp.
"Father Reyes, let's not play games. Where is Chrissy?"
His smile didn't waver. "Still impatient. Your friend is inside, speaking with one of our local priests. Perfectly safe." He spread his hands in mock innocence. "But tell me, child—why arrive at God's house with an army at your back?"
"Because if you release her now, Father, we can still talk," Lina said. Her tone was flat. "Talk as long as you want."
A shadow moved in the doorway. Another figure stepped forward, and for a moment the gathered men fell silent.
He was enormous, his frame filling the arch like a living wall. His head was bowed slightly, a strip of white cloth covering his eyes. Both arms were bound at the wrist by heavy leather wraps, though the restraints did little to lessen the sense of raw, coiled strength. In the torchlight his shadow stretched twice his size, a titan spilling out of the church's mouth.
"I will let her go," Father Reyes said softly, "if you defeat my disciple. He is hardly the most gifted of them. But perhaps the highest CIS score among her class can manage at least that much."
Yuri leaned close, voice low. "Lina, this isn't worth the risk. We don't need to play their game."
She cut him off with a small shake of her head. "If we start a war here, blood spills on both sides. If I win, we walk away without losing anyone."
Yuri's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Around them the guards shifted uneasily, eyes flicking toward each other.
Lina stepped forward, eyes fixed on Reyes. "Fine. I'll take him."
Father Reyes loosened the leather bindings. The straps slid to the ground, and the giant straightened with a low crack of his shoulders. Blindfolded, he turned toward Lina, nostrils flaring, sniffing at the air like a beast catching a scent.
Lina watched him carefully, edging a step closer, her weight balanced. His arms were bare beneath the robe, muscles bunched and corded, each shift under the skin like steel cables pulling taut. The bulk, the quiet precision of his movements: it was the mark of an Augmenter. But the sheer force radiating off him told her this was no novice. She had no intention of finding out what one of those punches felt like.
Even blindfolded, the giant tracked Lina's every shift, his head turning with uncanny precision. Then he lunged, a roar tearing from his chest like some caged beast loosed at last. His bare feet slammed against the stones, each step cracking dust loose as he thundered past. Lina barely slipped past, skimming close to his left leg as he thundered by. Dust burst up in his wake, stinging her eyes and blurring her sight.
The giant seized his opening. For a man his size, the turn was impossibly fast. His leg snapped out in a brutal kick. Lina, still off balance, brought her arms up just in time. Blue light flared along the augments as they braced at full output, but the force punched straight through her guard, slamming into her chest.
It was like being hit by a wrecking ball. The world whipped sideways, and her body slammed into a crumbling stone pillar by the church gates. The column split under the impact, chunks of masonry crashing down as she slid to the ground amid the rubble.
Yuri's face twisted. "She took that with full augment load… and he still broke through. What the hell is this monster?"
Lina hit the ground hard, pain lancing through her chest until it stole her breath "Fuck…" she rasped, spitting blood onto the ground. "If I hadn't braced my arms, I'd be dead already.
But the giant gave her no chance to breathe. He barreled forward, right arm whipping down in a hammer-blow meant to smash her skull.
Lina dropped her shoulder under the strike, then snapped her own right arm up in a full-force uppercut. The blow cut the air with a sharp gust, blue light flaring along the augments as her fist crashed into his jaw. For a heartbeat he staggered, a grunt tearing loose from between his teeth.
But then the giant straightened, shaking his head as if shedding off a haze. His blindfolded face turned toward her again, tight with anger, lips peeling back to bare his teeth.
"Okay, you should've brushed your teeth more often. Didn't your mother tell you that?" Lina quipped as she jumped back, widening the distance. Her fist still throbbed, if she'd hit a boulder, it would've shattered by now, but the giant's jaw had barely shifted.
The giant's breath roughened, nostrils flaring as if her words had clawed under his skin. At last, his voice rumbled out, guttural and broken.
"Dead. You need dead."
Lina arched a brow, a thin smile cutting her face. "Oh, so you do speak some English. Cute."
Her hand dipped to her side pocket. Blue filaments crackled up her arm, spilling into the air like liquid light. She drew a breath, forcing her focus tight as a blade edge. The shimmer resisted at first, wavering like heat over stone, until her will locked it into form.
Steel lines snapped into place, piece by piece, until a heavy blade settled into her grip—broad, gleaming, its surface etched with the Marcelli crest glowing faintly in cobalt light.
The sword dragged against the air with weight, each motion thrumming through her augmented arms. Conjuring it left a faint ache in her chest, but the glow at its edge promised ruin. A weapon meant to crush as much as cut.
"Let's see how that jaw of yours likes this," Lina said, the crest burning brighter as she tightened her grip.
Father Reyes' hands hovered as though ready to applaud. He had expected her to fold within minutes, crushed like so many others before. Instead she answered with steel conjured from light.
His smile deepened, but his eyes sharpened. A Constructor… and at her age? Few could walk more than one path, and fewer still without shattering themselves in the attempt. Yet here she stood, arms blazing with Augmenter strength, blade in hand forged from will itself.
Such potential was dangerous. Such talent, rarer still. And the Church wanted her, the highest score their precious system had ever recorded.
Reyes' smile thinned, almost reverent. "Do you see now? This power isn't meant for the petty wars. It's meant for something greater. You know this."