Rose pov
The moment Adrian's voice thundered through the precinct walls, something cold and violent stirred in me. The man was relentless my blood, yet my enemy. Every syllable dripped with his obsession, his claim on me, and it took everything not to spit back a curse.
But I didn't get the chance.
The chains bit deeper into my wrists as I leaned forward, eyes locked on Asher. He still hadn't decided. The barrel of his gun pressed into my temple like a threat he wasn't sure he wanted to carry out. He looked at me like a man who'd been standing too long at the edge of a cliff one step away from either falling or flying.
And then the door burst.
Steel screamed as it gave way, the Serpents flooding in like a black tide. Their faces were masks of rage, leather vests flashing their coiled emblem. For an instant, I thought Asher would leave me to them. His jaw was set, his grip steady on the trigger, but his eyes damn those eyes betrayed hesitation.
I didn't need him to choose. My salvation had already arrived.
A deafening crash shook the hallway, and a shadow swept in behind the Serpents. The hiss of smoke bombs filled the air, thick clouds swallowing the red emergency glow. A voice cut through the haze—sharp, commanding, familiar.
"My Queen!"
The Vipers.
My people stormed the precinct, their masks gleaming silver in the smoke, the hiss of blades and rapid gunfire turning the room into chaos. They moved with ruthless precision, cutting down Serpents like wolves among sheep. For the first time all night, my lips curved into something real.
Freedom.
Asher spun, weapon raised, caught between two storms. His men were already overwhelmed, scrambling in the fog. His curse echoed through the din, but I was no longer watching him. My focus was on the chains biting into my wrists.
A familiar figure cut through the smoke a woman with hair braided down her back, her eyes sharp as glass. Nyla, my second-in-command. She raised her blade, slicing clean through my shackles. The chains fell to the floor with a satisfying clang.
"My Queen," she said, breathless, bowing her head for only a heartbeat. "We've got you."
The venom in me unfurled. My hands were free again.
I rose from the chair with a grace that felt unnatural in the chaos, stretching my wrists as though the fight was a stage and I was stepping into the spotlight.
The Serpents nearest me faltered. They should have run.
Instead, I snatched a blade from Nyla's belt and plunged it into the first one that dared to charge. Blood sprayed, warm and familiar, as I twisted free and turned to the next. Each strike was precise, practiced—a dance I'd perfected long before this night.
Through the smoke, I caught sight of him.
Adrian. Tall, broad, his eyes burning like coals in the dim. He didn't fight like his men. He didn't need to. He watched me with something hungrier than hate, lips curved into a grin that promised war.
"Rose," he called, voice cutting clear despite the gunfire. "Cousin."
The word was venom. He said it not with affection, but with possession, as though blood tied me to him like a chain.
"Run," I hissed at Nyla. "Keep the others alive."
I stepped toward him, but the smoke thickened, swallowing his outline. The gunfire grew heavier, and I heard his laughter echoing as he slipped through the chaos.
"No!" The word tore from me like a snarl, my blade cutting through another Serpent in frustration. "Adrian!"
But he was gone. Slipped away into the night like the snake he was.
The fight dwindled quickly after his retreat. Without their leader, the Serpents broke, scattered like rats. My Vipers pushed them back, forcing them out of the precinct in a rain of bullets and blood. The floor was slick with it, bodies sprawled across desks and shattered glass.
And through it all, Asher stood.
He hadn't joined the Serpents, nor the Vipers. He had fought only when cornered, his men dying in droves around him, his weapon lowered now as he stared at me. His chest heaved, his face smeared with smoke and blood, but his eyes those stubborn, stormy eyes never wavered from me.
"You brought a war into my city," he said finally, voice hoarse.
I wiped blood from my cheek with the back of my hand, my blade dripping red. "No, Detective. He brought the war. I simply refuse to lose it."
For a long moment, we stood there in the wreckage. His precinct was in ruins, his men broken, his command shattered. And me unchained, armed, surrounded by my loyal Vipers.
I should have walked away. I should have left him in the rubble to lick his wounds. But something in his stare rooted me, daring me to break it.
"You let him escape," I said softly.
His jaw clenched. "So did you."
The words cut. Not because they were true, but because they reminded me how easily Adrian had slipped through my fingers.
This wasn't over.
I turned to Nyla, who stood bloodied but unbowed at my side. "Get the others out. Leave no trace."
She nodded, already issuing orders. The Vipers melted into the smoke as quickly as they had come, leaving only bodies and silence in their wake.
I lingered one heartbeat longer, my eyes finding Asher's once more. There was no fear in him. No submission. Just defiance, stubborn and sharp.
Good.
Because the war had only just begun.
And Adrian's head will be my trophy.