Fire doesn't just burn.
It consumes.
It devours everything in its path—walls, memories, people.
And in this world?
Fire is often the only way out.
---
The explosion threw us forward.
Heat slammed into my back like a wall, the force knocking the air out of my lungs as the ground beneath us cracked and trembled. Dust filled the air, choking, blinding.
I didn't stop moving.
Couldn't.
My hand locked around Valentina's wrist, dragging her through the chaos as debris rained down around us.
"Move!" I barked.
"I am moving!" she shot back, stumbling but keeping pace.
Another blast erupted behind us.
Closer.
Too close.
The corridor ahead twisted into darkness, smoke curling thick and suffocating. The mansion—her mansion—was collapsing in on itself.
Good.
Let it burn.
Right now, survival mattered more than anything else.
---
We burst through a side exit just as another explosion ripped through the structure behind us. The night air hit hard, sharp and cold against overheated skin.
I shoved her behind a stone column, scanning the grounds.
Empty.
Too empty.
"Where are the guards?" she demanded, breathing hard.
"Dead, distracted, or bought," I replied, already moving. "We're not safe out here."
Her jaw clenched. "This is my home."
"Not anymore."
That hit.
I saw it in the way her shoulders stiffened.
But she didn't argue.
Another change.
Noted.
---
We moved across the courtyard, staying low, shadows our only cover. Flames licked the edges of the mansion behind us, casting flickering light across the grounds.
Sirens echoed faintly in the distance.
Too far.
Too late.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Perimeter wall," I said. "We get out, regroup, then figure out what's next."
"No."
I stopped.
Turned.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not leaving," she said, her voice firm despite the chaos around us.
I stared at her.
"You're not serious."
Her chin lifted slightly. "There are people still inside."
"They're already gone."
"You don't know that."
"I do," I snapped. "Because if they were alive, they'd be out here."
Her eyes flashed.
"Not everyone runs."
"Smart ones do."
She stepped closer, firelight dancing across her face, highlighting the stubborn set of her jaw.
"I'm not abandoning them."
"And I'm not letting you get killed for nothing."
"It's not nothing!"
Her voice cracked through the night, raw and fierce.
"They're my people."
"They're liabilities if they're still in there," I shot back. "And right now, you're the target. That makes you priority one."
"I didn't ask to be your priority."
"Too bad."
Silence slammed between us.
Tense.
Explosive.
Then she did something I didn't expect.
She smiled.
Not soft.
Not kind.
Dangerous.
"You don't control me, Dante."
And before I could stop her—
She turned and ran straight back toward the burning mansion.
"Damn it!"
I went after her instantly, catching up just as she reached the entrance.
Smoke poured out in thick waves, heat blasting against us like a warning.
"Valentina, stop!"
She didn't.
Of course she didn't.
She pushed inside.
And I followed.
Because leaving her?
Wasn't an option anymore.
---
Inside was worse.
Much worse.
Flames had already spread through the lower level, licking up the walls, devouring everything in their path. The ceiling creaked ominously, pieces of it already collapsing.
"Anyone still alive won't be for long," I said, grabbing her arm again.
She yanked free.
"Then we move faster."
Stubborn.
Reckless.
Infuriating.
And somehow—
Admirable.
I didn't like that.
Not one bit.
---
We pushed deeper into the mansion, smoke thickening with every step.
"Help!" a voice cried from somewhere ahead.
Valentina didn't hesitate.
"This way!"
We found him in a collapsed hallway—a young guard pinned beneath a fallen beam, blood pooling beneath him.
"Please—" he choked.
Valentina dropped to her knees beside him instantly.
"We've got you," she said, already trying to lift the beam.
It didn't budge.
"Move," I ordered.
She shook her head. "We can't leave him."
I clenched my jaw, then stepped in, gripping the beam.
"On three."
She nodded.
"One… two… three."
We lifted together.
The beam shifted just enough.
"Pull him out," I said through gritted teeth.
She did, dragging the guard free as I let the beam crash back down.
"Can you walk?" she asked him.
He nodded weakly.
"Go," I said, pointing toward the exit. "Now."
He didn't argue.
Good.
---
"See?" she said, looking at me. "Not everyone was dead."
I exhaled sharply. "You got lucky."
"No," she said quietly. "You did."
I frowned slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She held my gaze, something deeper flickering there.
"It means you're not as cold as you pretend to be."
Before I could respond—
A loud crack echoed above us.
I looked up—
Just in time to see the ceiling give way.
"Move!"
I shoved her forward as debris crashed down where we'd been standing seconds before.
Too close.
Way too close.
"You trying to get yourself killed?" I snapped.
"You came back too," she fired back.
"I didn't have a choice."
"Neither did I."
We stared at each other for a moment, both breathing hard, both covered in ash and sweat and tension.
Then—
Another explosion rocked the building.
Closer.
Deadlier.
"Now we run," I said.
She nodded.
Finally.
---
We sprinted toward the exit, flames chasing us, the structure groaning like it was seconds away from collapse.
Almost there—
A figure stepped into the doorway.
Blocking it.
Adrian.
Of course.
He stood there, calm as ever, like the inferno behind us didn't exist.
"You just don't learn," he said, shaking his head.
My grip tightened on the gun.
"You're making this personal."
"It already is."
Valentina stepped beside me this time.
Not behind.
Beside.
"I'm not going with you," she said coldly.
Adrian smiled.
"We'll see."
The fire roared louder behind us.
The exit blocked in front.
No way out.
No time.
I made a decision.
Fast.
I grabbed Valentina's hand—
And pulled her in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Trust me."
"I don't—"
"Then start."
We ran straight toward the flames.
Her grip tightened in mine.
Not hesitation.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something dangerous.
Something real.
And just before everything collapsed—
She didn't let go.