Chapter 224

Chapter 224

-Grayson’s POV.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t speak.

I just watched.

The moment the word sister left Crystal’s mouth, I knew nothing would be the same. The air in the room shifted, charged with something raw, something electric. Ava clung to me, her grip like a vice, but I didn’t comfort her. I didn’t whisper

reassurances.

Because this wasn’t a moment for comfort. This was a reckoning

I saw it in the way Ava’s body tensed, in the way her breath hitched like she had been struck. The realization crashed into her, one revelation after another, like waves dragging her under with no chance to breathe.

And I let her drown.

Not out of cruelty. Not because I didn’t care. But because she needed this. She needed to feel every ounce of it, to understand exactly what kind of game was being played around her.

Crystal was enjoying this. I could see it in her eyes–the sharp gleam of amusement, the way she performed for an audience, dangling the truth in front of Ava like bait.

Damien was worse.

He barely had to lift a finger, and yet, he controlled the entire room. Every shift of his expression, every calculated chuckle, every glance toward Ava was like a string being pulled in a game only he knew the rules to.

I hated him for it.

Hated the way he spoke to her, like she was some fragile thing beneath his control. Hated the way he indulged Crystal’s venom, the way he encouraged it.

And still, I waited.

Because right now, I wasn’t the one in the line of fire. Right now, I was just an observer, a ghost at the edge of their war.

But then I felt when the truth became too much for her to bear so I finally acted, pulling her back. Away from Damien. Away from Crystal. Away from the nightmare they had dragged her into.

But Damien-

Damien was waiting for that.

I saw the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes the second I stepped into focus, the way his smirk curled just a little wider then the arrows revealed themselves like a trigger at his words and then they came right at her.

I didn’t hesitate.

The second the arrows shot toward her, my body moved before my mind could even process it. My arm wrapped around Ava, pulling her against me, shielding her as the sharp projectiles sliced through the air.

Pain seared through my shoulder, hot and immediate. One of the arrows had grazed me, a shallow wound, but it didn’t

matter.

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Fri, Feb 21

Chapter 224

Ava mattered.

trembling against me, her fingers gripping

with me, I ordered, my voice firm but

sleeve the moment Crystal

erupted

dressed in black weapons raised, moving like a well–oiled machine. Their entrance was met with an immediate response–Damien’s men who emerged like he had been two steps ahead and had

through the air, deafening, a violent symphony of

I didn’t flinch.

felt the impact of another hit–this time on my side. A sharp sting, the warmth

was my

her from sight. She gasped,

Her voice was barely a whisper,

got you,” I assured her, my eyes

his gaze.

I hissed under my breath.

was nowhere to be

toward the nearest exit. My men provided cover, keeping the enemy forces

slightly, her breathing uneven.

I urged her, my grip on

could see the doorway, an open

Then-

A gunshot.

Loud. Too close.

out, and

heart stopped.

in time to see one of Damien’s men aiming right

Instinct took over.

Chapter 224

13

line of fire without a second thought, firing my own gun before he could take another shot. He went down, but not before I felt a sharp, burning pain tear

Another hit.

gritted my teeth, swallowing

let go of

Didn’t stop moving.

do anything but fight to get her

through the doors and into cold

blurring at the edges, my breaths coming

But I had her. I had her, and I

eyes taking in the blood soaking through my jacket, her

voice laced with panic.

lie,

whether to reach for me or push me away. And then something shifted in

her body tensed, and she

real distance between us, my knees

but my body refused to cooperate. My breath hitched as I

weight of me was too much and

body tense against mine as we hit the pavement, her arms bracing against my chest. She barely had time

filled the air as she slashed through my clothes, her gaze zeroing in on the wounds. I saw it the moment realization dawned in her expression–the

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