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Tonight we would stand together to defend more than just brick and mortar. We fought for the chance to someday bridge ancient divides and write a new destiny, untethered from violence and hate. Everything hung in the balance now. Failure was not an option - too much light flickered yet inside the encroaching dark.
We had a war to stop.
Night fell, cloaking city streets already turned chaotic and lawless. Hidden in shadows across from my childhood home.
I shoved down the useless tears and steeled myself. This was no time for sentimentality - we had a mission to accomplish.
Enzo and Leonardo were grimly checking their weapons one final time nearby. I did the same, hands steady despite the adrenaline spike. We all understood there was no turning back now.
With hand signals from Enzo, we slipped from the shadows toward the ravaged estate, senses hyper alert. The lack of external guards was an ominous sign. Either they had turned or been eliminated already.
We reached a side door left unsecured in the fray. Enzo took point going in, leading us swiftly through dark servants' passages toward Father's barricaded wing. The sounds of muffled shouting and sporadic gunfire echoed eerily within the stone corridors.
At an intersection, Enzo halted, peering around the corner cautiously. Before I could react, he suddenly shoved me back hard just as an explosion rocked the hallway, blinding and deafening.
I hit the floor dazed, ears ringing. Blinking gritty eyes, I groped for my fallen weapon as hulking figures converged through the swirling debris. Leonardo was already grappling fiercely with two attackers, teeth bared savagely.
Ignoring the sharp protest of my ribs, I surged upright and threw myself into the brawl. The next few minutes passed in a blur of jabs, blows, and choked screams. No time to assess injuries - the enemy was endless.
Somehow, the three of us ended up backed together in the center of the corridor, chests heaving. Sprawled bodies littered the floor around us. But our reprieve was brutally short.
Another wave was already charging forward to swarm us, cruel jeers and weapons glinting. I braced futilely, knowing we were badly outnumbered now. Beside me, Enzo roared and raised his fists.
Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Before I could scream or struggle, Leonardo had hauled me sideways into a hidden niche, shielding my body fully with his.
Just in time. With a bone-shaking boom, the hallway exploded into sheer chaos. I clung to Leonardo desperately as fiery debris pelted us. His solid weight pressing me against the wall was the only thing keeping me upright.
Finally, the world stopped shuddering and my ears stopped ringing enough to make out Leonardo yelling urgently in my face. Still dazed, I couldn't make out his words over the high-pitched whine left in my eardrums. But his panicked expression jolted me back.
I took deep gulping breaths, willing my scrambled mind to focus. Leonardo kept glancing wildly toward the demolished hallway, torn about leaving me.
Following his gaze, stark horror flooded me. "Enzo!" I choked out. He had been exposed in the hallway when the blast hit.
Leonardo's face was ash white. "Stay here, Natalia. I have to find him!"
He sprinted into the swirling dust before I could respond. Coughing, I stumbled out after him. No way was I waiting uselessly again while the men I loved put themselves at risk. Enzo needed us both.
Frantically I scanned the decimated corridor, now eerily deserted. Heart in my throat, I finally spotted Leonardo kneeling beside a larger prone figure, sheltered partially behind a toppled cabinet.
"Enzo!" I slid to my knees painfully on his other side. To my dizzy relief, Enzo's chest was still rising and falling shallowly. But fresh blood stained the side of his head that had been exposed during the explosion.
Leonardo glanced up, features tight with worry. "He's alive, but pretty battered. We need to get him out of here."
I nodded, throat too tight to speak. Leonardo was right - we were sitting ducks in this rubble. "Can you carry him?" I rasped finally.
In answer, Leonardo handed me his spare pistol and then hauled my brother's solid form up in a fireman's hold. I hovered anxiously as Enzo groaned, hoping it didn't worsen his injuries. But staying put wasn't an option either.
We moved as quickly as possible with our heavy precious cargo. The smoldering air burned my throat and lungs, but we pushed on. Step by agonizing step, we retraced our path back toward a safer exit.
Rounding a corner, I collided straight into a broad chest, nearly crying out before a large hand clapped over my mouth. Wildly I looked up into my father's face behind his oxygen mask.
He stared between Leonardo and I in disbelief, taking in his son's limp form. But the approaching angry shouts left no time for reunions or questions. We had to move.
Father led us swiftly down corridors only he knew, hidden passages meant for escape behind the castle walls. We descended old stone steps into pitch blackness, my ears straining for any sign of pursuit. Our battered group made it to the secret underground tunnel just as more explosions rocked the floors above, spurring us on desperately.
Somehow my legs kept churning forward into the musty darkness. Leonardo's labored breaths just behind urged me on. Escape. We just had to get out.
Finally, Father halted, punching a code into a keypad that unbolted a passage. Fresh air hit my face as we emerged gasping into the woods behind the estate. The night had turned strangely hushed and peaceful out here, leaving the violence behind stone walls.
