And I knew then, with sickening clarity, that I was no longer the hunter.
I was the prey.
Mathias’ silhouette emerged through the acrid smoke; a phantom conjured from my worst nightmares.The cloth covering his nose and mouth shielded him from the poison, a cruel reminder of how thoroughly I had been outplayed.
“You thought you could destroy us?”His voice slithered through the thick air, low and mocking.“You’re a fucking fool.”
The Belladonna surged through my veins, a relentless riptide dragging me away from consciousness.I fought against it, clinging to lucidity, but it was like thrashing in quicksand—every struggle only hastened my descent.
“Did you think you could waltz in here and save those filthy fucking Timebornes and Timebounds?”Mathias continued, his form shifting at the edges of my blurring vision.
I gritted my teeth and tried to move, to force my body to obey me.Rise.Fight.Anything.
But my limbs had turned to lead.
Mathias advanced, his movements slow, deliberate, savoring his victory.With infuriating ease, he gripped my collar and hauled me upright, my body no more than a marionette with cut strings.
The cold bite of steel snapped around my wrists.
Chains rattled, locking me in place against the harsh stone wall.
Footsteps.
More intruders.
My vision swam, narrowing to slits as two figures stepped into view.
Lord Alexander.Lord Winston.
Alexander’s piercing blue eyes, devoid of empathy, regarded me with the cold detachment of a man who believed himself untouchable.He looked at me the way one looked at the filth on one’s boots—something to be scraped off and forgotten.
Winston’s expression, however, seared with something else entirely—a sickening satisfaction.
“Did you think you could outmaneuver us?”Winston’s voice was shrill, each syllable a scalpel meant to carve through my pride.“Imagine my amusement when I received a cryptic little note about the infamous Black Wraith appearing at a tavern.Did you truly believe we would take such bait?”
He scoffed, shaking his head.
“Gentlemen,” Mathias cut in smoothly, his voice laced with cruel amusement, “let’s finally see the face of the man who has haunted our shadows for far too long.”
His fingers curled around the edge of my mask.
One swift motion—ruthless, unforgiving.
The mask was gone.
A charged silence followed, thick with realization.
Their synchronized gasps punctuated the moment like the final note of an execution drum.
Mathias recovered first, his tone a mixture of disbelief and morbid curiosity.“Well, well… what a surprise.Amir Hassan himself.”He tilted his head, studying me as if I were some rare beast caged for his amusement.“How is this possible?”
Alexander’s lips twisted into a smirk, his amusement growing as the pieces clicked into place.“Good gods, it all makes sense now.”A slow chuckle rumbled from his chest.“You came here to trap us.Oh, this is rich.We knew your letter was a ruse, a desperate attempt to draw us out.But why?Why would the Black Wraith reveal himself in public?”
He began circling me, a slow, creeping poison.
“And then it became clear,” he continued, his voice laced with satisfaction.“You weren’t luring us out.”
He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear.
