The echo of Varlo's retreating footsteps was barely audible over the rush of Elyan's own heartbeat. She and Renna barely had time to catch their breath before his mocking voice slithered from the shadows.
"You know," Varlo sneered, "I should've figured you'd betray the Syndicate, Elyan. It only makes sense, doesn't it?"
Renna tensed beside her, wiping blood from her lip. "Oh great, another bastard who thinks he can talk his way to victory."
Elyan tightened her grip on her rapier, eyes scanning the darkness. "You're one to talk about betrayal. You're the one selling out your own men by being involved in all this illicit goods business."
A sharp tsk from the void. "Oh, please. I'm just looking out for myself. The Syndicate is rebuilding, stronger than ever, and Varrel rewards loyalty. I bet I'd be handsomely compensated if I went to him right now and told him exactly who's been causing trouble."
Renna scoffed. "You're assuming you're getting out of here alive."
Varlo chuckled, his voice shifting from place to place. "You think you're stopping me? You two? A pair of—" his voice turned coldly amused "—what was the phrase they used back in the day? 'Wastes of womanhood'?"
Renna stilled. Elyan saw the fury tighten in her jaw.
Varlo continued, his tone mocking. "What a joke. A turncoat and a degenerate walking into my den thinking they can take me down. Maybe if you'd picked a better path, Elyan, you wouldn't have ended up in bed with the wrong side of history."
Elyan forced herself to remain calm, even as her grip on her blade grew white-knuckled. She had heard words like those before.
Renna, however, was already moving.
She whirled and threw a knife.
The blade embedded into the wooden railing of the stairwell above them. The air shimmered.
Varlo had moved.
"Damn it!" Renna snarled, already sprinting up the stairs after him.
Elyan followed, taking the steps two at a time. The second floor was a tangle of storage crates and rotting furniture,giving Varlo plenty of places to hide.
Then, a flash—
A strike from the side—a phantom blade slashing for Renna's back!
Elyan shoved her aside, barely parrying the unseen attack. Sparks flew as steel met steel.
He was fast. But this time, they were faster.
Renna kicked off a stack of crates, flipping over Varlo's head as Elyan lunged low, her rapier striking for his ribs. He twisted just in time, but Renna was already there, her dagger slashing—cutting through the illusion once more.
Varlo stumbled back, bleeding.
"You're getting predictable," Elyan said coolly.
Varlo growled. "You bitches—"
Renna grinned. "There it is. The fear."
Varlo didn't respond. Instead, he bolted—leaping through the shattered window.
Glass rained down as he landed on the rooftop outside.
Elyan and Renna were right behind him.
The rooftops of the southern district were a perilous mess of uneven stone and loose tiles. The mists swirled in thick, suffocating waves, making everything feel unsteady, unreal.
Varlo turned, his body flickering in and out of sight.
A last stand.
Elyan lunged. Varlo twisted, his blade darting out—she barely deflected it in time. Renna came in from the side, kicking at his legs, forcing him back. He was fast—but injured. His movement was sluggish.
Still, he fought like a cornered animal.
Blades clashed in a desperate, violent rhythm. Elyan parried one strike, only to take a solid punch to the ribs. She gasped, stepping back.
Renna snarled, driving her knee into his gut.
He reeled—but then, with a sudden burst of strength, he grabbed her and hurled them both off the edge.
They crashed to the ground below.
The impact rattled through Elyan's bones. Renna groaned beside her.
Varlo landed last, rolling to his feet. He coughed, staggering.
His dagger had snapped from the fall.
The fight had come down to fists.
Elyan wiped blood from her lip. Renna cracked her knuckles.
Varlo smirked—then threw the first punch.
Elyan ducked. Her fist slammed into his ribs, hard. He choked, but retaliated with a brutal elbow to her temple.
She reeled. Renna came in low, sweeping his legs out from under him.
Varlo rolled, kicking her in the stomach.
Renna doubled over—but Elyan was already back on him. She drove a knee into his chest, then slammed her elbow into the back of his neck.
Varlo coughed, stumbling.
Then Renna tackled him.
They crashed against the wall of the alley, fists flying. Blood splattered against the bricks.
Varlo clawed at Renna's face, but Elyan grabbed his wrist and twisted.
A sickening snap.
He screamed.
Renna took the opening.
Her fist smashed into his jaw.
Once.
Twice.
Crack.
He sagged against the wall, spitting blood.
Elyan stepped back, panting. Renna, breathing heavily, grabbed him by the collar.
Varlo grinned.
Even now—**at the edge of death—**he smirked.
"You think you've won?" he coughed.
Elyan's eyes were cold. "I know we have."
She raised her fist—
—And drove it straight into his throat.
Varlo gurgled.
Renna let him go.
He collapsed.
Blood pooled beneath him. His body twitched once—then stilled.
A long silence.
Renna exhaled. "Well." She stretched, rolling her shoulders. "That was satisfying."
Elyan wiped her face, exhaling slowly. "We should go."
Renna nodded, kicking Varlo's body once for good measure.
Without another word, the two turned and vanished into the mist.
*
Elyan and Renna moved swiftly through the mist-cloaked streets, their breath still heavy from the brutal fight with Varlo. They stuck close to the walls, keeping their footsteps quiet. Even with the adrenaline still coursing through them, both could feel the weight of their injuries—Renna's ribs ached from the blows she had taken, and Elyan's knuckles throbbed with each pulse of her heartbeat.
Then they heard it.
Footsteps. Multiple. Approaching from the east.
Elyan reacted instantly, grabbing Renna's wrist and pulling her into the shadow of a crumbling archway.
A group of five men emerged from the mist, their dark cloaks shifting in the lamplight.
All Syndicate.
Elyan recognized one of them—Jorem, a mean bastard with a nose broken so many times it barely looked human anymore.
They were heading straight for Varlo's hideout.
Renna tensed beside her, eyes narrowing. If they found his corpse, the entire Syndicate would know someone had been hunting them down.
"We can't let them see him," Renna whispered, wincing as she shifted against the wall. "They'll know someone's been hitting their ranks."
Elyan nodded, heart pounding. They didn't have time for weapons. No time for drawn-out fights.
They had to take them out fast.
She met Renna's gaze. Renna grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Elyan smirked. "Hit them hard?"
Renna cracked her knuckles. "Hit them first."
The moment Jorem reached the hideout's door, the two women struck.
Elyan was on him in a blink, slamming her knee into his back and throwing him forward. He crashed into the door with a grunt, cursing as he struggled to get up—but Renna was already driving her fist into another man's gut.
The group barely had time to register what was happening.
Elyan dodged a wild swing and retaliated with a brutal elbow to the face, sending another Syndicate thug sprawling into the street. Blood splattered against the pavement.
Renna grabbed a man by the collar and twisted, throwing him over her hip and slamming him onto the cobblestones.His head cracked against the stone with a sickening thud.
Jorem, now furious, came at Elyan with a roar. She ducked under his punch and smashed her fist straight into his throat.
He choked, stumbling back.
Another man rushed at Renna from behind—she sensed him at the last second, twisting and slamming her elbow into his temple.
He crumpled.
Only one was left standing.
Elyan turned, breathing hard.
The last man—a wiry bastard with sunken eyes—stood frozen, staring at his fallen comrades. Then, in a blur, he pulled a dagger from his belt.
Elyan's body moved before her mind did.
She lunged forward—but he didn't go for her.
He went for Renna.
The knife buried itself deep into Renna's side.
She gasped, eyes widening in shock as the blade sank between her ribs.
Elyan saw red.
Before the man could even pull the dagger out, she was on him.
She grabbed his wrist and twisted violently. Bone snapped.
The Syndicate thug screamed.
Then Elyan drove her knee into his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs.
He crumpled forward, coughing—but she wasn't finished.
Her fingers found the dagger still lodged in Renna's side.
And she ripped it free.
Before the bastard could even beg for his life, she rammed his own blade into his throat.
A wet gurgle. A spasm.
Then silence.
Elyan let his body drop.
The bloodied dagger slipped from her fingers. She turned just in time to catch Renna as she wavered.
"Shit—Renna, stay with me."
Renna groaned, her face pale. "Ugh. That little bastard actually stabbed me."
Elyan's heart hammered. "We have to go."
She didn't wait for a response.
Grabbing Renna around the waist, she hauled her up and half-carried her into the mist.
The safehouse wasn't far. It had to be enough.
It had to be.
Behind them, the blood pooled on the street.