D E L P H I N I U M

I shot a glance over my shoulder as I ran frantically through the forest. Overhanging branches and leaves scratched at my face and tangled in my long hair but that was the least of my worries.

My whole body hurt from running so fast and so hard, but I never faltered. I couldn't afford to. I couldn't afford to wonder about where the rest of my crew was. I was completely and utterly alone.

When I couldn't take the pain in my lungs anymore, I stopped in the shadows and tried to catch my breath as quickly as possible. I made no noise, blending in perfectly with my surroundings. The forest around me was devoid of chirping birds or even wind in the trees.

It was in eerie silence.

Then, I got the unmistakable feeling thst someone was watching me. I knew they were following closely behind.

I reached for my weapons but my hands came up empty; I'd forgotten that I'd lost them in the previous fight. Now, the only thing that could protect me was myself.

My heart was pounding as I turned to look in every direction, searching for one small clue that would give my pursuers away. I knew that they most likely had several guns trained on me.

So I ran for my life, my footfalls the only thing breaking the spectral silence. I knew the way back. If only I could get there in time.

By some miracle, the road came into sight. The black pavement was slightly visible in between the lush trees up ahead.

I needed to get there. I couldn't be caught again.

The thought had barely came into my brain when a single gunshot rang out. I didn't have time to turn before I felt the searing pain of the bullet entering into my abdomen. I took a few staggering steps backward with the impact, clutching my side.

I glanced down. Blood was beginning to blossom through my black clothes.

The sounds of other people approaching made my head snap back up. There, stood Benny, the masked man, along with two faceless others.

I shot my hand out, intending to use my power to crush them with one of the massive trees. But nothing happened. I flicked my hand out again, hoping that it would work. It didn't. Desperation filled my lungs as I struggled to breathe.

"You can run," Benny spoke, his deep voice grating in my ears. He took a step forward. I could feel my warm blood trickling in between my fingers.

"But you can't hide."

I kicked my legs and tried with all my might to crawl away from the assassin, but it only brought me more pain from my bleeding side. My strength, like my blood, was seeping out of my body.

I was so weak that Benny was able to grab me without any repercussions. He yanked me to my aching feet. Then, the two of us disappeared together as he dragged me back into the darkness of the forest.

I opened my eyes. There was no use thinking about what could have happened. I was safe now. So why didn't I feel like it?

I turned my head to look out the grimy back window of the rental van. We were in the city now, almost to the airport; the dark woods were a distant memory. However, the events of what had happened in them were anything but.

Benny. How had he survived? How had any of them survived?

He'd tried to kill me. Benny was no longer the frightened boy I once knew. He was now as bad as I was: a murdering assassin with a long list of kills. Had they done the same thing to him that they'd done to me?

My stomach churned with nausea, but I wasn't sure exactly which realization had brought it about. What we had discovered today changed everything, and not in a good way.

I tightened my arms around myself, ignoring the pain it brought in my ribs. Wanting to forget everything, I stared out the window.

We were getting deeper into the city now. Bucharest was a vast city now filled with people trying to get home after work. The massive buildings were modern, but something about the city had an old feel to it, like it had been around for a long time and seen much.

As we crawled through traffic, I saw a little girl on the sidewalk holding hands with her mother. They were clueless. Everyone was blind to what was going to take place. Imperium had been building on itself in secrecy, rising in the shadows, so that no one would realize what was going on until it was too late.

It had taken us weeks to finally track down Adiago Hundsen, and he was only a part of the game Imperium was playing. How would we ever be able to kill Orion and the rest of the army he was building?

We all got out of the car once we reached the airport. The same private plane of Hunt's that had brought us there was waiting to take us back.

As the plane lifted off the runway and into the sky, I was pushed back in my seat. Trying not to groan in pain, I put my hand to my injured ribs. Under even my slight touch, I knew that they were broken and swelling.

Gigi noticed my movement. "Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine," I said, my voice perfectly even.

Her electric blue eyes dropped to where my hand was clutching my side. "Six of your ribs are broken. I can feel it. You also have a slight trauma to your head."

"I can heal you," she told me, looking concerned. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

I could have. The thought had crossed my mind when she was helping the others with their injuries. But another thought had also resurfaced: the thought of her mother, dying at the hand of Benny while I watched on. A preventable death.

"May I?" she asked politely, outstretching her hands toward me. I nodded slowly, knowing that if she knew what I'd done, she'd be leaving me to die from my injuries.

The steady pain in my ribs turned to a calm warmth as her healing spread through me. When she was done, only the slightest ache remained.

She then began healing my head, which I knew had a bleeding cut on my forehead. Waving her hand over it, I felt it disappear.

"Thank you," I told her quietly, feeling as though I'd taken advantage of her kindness.

She didn't speak for a moment. Then, she asked, "Delphinium?"

I turned in my seat to look at her again. "Yeah?"

"Imperium killed my mother, didn't they?"

"Yes." The words flowed out of my mouth smoothly and quickly. It wasn't entirely a lie; Benny had murdered her mother. But I had been there, standing idly by as I watched the woman die. I'd as good as killed her.

"I'm sorry," I added after watching the way her gaze dropped to the floor.

Gigi shook her head. "She worked for the government. They targeted her for the classified information she had."

"And what information did she have?"

Shrugging, Gigi answered, "I don't know. It could be anything. So much of what she knew could have helped Imperium."

"And now they have the information they were after."

"Yeah," she responded solemnly. "They got exactly what they wanted."

She suddenly looked determined, wearing a strength that I hadn't known she'd had in her. "The point is, Delphinium, they killed her in cold blood. Imperium threw her away like trash. I doubt whoever shot her even remembers who she is now."

"It's possible," I said, not exactly sure where she was going with this conversation.

"Because of that, I will do anything I can do to help you kill Imperium. They murdered my mother." Her voice wavered slightly. "I want them dead so that they can cause no more pain on anyone."

"Okay, I'll take it into account," I answered, knowing that it was what she wanted to hear. "I'm sure your abilities will help."

"Thank you. I won't disappoint," she responded, looking grateful. I wondered again if I'd underestimated her. She'd always come across as weak and fearful, but now, she'd just shown a side of her that consisted of neither of those things.

Staring mindlessly at the ground, I was enveloped in my thoughts again. She thought that I was going to lead them in bringing down Imperium. They all did.

But I knew the truth: that they were simply too powerful. They'd ruined me once and I had a horrible feeling that they were about to do it again.