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The rain fell in soft whispers against the windows of the Crow Club. Ella could hear the rhythm of it, the gentle tapping, as it blended with the low hum of the city. It was almost like the world was trying to drown out the tension in the air-trying to silence the chaos that was about to unfold. But nothing could drown it out. Not anymore.

Her fingers rested lightly on the edge of the table, her mind racing despite her calm exterior. Kaz's words echoed in her head, a constant reminder that their plan-this reckoning-was too close now. There was no turning back.

There were nights, moments like these, when she could almost feel the weight of Kaz's eyes on her. She had learned long ago that his presence was never really silent, never passive. He was always watching, always listening. And somehow, she had become used to it. Maybe even... dependent on it.

But tonight, there was something different. Kaz had always been a mystery to her, a puzzle she couldn't piece together. And yet, in his presence, she always felt this inexplicable connection. A thread that had been woven between them, one she didn't completely understand. She didn't need to. Not really. All that mattered was the mission. All that mattered was that, no matter what, they had to take down Pekka Rollins.

Kaz had not spoken to her much today. There had been that same cold calculation in his eyes-something she had seen countless times before. But there was a flicker beneath it, a glimpse of something raw, something almost vulnerable. And that scared her. Kaz didn't show weakness. He never had. And for a moment, she had wondered whether that was the hardest part about being with him: the constant need to hide whatever flickers of humanity he had left.

Her fingers tightened around the table. Focus, Ella. This wasn't the time for distractions. This wasn't the time to think about Kaz's feelings, or her own.

The truth was, despite all the preparation, despite all the planning, something didn't feel right. There was a storm gathering on the horizon, and she could feel it. A weight in her chest, a tension in her limbs that hadn't been there before.

Ella closed her eyes for a moment, reaching deep within herself, searching for the calm she usually had. But the familiar pull of the storm was too much. She felt the shift in the air, the pressure of impending disaster, like something big was about to happen. Her emotions were a blur, just out of reach, but she knew they were there, swirling beneath the surface.

She opened her eyes, suddenly aware of Kaz standing in the doorway, his silhouette framed against the dim light of the hallway. His presence was like a storm of its own.

"You're quiet tonight," she said, her voice steady, though her heart quickened. She hadn't expected him to be here. Not now. Not with everything at stake.

Kaz stepped inside, his coat trailing behind him. The door clicked shut with a faint echo, but the silence between them was heavier than ever. There was no usual sharpness to his gaze tonight, no edge to his words. Instead, there was an unspoken understanding hanging between them-something that neither of them had dared to acknowledge until now.

He didn't speak at first, just stood there, his hands loosely folded in front of him. But Ella knew better than to fill the silence with meaningless words. Kaz had a way of drawing people into his world, into his silence, and making them feel like they were the ones who needed to speak.

"I don't think I can do this," he finally said, his voice low. The words were uncharacteristically honest, stripped of the usual calculation, the mask he wore so carefully. "I've never been good at... relying on anyone."

Ella didn't respond immediately. Instead, she studied him. Kaz was standing just a few feet away, but there was an intangible distance between them-something she had never been able to cross, something he had always kept firmly in place.

"I'm not asking you to rely on anyone," Ella replied softly, her gaze meeting his. "You don't have to. But the plan... it has to work, Kaz. It has to."

His eyes flickered for a moment, as if he were battling some internal war, something far deeper than what she could see on the surface. "And what if it doesn't?" he asked, his voice a quiet whisper of something raw, something dangerous. "What if we lose?"

Ella didn't flinch, though his words hit like a blade to her chest. The truth was, she had been asking herself the same thing for days now. What if they didn't win? What if all of this-everything they had built, everything they had fought for-fell apart at the last moment?

"I won't let us lose," she said, her voice firm. But even as the words left her lips, doubt lingered. She had to believe it. She had to.

But deep down, there was a part of her that was terrified. Terrified of losing the Crows. Terrified of losing Kaz.

Kaz stepped closer, his presence filling the room. She could feel the warmth of him, feel the tension radiating off of him like heat. "Ella, I need you to promise me something."

She met his gaze, finding it harder to look away now than she ever had before. "What?"

"Promise me," he said, his voice steady despite the underlying current of something she couldn't quite name, "that no matter what happens... you won't look back. You won't let anything change you."

Ella swallowed. She hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected him to ask her for something like that. But as the words settled in the space between them, she understood what he was really asking.

He was asking her to keep herself intact. To remain whole, no matter how this ended. To not let the inevitable cost of this war break her. To not let it break them.

She exhaled slowly, as if releasing all the tension that had been building inside her for weeks. "I promise."

Kaz didn't speak again. Instead, he stepped closer, his hand brushing against hers for a fraction of a second, enough for Ella to feel the heat of his touch. And then he was gone, retreating to the shadows of the room, leaving her standing there with her pulse pounding in her ears.

⸻

Ella stood alone, her thoughts a swirling mess. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was it. The moment they had all been preparing for-the moment when everything would change. She had been part of this plan for so long, had fought for it, had dreamed of it in secret. But now, standing at the precipice, it all felt... different.

Kaz's words lingered in her mind like smoke-unavoidable, impossible to ignore. Don't let anything change you.

But how could she promise that when everything around her was changing? When everything-he-was changing?

⸻

As the night wore on, the storm outside intensified. Thunder rumbled through the city, a harbinger of the storm within her. Ella knew it wasn't just the weather. It was the weight of the plan, the fear of the unknown, and the ever-present dread that they might not survive. But no matter how much she tried to push it away, she couldn't escape the thought of what might come next. Of what she might lose.

The storm was coming, and they were all standing in its path.

⸻