Page 129 of Emperor of Havoc

My heart slams against my ribs, panic flooding through me. I thrash against the ropes, but they hold fast. My breath comes in sharp, ragged gasps as my mind screams the warning that my larynx is unable to utter.

Turn around. Please, Takeshi. Turn thefuckaround.

Jin’s steps are measured and predatory, his movements fluid and deadly. The blade in his hand catches the faint gleam of moonlight, and my chest tightens like it's held in a vice.

My throat clenches as I strain against the silence that has bound me for years. I push, clawing at the invisible walls that have kept me voiceless for so long. The words are right there but are stuck in my throat, suffocating me.

Takeshi. Takeshi, please. Please, hear me.

My entire body trembles, as if I’m trying to lift an impossible weight. The pressure builds, a crackling tension that threatens to break me wide open. My lips part, but no sound comes, only a shuddering gasp that burns like fire in my lungs.

Jin takes another step closer, his blade poised for the kill. My vision blurs with tears of frustration, my whole world dissolving into pain and desperation. Then something inside me snaps, a fissure appearing in the silence that has defined me for a decade.

…And then it bursts open, like a volcanic eruption.

“TAKESHI!”

The word tears from my throat, my voice like a thunderclap.

“TAKESHI, BEHIND YOU!”

42

TAKESHI

“TAKESHI!”

My name.

Her voice. I've never heard it properly, but I know instinctively.

The whole world goes still.

“TAKESHI, BEHIND YOU!”

I whirl just as Jin swings his katana toward me, its steel glinting in the pale moonlight. I lurch back, the edge of the blade slicing across my chest. Pain explodes through me as a red mist sprays the air.

My finger squeezes the trigger of my gun. The sound is deafening as the bullet thunders through the clearing.

Jin doubles over, his eyes bulging as he clutches his stomach, blood gushing through his fingers.

He snarls, his eyes wild with rage and madness. He jerks upright robotically, heedless of the fact that he’s just been gut shot ashe swings again. The hilt of his katana smashes into my hand, sending the gun flying from my grip.

My balance falters, and we both crash to the ground as Katarina’s screams slice through the chaos.

Through the haze of pain, I see her struggling to rise from where she's tied to a stone bench. Her hair is wild, her face pale and etched with terror. Her eyes stab into mine as I’m hit again with a realization that punches through my core.

She said my name.

I heard her voice.

Jin groans, rolling onto his side, his gaze landing on Katarina. His face contorts in a mix of sorrow and fury. “Marianna,” he chokes. “You… You betrayed me…?”

His body trembles as he drags himself forward, clutching his katana. “All these years,” he whispers, “and you choose another over me?”

“No!” I growl, dragging myself to my knees despite the fire searing my chest. Blood slicks my skin, but I don’t care. “AKIRA!”

He freezes, slowly turning to look at me.

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