Page 43 of King's Reckoning
More sounds from above indicated their pursuers were getting closer, but different now. Rowan could hear multiple groups approaching from different directions. Not just one organized force, but several competing interests all converging on their position.
"They're coming," she said softly. "All of them. Devils, Kings, Iron Fists...every founding family that's been drawn into this. Now we just have to reach the central chamber first, prepare what Mom left behind."
"And if they don't want to see the truth?" Reed asked quietly.
Rowan thought about her mother's careful preparations, about families chosen generationsago to protect knowledge that powerful interests wanted buried.
"Then we'll know Elena was wrong," she said simply. "That the founding families aren't ready to understand their true purpose. To work together instead of fighting for control."
King's hand found her shoulder, squeezing gently. "She wasn't wrong," he said with quiet certainty. "Your mother...she saw things the rest of us missed. Connections, patterns, possibilities. If she believed this could work..."
"Then it's worth the risk to try," Rowan finished.
Reed's hand slipped into hers, his touch grounding her as they prepared to move. "Together?" he asked softly.
Rowan thought about her mother's careful planning and the unexpected connections that had brought them all to this moment. About families meant to complement each other rather than compete.
"Together," she agreed.
Above them, all around them, booted feet pounding created a low rumble that grew louder by the second. But Rowan remained focused as she led them toward the central chamber, carrying forward the legacy her mother had entrusted to her.
It was time to finish what Elena had started. To show them all a better way.
Because some truths were worth any price. Even blood.
The first bullet struck the stone table inches from Rowan's head, ancient stone exploding into razor-sharp fragments. She dove for cover as more shots rang out, the chamber erupting into chaos. Through the gun smoke and flying debris, she caught glimpses of familiar cuts—brothers she'd fought beside, bled beside, turning their weapons against her.
"Did you really think we'd let you expose everything?" Darkness's voice carried over the gunfire. "Let Elena's daughter claim what isn't hers to reveal?"
So much for bringing the founding families together peacefully. The betrayal had come before they could even try.
"Fourteen hostiles," Reed reported from his position near the tunnel entrance. "All wearing our colors." His voice was cold with rage. "Brothers we trusted."
"Not brothers anymore," King growled. He crouched behind a fallen column, returning fire with controlled bursts. "Not after this betrayal."
Rowan felt her pulse racing, adrenaline sharpening her senses. The dim emergency lights cast strange shadows as more shots chipped away at the ancient stone around them.
"They're trying to contain us," she realized, recognizing the tactical pattern. "Keep us pinned down while—"
An explosion cut her off, rocking the entire chamber. Through the new breach poured Devils and Kings, their cuts marking them as leadership from multiple chapters.
"Found them!" Darkness called out. "The artifacts and Matthews' daughter, just like we promised!"
Rowan's mind raced as she assessed their situation. Outnumbered, outgunned, trapped in a chamber that should have been their refuge. Unless...
"Barbara," she called. "The structural integrity of these tunnels—what happens if that last explosion compromised the main support beams?"
"Theoretically?" The archaeologist checked her instruments. "A progressive collapse. But Rowan, that kind of chain reaction could bury the entire tunnel network!"
"Or give us the distraction we need," Rowan countered. She met Reed's eyes across the chaos, saw understanding dawn in their depths.
"Do it," he said simply.
Rowan moved before anyone could stop her, letting her mother's training guide her actions. Shepositioned herself near a key structural support that Barbara's equipment had identified earlier, the one that had been weakened by the explosion.
"Stop her!" Darkness shouted. But it was too late.
Rowan fired three precise shots at the compromised support beam. Stone and timber groaned ominously as centuries-old engineering began to fail. Dust showered down as the chamber's ceiling started to crack.
