Page 92 of Brawler
Flash jolted awake with a gasp, lungs burning. Hospital walls came into focus, antiseptic sharp in the air, the faint hum of machines anchoring him back to the mortal world. Brawler sat nearby, his eyes watchful ready. He knew…he knew that Flash was coming back. Goddamn, that big man and his sixth sense. For a moment it was only the two of them, and the echo of eternity still ringing in his ears.
He shoved the covers down, ignoring the IV tugging at his arm. “Where are my clothes? I need my gear.” His voice cracked, raw, but his eyes burned with clarity.
“Jae—” Brawler started.
“No.” Flash swung his legs over the edge of the bed, swaying but stubborn. “I’m fine. I’m better than fine. I have clarity. I have to find her. I have to get to her. We don’t have time to waste.”
“I know,” Brawler said. “Just rest for a minute.”
The door banged open. Tex stepped in, the rest of the team filing close behind him, silent, steady, every one of themcarrying the look of men who had seen what Flash had seen. The vision still lived in their eyes.
Flash looked to his lieutenant, desperation breaking through the soldier’s mask. “LT. Please. We’re standing at the edge, and I can’t do this without you. Without all of you.”
Their faces were pale, drawn tight, the kind of look men wore after a firefight when the smoke cleared, and they realized they were still alive. It wasn’t just shock. It was recognition. Every one of them carried the weight of what they’d seen, and the silence between them hummed like an oath waiting to be spoken.
“I’d walk into hell and back to keep Astrea safe. Bring on goddamned Chaos,” Easy said.
“No one is taking the future from my children or my Quinn,” Dagger said, voice low, steady. “I didn’t fight this hard to lose everything. I’m going to marry that woman and grow old with her.”
Twister’s mouth tightened. “Sadie is my anchor. If anyone tries to take away what we have, they answer to me.”
Shark’s dark eyes flicked up. “Maddy’s is my sunshine. She’s mine to shield. Always.”
Tex straightened. “Nora stood by me when I had nothing but my name. No one touches her. Not her. Not my children. Not while I breathe.”
Bondo rumbled, “Cameron and my baby girl are my whole world. They’re why I fight, why I’ll never stop.”
Brawler leaned forward, Beast’s head pressed to his leg. “Emily is mine to keep. I’ll protect my brother from anything that threatens him. Beast and I…whatever it takes.”
All his tattoos burned as the words rose out of him. “I’m not losing her. Not to the Veil. Not to this war. Not to any goddamned thing.”
The Chakana cross inked into his ribs seared like a brand, a fire under his skin. Ancient lines, stepped and geometric, the SEAL trident etched at its center. Three realms. Three truths. Past, present, future. Earth, sea, sky. He gritted his teeth against it, but in his gut, he knew it wasn’t punishment. It was a promise. A mark that went deeper than skin.
A low hiss came from the left. “Damn,” Easy muttered, tugging at his shirt. “What the hell?”
Tex’s head came up sharply. One by one, the men lifted fabric, the room filling with the sound of breath catching. Over every ribcage, in the same place, the trident was rising through skin and sweat—pale fire beneath flesh, pulsing once, then settling into faint silver, like the ghost of heat.
“No way,” Shark whispered. “Same spot. Same mark.”
Tex drew his shirt aside. The trident burned there too, just beneath his heart. His jaw flexed, eyes dark with recognition. “Well, I’ll be damned. The Veil gets the brotherhood.”
The light dulled but didn’t fade completely, leaving a faint shimmer under the skin. The air hummed, charged, heavy with the shared rhythm of heartbeats syncing across the room.
Tex stepped closer to Flash’s bedside, his voice low, carrying the weight of command and belief all at once.
“Welcome back, traveler. We’re mortals, but we understand sacrifice. We understand battles. We understand stepping to the line whether it’s pulling a hostage out of hell or taking on a world-destroyer and his sidekicks.” His mouth curved, pure badass Tex. “You’ve got a girl to find. We’ve got a mission to finish. All of us are on board.”
The team’s assent was quiet but thunderous. Bondo’s low “hoo-yah,” Easy’s rough laugh, Shark’s nod. Brawler’s steady presence anchored it all.
Flash reached out through the thin thread of energy he’d come to recognize, the hum that meant the Keeper wasaccessible. The connection opened like breath drawn between stars.
“You are the keystone,” the Keeper said, his voice a vibration more than sound. “You were chosen because you understood us and the battle to come. But the brotherhood you’re anchored to is so absolute, so fused through service, blood, and trust, that the power ripples through your link with them. It is not a draft, Flash. It is a reflection. They have become extensions of your vow. Had even one of them doubted you, the mark would not have appeared. They have already chosen…you.”
Flash almost couldn’t breathe. He’d always known that bond existed, but seeing it manifest in real time on his brothers’ skin was overwhelming.
So my trident on their ribs isn’t a summons, just a synchronization?he asked silently.
“Yes,” the Keeper answered. “Their loyalty burns itself into the same place because they are bound to you so deeply that even supernatural law cannot ignore it. We have the kind of champion others follow, and we are grateful that one such as you has taken up this fight.”
