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your pov
The dim glow of the room's lanterns cast long shadows across the war table, the polished wood scarred with marks from countless meetings just like this one—though none had ever felt quite as heavy. The model of Topside lay spread out before us, small brass figures representing key locations, pathways, and the intricate network of the Hexgates that pulsed like veins through the city.
Jayce leaned heavily against the table, his knuckles white as his palms pressed flat against the surface. His face was drawn tight, shadows clinging beneath his eyes, the burden of leadership weighing him down like iron shackles. His voice was low but filled with urgency as he spoke.
"I need you and the Enforcers to buy as much time as we can so I can shut down the Hexgates." His gaze flicked upward, scanning each of us as if willing his words to be carved into our very bones. "It's our only chance."
The room was thick with tension. Mel, poised as ever but with a flicker of unease betraying her composed facade, sighed softly. She reached for the small, round little sphere on the table—a representation of the influence—and slid it toward the miniature depiction of Topside. The clink of its material against wood echoed like a countdown starting.
"Viktor's at the center of all of this, isn't he?" Caitlyn's voice was sharp, cutting through the silence like a blade. She didn't bother looking at Jayce when she spoke, her eyes locked on the model as if it might reveal the answers we were all dreading.
Jayce didn't respond. His silence was louder than any confirmation. His jaw clenched, his eyes dark with a mix of regret and something else—fear.
I shifted slightly, leaning into Vi where she sat beside me. Without breaking her focus, she instinctively wrapped an arm around my waist, her fingers tightening ever so slightly as if grounding herself. The warmth of her touch was the only thing anchoring me amidst the swirl of dread settling in my chest.
"We're meant to lose this fight," Jayce muttered, his voice dropping to a near whisper, like he was admitting it more to himself than to us. His fingers traced the outline of the Hexgate routes on the map, lingering where Viktor's influence had spread the deepest. "If he reaches the Hexgates..." He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished, but we didn't need him to say it. We all knew what that meant.
The room felt colder suddenly, the weight of impending doom pressing down like a vice.
But then Caitlyn straightened, her expression hardening into something fierce and determined. Without a word, she reached out and knocked the metal sphere over with the back of her hand, the sharp clank snapping us out of the haze of fear.
"Then we'd best stop him," she said firmly, her voice steady despite the tension crackling in the room. Her blue eyes met mine briefly, and in them, I saw not fear—but resolve.
Jayce's shoulders squared slightly, as if her words had reignited the fire in him. Mel's fingers drummed thoughtfully against the edge of the table, calculating, planning.
