Lili moved through the hallways toward the training hall. The place smelled of sweat.And there they were. Lukas striking the sandbag, Adam across the mat, levitating a series of weighted discs, his eyes narrowed in focus as he moved them through a spiraling pattern. Lili stepped into the room. Both men turned. Lukas straightened. Adam’s discs dropped with a metallic thud. Neither said a word.
“I want to talk.” Lili’s voice was calm. “You made your judgment and you were wrong.” Neither interrupted yet. “But I didn’t let Rafael punish you,” she added, meeting their gazes in turn. “If we’re going to survive what’s coming, we can’t keep tearing each other apart every time fear makes a decision for us.”
Adam’s jaw flexed. Lukas didn’t move.
“I’m not asking for your trust,” Lili said stepping onto the mat. “I came to see if you’re worth mine.”
Adam turned fully toward her. Then, without warning, he dropped into a fighting stance. “If you want to talk,” Adam said, “we’re boxing.”
Across the training room, heads turned, conversations halted mid-sentence and all eyes locked on the mat.
Lukas curious eyes stayed on Lili.
Lili exhaled slowly. Her boots slid back an inch, hands rose. “Fine,” she said sharper.
Adam’s lip twitched and he lunged forward. His fist cut through the air and Lili ducked low, than pivoted to the side. Her counter strike was a tap to his ribs.
Adam turned toward her with the spin, arching the elbows high. He struck again, but this time faster and sharper. She parried one hit, absorbed another with her side, then twisted, letting momentum carry her low. Her leg swept out—Adam hit the mat.
Lili stepped back immediately. He stayed there for a moment, then let out a breath. “Not bad,” he muttered.
Lili didn’t respond. Her eyes had already turned to Lukas. “You?” she asked simply.
“You think a spar changes anything?”
“No,” Lili replied even. “But it might change at least something.”
He studied her for a while then nodded and stepped onto the mat. She met each strike. His fist brushed her jaw once, but she didn’t recoil. Instead, she caught his wrist, twisted.
Adam finally said, “She’s the reason we’re not in a cell right now.”
Lukas stiffened. His gaze flicked to her, uncertainty cutting through. “Why?” he asked.
“Because I don’t want teammates who obey out of fear,” Lili said, letting go of his wrist. “If we’re going to fight together, I want it to be by choice.”
Lukas didn’t answer. But he didn’t leave the mat either, just stepped back slowly. His breathing was steady, but something in his posture steadied.
“She’s right,” Adam muttered from the bench now, rubbing the back of his neck. “We messed up. Doesn’t matter what we thought we saw that night. We acted too fast. Didn’t wait for facts and let the fear cloud our judgment.”
Lukas turned toward him, then back to Lili. “Fear’s a weapon. You know that better than any of us.”
“I do,” Lili said simply. “But I don’t use it on allies.”
She stepped off the mat. Before leaving the room, she turned back once. “I’m not asking you to like me. Only to be ready to fight beside me when the time comes.”
Adam met her gaze. This time, he didn’t look away. “We will be.”
Lukas remained silent, but when Lili started walking again, his voice followed her:
“You saved Cova. That’s more than most would’ve done.”
Lili paused at the doorway. “Then maybe,” she said softly, “I’m not that big of the mistake you need to correct after all.” And with that, she stepped into the corridor.
She barely made it halfway down the hall when Notori moved toward her. His brows were furrowed, and his phone was clutched tight in one hand, forgotten now that his eyes had found her.
“I heard you were fighting Adam and Lukas again,” he said, his gaze falling immediately to the fading bruise along her jaw and his entire posture went rigid now. “Did they hurt you?” he asked, already turning slightly toward the training ground.
Lili chuckled softly, shaking her head as she stepped in his way. “It was a sparring match, Notori. Nothing like the last time.” But then, she looked at him—and her tone changed, just a little, like something more delicate edged its way through. “Although…” she began, pausing to study the tight line of his mouth, the fire banked behind his eyes. “I do appreciate how worried you are. Even if…” Her voice drifted off, and a hint of color bloomed over her cheeks. She looked away quickly. “Well,” she finished awkwardly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “if I can’t really place why.”
Notori was quiet for a breath too long. Then he exhaled through his nose. “You don’t have to know why,” he said, softer than usual, almost afraid of how loud the truth might sound. “Just… let me care. Even if you don’t understand it yet.”
He didn’t wait for her answer. Just gave her the smallest nod, turned, and walked beside her.
“Rafael offered me to officially join the team,” she said suddenly, her voice casual on the surface, but there was something buried underneath.
She didn’t look at Notori at first. Her eyes traced the line of the corridor ahead, but every inch of her body was tuned to his silence, measuring the weight of his breath, the twitch of his brow, the shift in his step.
Notori paused, just for a moment. His face didn’t twist in surprise, nor did it flash with pride or concern right away—he simply considered it carefully. “And what did you say?” he finally asked, his tone impossibly steady, though his fingers curled slightly around the edge of his jacket—betraying the tension in his chest.
“I told him I needed time to think it through,” she answered, her eyes finally meeting his. “A day.”
Notori nodded slowly, but his gaze didn’t leave her. “And are you thinking… about joining?” His voice held no pressure, only a quiet hope threaded into the curiosity.
Lili hesitated. “I’m thinking about whether I can trust the people who’d stand beside me. Who’d have my back when it matters. People like Adam… and Lukas. And you.”
Notori didn’t flinch. “If it’s me you’re unsure about,” he said gently, “then you’re wasting your worry.” Then, more quietly: “I already chose my side, Lili. I chose it the moment I saw you step out of that darkness and fight for someone else.”
Her breath caught slightly before she masked it behind a dry, amused huff. “You say things like that and make it hard to argue.”
“Good,” he replied with a half-smile. “I’m trying to make sure you know where I stand.”
Lili’s lips curled into a faint hesitant smile. But then, as if conjuring the very weight she’d been trying to shake, Notori added, “What about Katika? Will you go speak with her too?”
The warmth drained from her face. Her gaze dropped, then turned sideways. “I…” she began, breath catching in her throat. “Cova is her friend…” Her fingers unconsciously rubbed her wrist. “Maybe it’s the worst moment.”
Notori watched her carefully. “It’s the right moment… if you know what to say.”
Lili looked up, blinking slowly as if trying to understand the shape of his words. “And what if I don’t?”
“Then you show up anyway,” he replied gently. “You were brave enough to carry Cova out of that fire. You don’t need perfect words now. Just… honesty.”
Lili looked down, then nodded faintly. Her eyes flicked to his face back. “I’ll find her,” she murmured.
***
Lili found Katika in the medical wing, seated silently beside Cova’s bed, where the rhythmic beeping of monitors filled the space. Margherita stood nearby, adjusting IV lines.
Lili lingered at the doorway for a breath, then stepped in. “How is she?” Lili asked.
Margherita turned, as her eyes flicked to the fresh bruise blooming on Lili’s cheek. “She’s better,” Margherita answered. “Was awake for a bit earlier. Drifted off again. She’s stable, but it’ll take time.”
Lili nodded once, her eyes moved from the lines snaking into Cova’s arm to Katika, who had yet to speak. The other woman’s back was to her, posture stiff and protective until she finally turned.
Lili took a step closer. “I will make them pay,” she said. “For what they did to Cova. I won’t stop until they regret ever touching her.”
Katika didn’t respond immediately. Her gaze searched Lili’s face for intent. Then, slowly, she rose from her chair.
Lili stood her ground, watching her with the calm of a brewing storm. “Will you help me in the fight?” she asked.
A beat of silence passed. Margherita turned back to her work, tactfully ignoring the tension humming between the two women.
“You still think you’re alone in this,” Katika said. “But you’re not. I’m in.” Katika watched Lili carefully, her arms folded across her chest. “I thought you didn’t care if any of us supported you.”
“You’re right,” Lili said without hesitation. “I didn’t. But Rafael offered me a place,” Lili continued, more slowly now, carefully watching every flicker of reaction in Katika’s face. “To officially join the team. And that’s when it truly matters.”
The words seemed to change the temperature in the room. Even Margherita, who had been gently rearranging a tray of instruments, froze in place, one hand hovering midair.
Lili drew in a breath through her nose, steadying herself against the weight of what came next. “The team is already fractured because I’m here,” she said quietly. “Some trust me. Some don’t. And some would rather see me gone altogether. If I say yes to Rafael, then I stop being the outsider. I become one of you. And if that happens, we can’t afford to be at war with each other anymore.”
“And you’re really thinking of saying yes?” Katika asked.
“I’m thinking of what it might cost if I don’t,” Lili replied. “And what I’m willing to fight for if I do.”
Katika exhaled, her gaze dropped to Cova’s sleeping face, and for a long breath, she said nothing. Then, quietly, she answered. “If I help you…” Her voice was low, the edge still there, but tempered. “It’s not because I trust you completely. It’s because Cova would want me to.”
Lili nodded once. “That’s enough.”
Katika finally looked at her again. “But you’ll need more than just my help. If you’re going to stand with us, you’ll need to do more than bleed for the cause. You’ll have to let us see who you are before the blood spills.”
Lili’s jaw twitched, the hint of a flinch in her posture, but she didn’t retreat. “I’ll try.”
“No.” Katika’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll do. You don’t get to ‘try’ anymore. Not if you’re asking the rest of us to fight beside you.”
Margherita, quiet until now, stepped forward and placed a hand gently on Lili’s shoulder. “She means it,” the doctor said softly. “And so do I. We all want peace, Lili. But some wounds need more than time.”
Lili nodded, swallowing the heat in her throat. “Then I’ll show it.” Her eyes flicked again to Cova, then to Katika. “When she wakes up,” Lili said, voice soft but certain, “tell her I was here. And that I’m not done yet.”
With that, she stepped back…
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