Chapter 2 - Shattered GlassThe shockwave threw Marcus and Dante to the floor, sending antique glass raining across the Persian rug.
Cassian stumbled back, drawing a matte-black pistol from his shoulder holster with lightning speed.
Elena didn't fall.
She had braced herself the moment she heard the faint, high-pitched whistle of a mortar shell.
"They breached the southern wall!" Marcus yelled over the ringing in their ears, scrambling to his feet.
Gunfire erupted from the courtyard, the heavy staccato of automatic weapons echoing through the manor.
"Secure the hallway!" Cassian ordered, moving toward the heavy oak doors of his office.
Dante rushed to the door, pulling it open to check the corridor.
"Wait!" Elena shouted, her voice echoing with commanding authority.
It was too late.
Two masked mercenaries in tactical gear were already in the hall, their rifles raised.
They fired a burst, and Dante took a bullet to the shoulder, collapsing backward with a grunt of pain.
One of the mercenaries stepped into the doorway, aiming his rifle directly at Cassian's chest.
Cassian raised his pistol, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.
Elena moved as a blur of slate-gray fabric.
She grabbed the heavy bronze fire poker from the hearth and hurled it like a javelin.
The heavy metal struck the mercenary square in the face, shattering his visor and snapping his head back.
He dropped his assault rifle to the floor.
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Elena didn't hesitate.
She dove forward, sliding across the polished wood, and snatched the rifle from the dead man's hands.
