Vows of Betrayal

was about to come crashing down-literally-nor did he have any idea that the small, quiet little house o

t-shivered. At first, it was barely noticeable. A little vibration, like the thrum of a passing car, only this felt... wrong. Roman paused, his hands hovering over the soldiers they'd been setting up. It was like the world was holding its breath. His mother, still humming in the kitchen, didn't notice. Leo didn't even blink. But Roman did. He felt it crawl up his spine, sending an uncomfortable shiver through his arms. The ground vibrated again-longer, deeper, like a warning. Roman turned toward the window. The glass trembled. Then rattled. The first crash was too small to catch at first-a dull thud from down the street. But Roman knew better. He'd heard those sounds before: thunder, earthquakes, sirens. Except this wasn't any of those. The next noise came faster-a grind of metal on concrete, then a guttural roar. It was unmistakable. It was the sound of something big, something powerful, something built to destroy. Roman's chest tightened. His mother stopped humming. Her hand gripped the edge of the window frame like it

at his throat. But nothing. Nothing except the unsettling silence of destruction. He tried to push himself up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. Pain shot through his ribs and back, but Roman ignored it. His hands scrambled through the rubble-stone, broken wood, glass-and he moved, inch by inch, toward the place he thought might still hold something important. A flash of movement caught his eye. His mother's hand. It was almost perfectly still, like a photo frozen in time, but Roman knew. He knew immediately. She was gone. Her fingers, outstretched and unmoving beneath the debris. The cabinet that had fallen on top of her, trapping her. Roman's heart stuttered in his chest, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. The weight of it all threatened to crush him entirely. But he couldn't stop. Couldn't stop searching. Not for Leo. Not for anyone else. No. He needed to see the thing that had caused this. An

. It wasn't the firefighters, it wasn't the ambulance crews-they were still too far out. It was a figure in a suit, walking towards him. Tall, calm, unbothered. Someone who didn't belong in the wreckage. And just before Ro