CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE

The oppressive weight of the iron door, thick as a tomb slab, pressed against Tobias's heart, a physical manifestation of the fear that had begun to gnaw at him. His mind, usually so sharp and calculating, was starting to scramble, his carefully constructed plan unravelling. He had anticipated every possible contingency, every threat, yet here stood Xander, a whirlwind of fury and determination, ready to shatter the illusion of Tobias's absolute control.

A sickening thud echoed through the chamber, the sound of a man's body collapsing against the unyielding stone floor. Tobias's grip tightened on Lina's hand, his fingers sinking into her soft flesh, the pain a distant, irrelevant sensation. The man, a loyal soldier, had been a mere pawn in Tobias's grand scheme, a sacrifice to buy him precious seconds – seconds he was now desperately clinging to.

He watched, frozen, through the intricate screen set into the door, as Xander, his face a mask of raw fury, gathered the raw power of the ri