Chapter 22 · Grind, Loot, Survive - Chapter 22: Dead End Survival

"Move, Milo!" Selene's hand slammed into my chest and shoved me behind a cracked sewer pillar.

A bolt punched through the stone where my head had been.

"I was moving," I snapped.

"You were talking. Those aren't the same thing."

Another bolt screamed through the tunnel. Bram dragged two soaked rookies down beside us while Selene stepped into the open, blade already in her hand.

Three figures stood at the far end of the sewer, armor bright even in the dirty blue glow from the drainage runes. Elite hunters. Not street scavengers. Their rank marks burned silver on their collars.

The lead hunter lifted a crossbow.

"Milo Kade," he called. "Step away from the children and put your hands where we can see them."

"They're not children," I called back. "They're people who made the mistake of following me."

"That was not a denial."

"You want a denial? Fine. I deny being responsible for anything that happens after you shoot at us."

Selene glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes cut into me.

"Shut up."

"You keep saying that like it has ever worked."

Her mouth tightened. She wanted to yell. I could see it in the twitch beside her jaw.