The hallway kept trying to stop him.
That was the best way to describe it.
Doors slammed.
Barriers flashed alive and died.
Guards lunged like a human tide.
Aiden hit them.
Hard.
Not cruel.
Not sloppy.
Just enough.
A counter-curse.
A twisting shoulder disarm.
A crack of air that sent a man sprawling.
He didn't have the luxury of doubt anymore.
He moved like someone who decided that hesitation was something other people could afford.
At the final checkpoint, a squad took formation.
"Last warning!" their leader barked. "You will be restrained—"
Aiden met his eyes.
"No," he said quietly.
Then he broke their formation and didn't look back.
The interrogation wing wasn't loud.
That was the worst thing.
No screaming.
No chaos.
No violence.
Just professional cruelty.
Cold halls.
Soft lighting.
Carpet so footsteps wouldn't echo in guilt.
Every element designed to feel reasonable.
Which made what was happening beyond the reinforced door feel even more monstrous.
He felt Seris before he heard anything.
That steady, iron-caged fury she wore like armor… frayed.
He pressed his palm to the metal.
"Seris."
There was silence.
Then—
"…Aiden?"
Not relieved.
Not hopeful.
Just… surprised.
Like hope had been erased from acceptable emotional responses.
He swallowed.
"Stand back."
He poured magic into the lock—not wishcraft, not cosmic chaos.
Magic he learned. Magic he trained. Magic that hurt.
The door resisted.
He snarled.
And it broke.
They stared at each other.
For half a second the world forgot the concept of movement.
Seris was kneeling on the floor, wrists bound in a suppression device, collar around her throat, hair tied roughly back like they didn't even bother to be gentle.
Her face was bruised.
Her expression was not.
She exhaled sharply.
"Aiden… what did you do?"
He laughed wetly.
"I came to get you."
Her eyes closed for a heartbeat.
He crossed the room and pulled her into him.
She didn't hug him back right away.
She was too used to being strong.
Then…
she broke the rule she lived by
and leaned into someone else.
"Idiot," she whispered. "They'll kill you."
"Get in line," he whispered back.
He pulled the collar device hard.
It bit him.
It sparked.
He didn't stop.
It shattered.
Magic surged back into her like breath.
She gasped.
He moved to her wrists next.
"Seris," he said softly, "can you stand?"
She nodded.
Tried.
Failed.
He caught her.
"Easy."
"I'm fine," she lied calmly.
He smiled.
"Sure."
Someone coughed.
Aiden turned slowly.
The interrogator stood at the far end of the chamber.
Calm.
Professional.
Polite.
"Impressive breach," the man said mildly. "But this changes very little. You're still within our jurisdiction."
Aiden's jaw tensed.
Seris straightened despite everything.
"Don't," he whispered.
She did anyway.
"Jurisdiction ends," she said coldly, "where you start torturing your own."
The interrogator tilted his head.
"Torture is emotional language. We prefer 'escalated compliance measures.'"
Aiden blinked.
"I think," he said quietly, "you should stop talking now."
The interrogator smiled.
"I think you are sentimental, frightened, and out of your depth. And whatever is happening outside? Will end. It always does. Authority always survives."
Somewhere above them, the building groaned.
Something huge flared in the distance.
Reality didn't agree.
But the interrogator didn't look away.
"Return her. Kneel. Accept regulation. This doesn't end in your favor if you keep choosing hope."
Aiden stared.
Then something in him—something new, something steadier than panic and hotter than courage—clicked into place.
"Maybe," he said softly.
He helped Seris steady herself.
"But you aren't getting to break her."
The interrogator sighed.
"Unfortunate."
He raised a hand.
Magic flared.
Then died.
Seris smiled sharply.
"Oh. Right. My magic is back."
She grabbed his face and introduced it to a wall.
Hard.
He slid down unconscious.
Aiden stared.
"…yeah that works too."
She breathed hard.
She shook once.
Then forced her shoulders straight.
"Status?"
He laughed in disbelief.
"You're bleeding, Liora is dying, Ardent is about to commit abstract war crimes AND everyone wants me in a jar."
She nodded.
"So the usual."
He blinked.
Then laughed too hard.
"Never scare me like that again," he whispered.
She looked away.
"…I'll try."
That was the closest thing to a promise she could make.
It was enough.
Sirens wailed.
Boots thundered.
Walls trembled.
Aiden held out his hand.
"Ready?"
Seris took it.
"Always."
They ran.
Together.
Into whatever waited next.