The submarine tilted sharply downward. A klaxon blared.

“DIVE, DIVE, DIVE,” the intercom barked.

The deck angled hard. I stumbled, fighting for footing.

From the corridor behind me, heavy footsteps — three armed sailors, Adrian’s loyalists, raising rifles.

“Kill her,” Adrian ordered, his eyes locked on the rising bar. “We’re going deep.”

I threw myself sideways as the hallway erupted in gunfire, sliding behind a heavy bulkhead, bullets sparking close to my face.