POV: Nova

The sound of the gunshot echoed forever.

One second Kai was standing there, brave and stupid and offering himself as a sacrifice. The next, his body jerked backward like someone had yanked a string, and red bloomed across his white shirt like a terrible flower.

"KAI!"

I was running before I knew I was moving. Security guards tried to grab me, but I shoved past them, falling to my knees beside where he'd collapsed.

Blood. So much blood. Spreading across the concrete, soaking through his shirt, his suit jacket, everything.

"No, no, no." I pressed my hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it just...