Three exits. Two blocked. The third—
Fire answers my call. Not controlled. Not measured. Ancient power responding to intention more than conscious thought.
Flames erupt across the rear passage. Blocking escape.
Vex spins back, trapped between my fire and the advancing shifter forces.
Mara stumbles. Just slightly. Her hand goes to the wall for support.
She needs you. Go to her.
But I don’t move. Can’t move.
Because another memory surfaces, clearer than the rest, a memory that sucks the air from my lungs:
Standing over the bodies of those I’d killed to protect something precious. Winning the battle. Losing everything that mattered.
Power doesn’t protect what you love.
It destroys it.
Mara’s eyes lock on mine across the cavern.
And I realize—
I don’t need to be what I was.
I need to be what she needs.
The fire dims. Controlled again. My breathing steadies.
The battle rages on around us—dragons against Syndicate forces, the wolf a blur of violence, weapons clashing against stone—
I know this world. This life of violence.
And I know who I am.
Chapter 22
Mara
Half an hour earlier
I promised I’d stay back. Promised Viktor. Promised Elena. Promised myself I wouldn’t do anything stupid or reckless or likely to get myself killed.
But watching the facility from this rocky outcrop while knowing K is inside—
Every second feels like breaking a vow.
“They move soon,” Andrei murmurs beside me.
I nod, throat too tight for words. I know what Caleb and the others have planned. Know that it’s strategically sound. An assault crafted by seasoned fighters. Still, it feels like I’m not doing enough.
Movement below snaps my attention back.
The facility lights cut out. All of them. Simultaneously.
Darkness swallows the compound.
