The question sits heavy. I just lied to everyone who cares about me. Refused rescue. Committed to a plan I don’t fully have.
All for a man who called me another woman’s name.
A man I’ve known for barely a week.
A man who’s a dragon and doesn’t even know his own history.
A twinge in my ribs has me looking down at my damp shirt. Blood. I lift the hem to see a thin line of torn skin across my torso.
When did that happen?
Probably during the run-in with those Syndicate fuckers. With all the excitement, I didn’t even notice.
“You are brave or foolish,” Andrei says, returning. “Perhaps both.”
“Definitely both.” I straighten my shirt and pocket the phone. “Can you get me closer to that road? I need to see which direction they went.”
He studies me. “The elder said to bring you back.”
“The elder can wait five more minutes.”
For a moment, I think he’ll refuse.
Then he nods. “Five minutes. Then we return, or I carry you back myself.”
“Deal.”
We move through the trees, staying low and quiet. The road grows clearer—definitely wide enough for vehicles, relatively well-maintained despite being “abandoned.”
And there: tire tracks. Multiple sets, heading east just like Andrei said.
Toward the border. Toward civilization.
Toward wherever the Syndicate is taking K.
I memorize everything. The direction. The approximate width of the vehicles. The spacing between tire marks suggesting a convoy.
Intel. Concrete.Useful.
“We must go,” Andrei says quietly. “Before they send patrols back.”
“What’s wrong with going now, dammit?”
“Without a plan?” He tilts his head. “That would not be wise.”
He’s right. I nod, taking one last look at the road.
I will come back for you, K said.
“Yeah, well maybe I’ll be the one coming for you,” I whisper to the snow and stone and empty road. “You just try and stop me.”
We climb back toward the village in silence.
My mind is already working. Planning.
I don’t know where the Syndicate is taking him. Don’t know if I can reach him before—
Don’t think about that.
