My stomach drops.
“She knows about the resonance. She knows Vex is... dangerous.”
Everything stops. The hum of power cells, the flickering hazard lights overhead—they all go dead silent in my ears.
My heart slams against my ribs. Not because of the secret. But because ofhowshe knows.
“You went out last night,” I say, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. “You didn’t go for a walk. You met her.”
Ella nods. Just once.
I feel it boiling behind my sternum—rage and terror. My fingers twitch.
“You met her alone?” My voice drops to a growl I can’t control. “You walked into a meeting with a Coalition High Priestess in the middle of the night without telling me?”
“I couldn’t tell you!” she cries, stepping back. “If you went, she would have seen you. She would have used it against us?—”
“She is using it anyway!” I slam my hand against the doorframe, denting the metal. “She is playing you, Ella! She separated us so she could get into your head. She wanted you vulnerable.”
Ella wraps her arms around herself, looking smaller than I’ve ever seen her. “She knows about the DNA, Takhiss. She said... she said Vex is a weapon. That he has the Jalshagar resonance.”
I stop pacing. I turn to her.
“Of course she did.” I force my voice to steady, though the fury is still vibrating in my claws. “She wants you afraid. She wants you to think you can’t control him so you’ll hand him over.”
“Does she have proof?” I ask.
Ella hesitates. “Not yet. But she’s filed a custody motion with the Coalition’s diplomatic council. Claims Vex was born under law. That he should be raised with his ‘rightful kin.’”
My claws gouge into the doorframe. “She’s going to take him.”
“She’s going to try.”
And then Ella does something I don’t expect—she grabs my hand. Hard. Desperate.
“She’s coming after him. And I need you, Takhiss. I need you not to fall apart. Not to storm into her quarters and rip her throat out. I need you to help me keep him safe. Legally. Strategically.”
Her words burn. Because she’s right.
“I want to protect him,” I say. “I want to protect both of you. But if she touches him?—”
“I know,” she breathes. “Believe me, I know.”
We stand there, surrounded by cab parts and rust and oil-smudged air, and suddenly the room feels like it’s closing in.
“You should have woken me,” I say, my voice rough. “We are supposed to be a unit. A pack.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection!” I snap. “I need to know where the enemy is!”
She flinches again. “I’m sorry.”
I look at her—exhausted, terrified, carrying the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders. My anger breaks.
I reach out and pull her into me. She crashes against my chest, sobbing. I wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. She smells like ozone and fear.
“We don’t do this alone anymore,” I murmur into her hair. “You and me. We fight her together.”
