My heart sank, but I refused to show any weakness.
“Everyone out,” he commanded, his voice cold and unyielding.
Men and women filed out without question, the heavy thud of their boots echoing off the walls. Along the back, a large silver wolf rose from the floor, eyes tracking our arrival. Fallon leaned casually against the wall beside it, her expression blank and indifferent.
The General glanced at her, rolling his eyes but saying nothing. The door closed, leaving only us in the room.
My chest tightened.
He straightened, holding his hands behind his back. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His jaw was sharp and covered in rough stubble. The lines on his face showed his age and his devotion to leading Hollow Summit.
Nobody said a word.
All at once, something surged through my veins—an emotion foreign to my body, as if it belonged to someone else. But not Lakota. Someone different.
The General cleared his throat. “Hello, Scarlet.”
I locked onto his hazel eyes, suddenly more grateful for my own crimson ones. But I couldn’t speak. Words crashed through my mind, desperate to escape, but my lips refused to part. My knees felt cemented in place, my body numb. The only sound in the room was my breathing—ragged, uneven, my chest rising and falling too fast.
This was him.
“Did you know about me?”
The voice cut through the silence. It took me a second to realize it was mine.
My father blinked. “Yes.”
A sharp burn prickled behind my eyes. My breath grew shallow.
“The whole time?” My voice wavered. “Did you know I was alive?”
He didn’t flinch. “Yes. Your mother—”
“Notmy mother. Ihada mother.”
His jaw tightened. “She ran away with you for reasons that would take time to explain. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have—”
“Why didn’t you come after me?” The words tore from my throat, brittle and cracked. I forced the emotion down, but it curled at the edges of my voice.
He stepped around the table, moving slowly toward Rhodes and me. His chin dipped. His gaze locked onto mine, unwavering.
“It was all for a greater purpose,” he said, voice steady. “Bigger than any of us in this room. You’ll understand soon enough.”
“You’ve had twenty-one years to explain.”
My heart plummeted. My anger didn’t spark like the familiar fire under my skin—it boiled, scalding, like molten water coursing through my veins. My eyes flicked to Fallon, standing rigid, her expression carved from stone, her gaze fixed on our father.
Then she looked at me. And I realized—this wasn’t my anger.
I was feeling hers.
The General continued, “For now, we need you and Cadet Wylder to work with our team to infiltrate Mageia War College. An artifact has been missing since the Battle for Mareki—one that rightfully belongs to the Hollow. Since the two of you already know how it works internally, you are valuable assets to this mission.”
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “So let me get this straight—you left me to fend for myself for twenty-one years, fighting just to stay alive, and now that we’re finally face-to-face, the first thing you want is to send me back to the one place that will kill me on sight?” I took a step forward, heat curling in my chest. “I don’t even know your name.”
His expression remained unreadable. “I am General Fitzroy.”
“Yourfuckingname,” I snapped.
