An indomitable she-wolf called Nadia Frost.
Chapter 25
Nadia
The training yard is empty at this hour. Most operatives are on assignment or resting between shifts. The space is mine—packed earth, practice dummies, weapons racks lining the perimeter fence.
I need it to be mine right now. Need the solitude. Need to work off the energy that’s been crawling beneath my skin since yesterday.
My wolf has been agitated since Ember left my room yesterday. Not the frantic need of the heat cycle—that’s gone completely. This is different. Deeper. The bone-deep certainty that I’m not fixing something that desperately needs fixing.
I slam my fist into the practice dummy. The impact jolts up my arm. Again. Harder. The dummy rocks on its base. Another strike. Then another. Working through forms I’ve practiced for years. Muscle memory takes over while my mind circles the same thoughts I’ve been trying to escape.
Jericho.
I hit the dummy hard enough that the post cracks. Focus on the movements till my muscles burn and sweat soaks through my clothing.
“Nadia?”
I spin. Iris stands at the yard entrance. Shadow dragon energy radiates from her—usually controlled but right now crackling with distress.
“Hey.” I wipe sweat from my face. Try to look normal. “You okay?”
“I’m looking for Kieran. Have you seen him?” Her voice is tight. Strained in ways that make my wolf sit up and take notice.
“No. Not since yesterday.” I move closer. Study her face. “What’s happened?”
She hesitates. Opens her mouth. Closes it. Then: “You haven’t heard.”
“Heard what?”
“There’s been—” She stops. Breathes. “Someone died. Murder. Inside Aurora.”
The statement takes a moment to process. Murder here, inside sanctuary walls that are supposed to be safe.
Impossible.
“Who?” My voice comes out steady despite the sudden drop in my stomach.
“Samien Khalef.”
Samien. Viktor’s advisor. Tabitha’s closest friend. Someone I’ve worked with and respected.
“When?”
“Last night. Between two and four in the morning. They found him in a maintenance corridor.” Iris’s hands are shaking. “Nadia, there’s dragon evidence. Claw marks. Fire damage. Scales.”
Dragon evidence.
“They’re saying it was Jericho,” Iris continues. Her voice is careful. Watching my reaction. “The defector. He has no alibi. Dragon evidence everywhere. Viktor’s detained him.”
Jericho. Detained. Accused.
My wolf is snarling with rage. Not at him—at the accusation. At the wrongness of it. She knows. Knows with absolute certainty that he didn’t do this.
I know.
“Where’s Viktor?” I hear myself ask.
