He doesn’t even look angry. Just… quiet. Guarded.
I feel Tex step into the room behind me, brushing close enough that his fingers graze my spine in passing. He grabs something from the counter and mumbles about coffee.
I glance back at Jace.
He’s already on his feet, file under one arm, finishing the last sip from his cup.
He doesn’t look at either of us as he heads for the door. And something about that silence stays with me. Even when the others arrive. Even when we fall into step, a unit again, all black boots and loaded gear and steel in our eyes. Even when we reach the command wing and I see the others, Guild members from across the world, gathered in suits and weapons, voices low, tension high.
I feel it.
The way Jace walks beside me without saying a word. The way his shoulder never touches mine. The way his eyes flick toward me… and away.
Something’s shifted. I don’t know what.
But I feel it like a bruise I didn’t know I had. And I don’t have time to ask.
Because Lucian is at the front of the room. Savvy, Max, Derek, and Preston, standing in silent support.
Just his presence, commanding, composed, and cold enough to cut steel.
“Daniel Mercer has crossed a line,” he begins. “He’s violated the Guild’scode and weaponized black-market alliances to build something far more dangerous than we anticipated.”
Behind him, a projected satellite image flares to life, a remote mountain facility surrounded by forest. Multiple buildings. Guard towers. Defensive turrets. Motion sensors.
“This compound was once a military research site. Decommissioned. Forgotten. Daniel’s repurposed it. Our intel confirms he’s been using it to develop and house next-gen weapons designed for mass-scale targeting.”
The room shifts. Tension builds.
He continues, voice steady. “Multiple Guild teams will be deployed to infiltrate the facility tonight. Each team will enter through different access points and complete specific objectives: disable security, retrieve data, clear hostile presence. But only one team is tasked with securing the prototype.”
He looks directly at us. “Team Three — led by Jace Ravencourt — will infiltrate through the north tunnel. You’ll navigate underground service corridors to reach the central lab. That’s where we believe the prototype is stored. This tech cannot fall into the wrong hands.”
A schematic appears behind him, detailing multiple floors of the facility, server rooms, surveillance nodes, and sealed labs with unknown contents.
“Expect armed resistance. Expect mercenaries. And expect traps. You will have no comms once inside. Teams are on isolated blackout protocols to reduce trace exposure.”
His tone sharpens. “This is not a test. And it’s not a rescue mission. It’s a strike. Suit up. Full briefing in thirty. We move at 0200.”
The hall slowly empties, voices dropping to whispers, boots echoing across marble as teams peel off toward their respective prep rooms.
I feel the others pause behind me — Jace, Luca, Tex, Noah — but I don’t move.
Neither does Lucian. His eyes meet mine across the space, and for a moment, there’s no commander. No mission. Just my dad.
The boys drift away, giving us the illusion of privacy. It’s only then that Lucian walks toward me, the lights from the map still glowing behind him. He stops a few feet away.
“You stayed quiet,” he says softly.
“I was listening.”
Lucian nods, then exhales through his nose, not quite a sigh, but something close. “You’ve always listened too well for your own good.”
We stand there in silence, the hum of electricity and fading footsteps the only sound.
Then, more quietly, “You look so much like her.”
He’s never said that to me before.
