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LANDON

T he fire had died down to a warm, pulsing glow.

Landon lay on his side, his hands outstretched over Sonya.

But as his grogginess wore off, he realized it was only dirt his hand caressed.

The spot beside him was empty.

He reached out instinctively, fingers grazing the dirt and cooled blanket with more alertness.

“Sonya?” he murmured, barely louder than the wind slipping through the pine branches.

Nothing. Just quiet woods and a low breeze that stirred the ashes.

His gut twisted.

He pushed himself up slowly, straining his ears.

That’s when he heard it—faint, but unmistakable.

Voices. Just beyond the trees.

He couldn’t make out the words, but one of the tones—low, gravel-laced, calculated—sent a spike of adrenaline through his veins.

Roman.

Landon moved like a ghost, bare feet silent on the forest floor, every instinct screaming at him to stop, to turn back, to wait—but he didn’t.

Couldn’t. His heart was hammering in his throat.

He pressed himself behind a tree, breath shallow, just in time to hear Sonya’s voice.

“…You’re blackmailing me.”

Roman chuckled, the sound dark and smooth as oil.

“I’m offering mercy.”

Landon’s spine went stiff.

His chest ached with disbelief, burning like someone had just yanked out his lungs and left his ribs hollow.

He didn’t want to believe what he was hearing.

Hell, he couldn’t believe it.

But the words kept coming.

“You can still fix this,” Roman said.

“No one has to die. But if you walk away…”

And Sonya didn’t answer.

She didn’t say no .

She didn’t push him away.

Didn’t tell him to go to hell.

She just stood there.

Maybe this was the real reason Roman hadn’t done anything after he marked her as a traitor.

If he even really had…

A million thoughts rushed through Landon’s head like a tidal wave.

Maybe she never meant to stay.

Maybe her story was always half-truths dressed up in pretty eyes and soft hands.

Maybe that fire between them had just been another way to keep him distracted.

And maybe he’d been a fool for falling for her.

His throat tightened.

He backed away slowly, not even aware of his own breathing until his heel snapped a twig beneath him.

He froze, but the voices didn’t follow.

They were too caught up in each other to notice he was slipping away.

Of course they were.

He turned and walked, faster now.

No, he ran , tearing through brush and branches, each step heavier than the last. His blood was thunder in his ears.

His thoughts were knives.

“She’s not like Roman,” he whispered to himself, voice breaking.

“She’s not like them…”

But she’d gone to meet him in the dark.

Alone.

And hadn’t said no.

Landon didn’t realize he was shaking until he reached a ridge and dropped to his knees, fingers clawing into the earth like it could ground him again.

The cold air bit at his face, and the stars above spun wildly.

He wanted to believe in her.

Desperately. But too much had happened.

Too many games, too many secrets.

Was this what Roman meant when he spared her?

Not mercy. Leverage.

Keep her alive so she could finish what she started.

So she could lead Landon right into his hands.

His hands clenched into fists, nails biting into his palms. Heat rose beneath his skin—an unnatural hum crawling through his bones.

The ground beneath him vibrated, subtle at first. Then stronger.

Trees creaked. Wind shifted.

The power stirred again.

It felt different this time—not wild like before, but controlled.

Coiled.

Focused.

He didn’t flinch from it, he accepted it.

Landon stood, shoulders squared.

His face was harder now, jaw tight, eyes sharp.

If Sonya was going to play both sides, if she thought she could fool him into walking into Roman’s trap…

.

He’d beat them both at their own damn game.

But God help him… it still hurt .

That part she’d touched—the piece of him that wanted to believe in her, that had started to feel whole when she was near—it burned like hellfire now.

But he wouldn’t let it show.

Not anymore.

He wasn’t a man searching for his purpose anymore.

He wasn’t some stray mutt wandering through this war.

He was something else.

Something more.

And if they thought they could outmaneuver him…

they were in for a rude awakening.

With a last glance toward the woods—toward where she still stood with Roman—he turned away.

And didn’t look back.