Page 58 of Forged in Fire

The memory of concrete walls, alarms shrieking, the acrid smell of smoke and gunpowder fills my nostrils. “I went to the place from the video. Kieran was there, Elena. He was right there.”

Silence stretches between us. When Elena speaks again, her voice is careful. “Was?”

I close my eyes, press my palm against the window glass. Reaching for a reality where my brother is still out there somewhere, still breathing. Still salvageable.

“He got away,” I whisper. “I had him, Elena. I was so close I touched him, and he just…” I swallow hard. “He walked away.”

“Iris—”

“He chose them over me.” The confession rips out of me before I can stop it. “They’d brainwashed him somehow, and when it came down to choosing between the Syndicate and his own sister, he picked them.”

Elena’s sharp intake of breath carries across the line. She knows what that means—we all do. The Syndicate doesn’t just capture dragons; they break them. Remake them into weapons pointed at their own people.

“And then you just left?”

“Well, no. He…” I clear my throat. “He tried to have me captured. But I got away.”

“Oh dear God,” she blurts. “Oh my God, Iris. I can’t even imagine how that feels. Where are you now?” she asks, and I can hear the controlled fury threading through her voice. Not at me—at them. At what they’ve done to my family.

“Still here… in Romania. A town called Râ?nov. I’m…” I pause, glancing at Riven. He’s focused on his rifle, but I know he’s listening to every word. “I’m not alone.”

“What do you mean you’re not alone? Iris, if someone’s threatening you—”

“No, it’s not like that.” I turn away from the window, pacing the small living area. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

I sink onto the edge of the bed, running my free hand through my hair. Where do I even start? With the fact that an assassin hired to kill my brother ended up saving my life? With the way my shadows reached for him without permission? With the impossible pull I feel toward someone who should be my enemy?

“There was someone there,” I say finally. “At the facility.”

“Someone else?” Elena’s voice drops dangerously low. “Iris, please tell me you didn’t go alone to meet some random contact.”

“No, I didn’t plan to meet anyone. He was just there,” I say, practically feeling her disapproval down the line.

“Just there? Iris, do you know how crazy this is? The danger you put yourself in—”

“I couldn’t wait for things to line up over there, Elena. Knowing where Kieran was, at last, and doing nothing… It was killing me.”

“So instead, you did what? Ran in to get killed trying to save someone who might not want to be saved?”

Her harsh honesty hits its mark. I flinch. “He’s still in there, Elena. Somewhere underneath all that conditioning, my brother is still fighting.”

“Even if that’s true, you can’t save him by getting yourself captured or killed.” Elena’s voice gentles slightly. “Tell me about this man. The one who was there.”

I glance across the room at where he’s sitting, still silent, but watchful.

“His name is Riven,” I say quietly. “He’s… he was hired to kill Kieran.”

“Jesus Christ, Iris!” The words explode from her.

“But he didn’t,” I say in a rush. “He had the shot, Elena. Clean line of sight, perfect conditions. And instead of pulling the trigger, he saved me.”

Elena’s silence stretches so long I start to wonder if the call dropped. When she finally speaks, her voice is careful. “And where is he now?”

“Here,” I say simply. “With me.”

“An assassin.” Her tone is dry.