Page 63 of Forged in Fire

“Because tomorrow changes everything,” he says finally. “And neither of us knows what comes after.”

“Does it matter?” I say, need overcoming logic. I’ve never wanted anything…anyonethis much. I’m aching for him.

“Yes,” he says simply, and I wait for an explanation. Wait for something that tells me why we can’t simply give in to the moment. To our needs. To this thing between us.

When he says nothing, an irrational anger surges. Along with a healthy dose of embarrassment. I’m practically throwing myself at this man, and he’s turning me down.

“You’re a coward,” I say, backing away and pulling my robe closed roughly.

“Iris, I—”

“Forget it.” I hold up a hand, stopping whatever rationalization he’s about to offer. “You’re right. Tomorrow we might both be dead, and sleeping together would just complicate things. Let’s stick to the plan.”

What plan? There’s no damned plan.

I leave the bathroom before he can respond, before I can do something stupid like beg him to reconsider. Because he’s right, damn him. We have bigger problems than unresolved sexual tension.

But as I settle onto my narrow bed, still wrapped in the hotel robe, I can’t shake the memory of how right it felt to be in his arms. How my power responded to his like it was simply… meant to be.

How, for just a moment, I felt like I wasn’t facing the world alone.

Ten minutes later, he emerges from the bathroom fully dressed. We don’t speak as he settles onto his bed. The silence stays burdened with unspoken words and unfinished moments.

I’m nearly asleep when my phone buzzes with a text message.

Elena:Rendezvous tomorrow 6 AM. Sending location pin now.

I stare at the message, reality crashing back as a second message delivers the rendezvous point.

“Is that her?” His voice comes from the darkness.

“Yes,” I reply. “Six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” he says. “We’ll be ready.”

I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. The silence stretches into the darkness with just the city noises from outside and the sound of his breathing. I listen, motionless, until it evens out and grows steady.

He’s asleep. I’m not sure how, when so much is hanging over us.

Tomorrow morning, everything changes. Elena will bring resources and backup, but she’ll also bring questions I’m not ready to answer. Questions about Kieran, about Riven, about what happens next…

And for the first time since the day they took Kieran, I have no idea what to do.

Chapter 19

Riven

The monastery looks like jagged bones against the mountain. Ancient stone. Orthodox spires cutting into predawn gloom. Mist clings to the ruins.

I kill the engine of the rental car behind a crumbling outbuilding. Silence settles—no birds, no wind. Just cooling metal and Iris shifting beside me.

She’s wearing the gray sweats I bought yesterday afternoon when I left her in the guesthouse, trying to put some space between us. Should look plain. Instead, they make her eyes burn brighter. The color suits her. Makes me think about things that have no place in my mind.

“They’re early.” She nods toward the helicopter settled in the courtyard. Black. Unmarked. Professional.

I study the layout through the windshield. Multiple escape routes. Equal number of kill zones. Clear landing space, butalso clear fields of fire from the walls. Tactical nightmare or advantage, depending on which side you’re on.

“Stay close,” I tell her, checking the Glock under my jacket. “Something goes wrong, we move.”