Page 21 of Forged in Fire (Dragonblood Dynasty #5)

I ris

Anxiety floods me as I dial Elena’s number. My finger hovers over the call button for a moment longer than necessary. Part of me dreads this conversation—having to admit that I made a mistake, that I need help I can’t give myself.

But Kieran’s face won’t stop haunting me.

Riven sits across from me in the small armchair, cleaning his weapons. He’s close enough to hear both sides of the conversation but far enough to give me the illusion of privacy.

I shake my head and press call.

Elena picks up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Elena, it’s me.”

“Iris?” There’s confusion in her voice, then sharp concern. “Oh, thank God, Iris, we’ve been— Wait! Whose number is this? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m fine,” I say, which isn’t exactly a lie. Physically, I’m intact. Emotionally… That’s more complicated. “I’m safe. For now.”

“For now?” Elena’s voice goes sharp. “Iris, what the hell happened? You disappeared without a word, and then we got reports of Syndicate activity in the Carpathians. That was you, wasn’t it?”

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 Ra?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.

“Yes,” I acknowledge simply because why deny it? When I glance at him again, he meets my eye, and my breath catches at the intensity of it.

Elena takes in a slow, steadying breath. “Iris, you need to be smart about this. Whatever his reasons for helping you, he’s still a professional killer.”

“I know what he is.” I look at Riven again, taking in the controlled efficiency of his movements, the deadly competence that radiates from every line of his body.

Her breathing changes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“They’re after us,” I say.

“Who? The Syndicate?”

“The Guild,” I say.

“What Guild?” she presses.

I meet Riven’s eye again. He’s given me details, but so much is missing. He doesn’t volunteer more information now.

“It’s an assassins’ guild,” I tell her. “He works for them.” Our eyes are still locked. “Well, he did. But… not anymore. He left them to save me, and now they’re coming for him. Us.” I look for some sign in his gaze that I’m wrong. There’s none.

“What?” Elena says sharply. “No. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Rewind that bit.”

“Which bit?”

Elena is muttering something beneath her breath. Sounds like a string of curses. Eventually, she continues. “So let me see if you got this right. You left us here—even though we told you not to—to save your brother.”

“Yes.”

“When you got there, he didn’t want to go with you, and instead, he planned to hand you over to the Syndicate.”

“Right.” I swallow hard.

“But there was also an assassin there, hired to kill Kieran… and instead of killing him, he saved you.”

“Yes.”

“And now he’s taken you to this Ra?nov place, where you’re hiding from the Guild. And probably the Syndicate too.”

“Well, technically, we stayed in a safe house first, but the operatives found us there, so we got out, hid in a cave, and flew back here when it was safe.”

“What?” she squawks.

“It sounds a lot worse when I say it out loud,” I say meekly. “Would it help if I mentioned that we had a very nice breakfast at a cafe near our guesthouse?”

“No! It would not!” she all but shrieks. I hear her take another few steadying breaths. “Please tell me he’s not…”

“Human?” I say when she doesn’t go on.

“Exactly.”

“No, he’s not.” I don’t add that I’m not quite sure what he is, but that’s not important now.

“Oh, thank the Lord.” Elena takes yet another deep breath. “So what’s the plan? Because sitting in a guesthouse playing house with your pet assassin isn’t an option.”

The plan. Right. I’ve been so caught up in processing everything that’s happened, I haven’t thought past surviving the next few hours.

“I need help, Elena.”

“Of course you do,” she mutters. “ So much help.”

“I’m serious, dammit!”

“I’m sorry, hon.” Elena sighs, and I can picture her running her hands through her dark hair the way she does when she’s working through a problem. “Obviously, we’ll come for you. I’ll send you details tonight about where and when.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I still have to break the news to Caleb. And you know what he’s like.” She huffs. “He’s going to shit a brick.”

The call ends, leaving me alone with the afternoon silence and the quiet sounds of Riven’s methodical weapon maintenance. I set the phone aside and realize he’s watching me, dark eyes unreadable.

“Your friend is smart,” he says. “Cautious.”

“Yes, she is.” I lean back against the couch cushions, suddenly exhausted. “She doesn’t trust you.”

“She shouldn’t.” He sets down the rifle and begins reassembling his sidearm, hands moving dexterously. “I need to go out for a while,” he says, abruptly changing the subject.

“What? Why?” I’m surprised at how unsettled that makes me feel. Like I don’t want him to leave me.

“I have business to handle before tomorrow. You should rest.”

“What kind of business?”

“The kind that’s better handled alone.”

There it is again—that protective instinct that both frustrates and warms me. He’s trying to shield me from whatever ugly necessities his world requires, even though I’ve proven I can handle myself in ugly situations.

“How long will you be gone?” I suddenly feel like an insecure girlfriend.

“Few hours.” He holsters the weapon and stands, moving with that smooth strength that makes my pulse quicken. “Try to get some sleep. It’s been a rough day. Tomorrow’s going to be… complicated.”

He’s almost to the door when I call out. “Riven.”

He pauses, hand on the doorknob, but doesn’t turn around.

“Be careful.”

“Always am.”

Then he’s gone, leaving me alone in the quiet room with my churning thoughts and the fading scent of leather and gunpowder.

The space feels larger without Riven’s presence, emptier somehow. And suddenly I’m overwhelmed by a hollowness that I thought I’d grown accustomed to during the years I’ve been trying to find Kieran. Although this is different somehow. And I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.

Get over yourself, Iris.

I walk to the bathroom, strip off my clothes, and step into the shower. I groan as I let hot water cascade over tired muscles and wash away the last traces of adrenaline. The heat feels good, melting away tension I’ve been carrying since this whole nightmare began.

The water runs over my shoulders, and I close my eyes, trying to make sense of the last twenty-four hours. Yesterday morning, I thought I knew exactly who I was—Iris Asguard, dragon shifter, woman on a mission to save her twin brother. Simple. Clear-cut.

Now? Everything’s sideways.

Kieran’s face when he chose them over me keeps replaying behind my eyelids. I’ve spent so long searching, hoping, believing he was waiting for me to come for him. And I was wrong.

But it’s not just Kieran that has me reeling.

It’s him . Riven.

I’ve never needed anyone before. Never felt this… pull toward another person. Even as a child, Kieran and I were close because we’re twins—that bond was natural, expected. But this thing with Riven makes no sense. He’s an assassin, for crying out loud. Someone I should fear, not feel drawn to.

Yet when he left just now, part of me wanted to follow. To stay close to whatever this thing is between us.

I shake my head, letting water wash away the ridiculous thoughts. Things are complicated enough without analyzing feelings I don’t understand for a man I barely know.

I finish washing quickly, dry off, and wrap myself in a robe I find behind the door before padding back to the main room. I don’t like the way I’m feeling now… empty, confused, and longing for something I don’t understand.

I settle onto the bed, exhaustion winning over the restless energy that’s been driving me for days.

Sleep comes easier than expected, pulling me under into dreamless darkness.

Things will probably make more sense if I get some rest.