Page 36

V anya

The warmth surrounding me feels like a fortress against the world outside.

Hargen’s arms encircle me completely, his chest rising and falling against my back in a steady, comforting rhythm.

His fingers trace lazy patterns along my forearm, and I can feel the tension in his muscles slowly unwinding.

For these stolen moments, we’re not prisoners.

We’re not doomed. We’re simply two people who found each other again against impossible odds.

His breath stirs my hair as he murmurs something in his sleep—my name, I think—and my chest tightens with fierce protectiveness.

I won’t let them take you from me again.

The door explodes inward.

Metal crashes against stone with enough force to shake dust from the ceiling.

Harsh fluorescent light floods our sanctuary, and I’m already moving, adrenaline slamming through me as four armed guards pour into the cell.

Behind them stalks Vex, his cold eyes taking in our entangled forms with disgust.

“Time to wake up, traitor,” Vex’s voice cuts through the chaos like a blade. “Your special day has arrived.”

But Hargen is already rising, his body coiled like a spring between me and the threat.

When the first guard reaches for me, Hargen moves without hesitation.

His fist connects with the man’s throat, dropping him instantly.

The second guard fires his electric baton, but Hargen twists away, grabbing the weapon and driving his elbow into the man’s temple.

“You want her?” Hargen’s voice is a growl. “Come through me first.”

Two more guards rush him. Hargen throws one against the wall hard enough to crack stone, but the other manages to get behind him with a restraint collar. The moment it snaps around his neck, Hargen staggers as the magic drains from him.

“Hargen!” I lunge forward, but hands seize my arms, dragging me back. I twist viciously, feeling my nails—partially shifted to claws—rake across someone’s face. Blood splatters the floor.

A guard raises his baton toward me, but Hargen roars—a sound that shouldn’t be possible in human form—and breaks free from his captors long enough to tackle the man away from me. They go down hard, but more guards swarm him, batons crackling with electricity.

“Stop!” The word tears from my throat as they shock him repeatedly. His body convulses, but even then, he’s trying to crawl toward me, his eyes locked on mine with desperate fury.

“Get away from her,” he snarls, blood trickling from his mouth where someone’s boot found its mark. “I’ll kill every one of you bastards—”

A baton catches him across the skull, and he crumples.

“No!” I throw myself forward with enough force to knock one guard off balance, but more hands grab me, lifting me bodily from the ground. “If you’ve killed him—”

“Relax,” Vex says, stepping over Hargen’s prone form like he’s debris. “He’s just unconscious. Though I can’t promise he’ll remain that way for long.”

They drag me from the cell, and I crane my neck for one last look at Hargen. He’s stirring, trying to push himself up on shaking arms, and our eyes meet for a split second.

The promise in his gaze is fierce and unwavering: I’ll find you.

The corridor stretches endlessly before us, sterile white walls reflecting the harsh overhead lights. Vex walks beside me as I’m half pushed, half dragged, his posture radiating satisfaction as I struggle against the guards’ grip.

“You know,” he says conversationally, “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for some time. The infamous Shadowhand, revealed at last.”

“Whatever you’re planning, Vex, it won’t work,” I spit, still fighting the hands that hold me. “You can’t break us.”

His laugh is soft and genuinely amused. “Break you? My dear Vanya, I have no intention of breaking you. That would be far too merciful.”

We turn a corner, and the temperature drops noticeably. The walls here are older, carved from black stone that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it. Ancient runes spiral across the surfaces—binding symbols that make my skin crawl.

“Do you know what disgusts me most about you?” Vex asks, his voice taking on a contemplative tone. “It’s not your betrayal of the Syndicate. It’s not even your obscene relationship with that witch-blooded mongrel.”

I bare my teeth. “Careful, Vex.”

“It’s the waste,” he continues as if I hadn’t spoken.

“You were born pure. A precious bloodline. Perfect genetics. And you threw it all away to create something vile.” He stops walking and turns to face me fully.

“You had a duty to preserve the sanctity of our race, and instead you chose to corrupt it.”

“My daughter is not vile.”

“Your daughter is exactly what’s wrong with dragonkind.” His eyes flash with fanatic fervor. “Mixed blood weakens the entire network. Every hybrid born diminishes our collective power.”

The ceremonial chamber doors loom ahead of us, carved with serpentine figures that seem to writhe in the flickering torchlight. Inside, I can hear the murmur of assembled voices—Syndicate officials gathered for what I can only assume is meant to be a show.

“You want to know what your punishment is?” Vex asks as we pause before the doors. “Death would be too simple. Too clean. Too merciful for someone who’s betrayed everything sacred about our heritage.”

Dread pools in my stomach, cold and heavy. “Just get on with it.”

“Hargen Cole will face execution by dragon fire at noon,” he says, watching my face carefully for my reaction. “Poetic justice, don’t you think? The same fate you supposedly suffered.”

I force myself to remain steady. I knew this was coming. From the moment they captured us, I knew Hargen would pay the ultimate price for my choices. But hearing it spoken aloud makes it real in a way that steals my breath.

“He’ll never bow to you,” I manage. “Fire or no fire.”

“Perhaps. But this particular fire will be… special.” Vex’s smile is predatory. “You see, you won’t merely be watching his execution.”

The doors swing open, revealing the chamber beyond. Syndicate officials line the walls, their faces reflecting cold approval. At the center of the room stands a raised platform with restraints clearly designed to hold a sacrifice.

“You, Vanya Arrowvane,” Vex announces loud enough for the entire assembly to hear, “will be the one to execute Hargen Cole.”

The words hit me like dragon fire to the chest. For a moment, I can’t process what he’s just said. Then rage explodes through me with enough force to make my vision blur.

“No!” The word comes out as a snarl. “Never. I don’t care what you do to me, I will never—”

“You’ll never what?” Vex interrupts, circling me like a hungry animal who’s caught the scent of blood. “Hurt the man you love? Betray your precious mate bond? Oh, my dear, deluded Shadowhand, we’ll see about that.”

I fling myself at him with everything I have, binding magic be damned. My partially shifted claws rake toward his throat, but the guards are ready for me. They slam me down to the stone floor hard enough to rattle my teeth.

“I expected that response,” Vex says mildly, smoothing down his jacket. “Which is why I have something special to help you see reason.”

He gestures toward a side chamber I hadn’t noticed before. The door swings open with deliberate slowness, and my heart stops beating entirely.

Ember.

My daughter stands in the doorway, her hands bound behind her back with the same silver chains that burn against my own wrists. There’s blood on her temple, her clothes are torn, and her beautiful eyes are filled with tears she’s too proud to shed.

“No.” The word is barely a breath, all my strength leaving me in a rush. “No, you didn’t. You couldn’t have—”

“Your hybrid abomination tried to follow Daddy’s heroic example,” Vex says with satisfaction. “Apparently, sacrificial stupidity runs in the family.”

Ember tries to step forward, but the guards flanking her tighten their grip. When she struggles, one of them presses a blade to her throat.

“Mom, I’m sorry,” she says, her voice breaking. “I couldn’t just sit back while you and Dad were in danger. I had to try—”

“Silence!” Vex barks, and he nods to the guards. They force Ember to her knees and fit a metal brace around her neck that clearly causes her pain. She gasps, her back arching as the device activates.

“Stop!” I scream, fighting against my own restraints. “She’s just a child!”

“She’s an aberration that should never have been born,” Vex says dismissively. “The fact that she draws breath is an insult to every pure-blooded dragon who has ever lived.”

The casual cruelty in his voice makes me want to rip his throat out with my bare hands. This isn’t just ideology to him—it’s personal hatred.

“Now then,” he continues, turning back to me with renewed focus, “let me explain your choice. You can execute Hargen Cole with your own fire, or I can execute your daughter with mine.” He pauses, letting the words sink in. “Choose carefully. You won’t get a second chance.”

“You’re insane,” I whisper, staring at him in horror. “You’re talking about murdering a child!”

“I’m talking about cleansing our bloodlines of corruption.

” His eyes burn with zealot’s fire. “This Syndicate has been compromised for too long, infected by those who think mixing our sacred heritage with inferior blood is acceptable.” He spreads his arms wide, addressing the gathered officials as much as me.

“Once I’ve purified our ranks, I’ll extend that work to the entire dragon community.

Every mixed bloodline will be eliminated.

Every hybrid put down like the aberrations they are. ”

The scope of his madness crashes over me.

Genocide. He’s planning genocide.

“The pure will inherit everything,” he continues, his voice rising with fervor. “Dragons will reclaim their rightful place as the apex of supernatural evolution, unmarred by weak blood and diluted power.”

“No one would support such madness,” I say, but even as the words leave my mouth, I see the approving faces around the chamber.

Vex’s smile is triumphant. “Oh, my dear Shadowhand, you have no idea how many of our kind share my vision. I’m not a rogue actor—I’m the tip of the iceberg. The pure-blood movement grows stronger every day, and soon we’ll have the numbers to implement the final solution.”

My blood turns to ice. If he’s telling the truth, if there really are that many extremists within the Syndicate and beyond…

How many families will be torn apart? How many young ones murdered?

“I can see the wheels turning,” Vex says with amusement.

“You’re beginning to understand the scope of what’s coming.

Which brings me to my generous offer.” He crouches down to meet my eyes.

“Kill Hargen Cole, and I’ll consider sparing your daughter when the purification begins.

She might be an abomination, but she’s young.

Perhaps she can be… useful… in other ways. ”

The implication makes my skin crawl, but beneath the revulsion is a deeper horror: the impossible choice he’s forcing on me. Save Hargen and watch Ember die immediately, or kill the man I love and maybe— maybe —buy my daughter a little more time in this monster’s world.

No. There has to be another way. There has to be.

But as I look from Ember’s terrified face to Vex’s coldly satisfied expression, I realize that’s exactly what he’s counting on. My love for them both. My inability to choose between the two people who mean everything to me.

“You have until noon to decide,” Vex says, rising to his feet. “The witch’s blood on your hands, or your daughter’s death on your conscience.”

Guards move to escort me from the chamber, but I strain against them for one last look at Ember. Her eyes meet mine, and despite everything—the pain, the fear, the hopelessness of our situation—there’s still defiance there. Still my fierce, brave daughter refusing to break.

“I will protect you,” I whisper, knowing she can read my lips even if she can’t hear me. “Always.”

But as they drag me away, Vex’s final words follow me down the corridor: “Choose wisely, Shadowhand. The future of dragonkind hangs in the balance.”

The metal door slams shut behind me, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of an impossible choice and the growing certainty that we’re facing something far more sinister than I ever imagined.

How could I have been so blind? How could I have missed the depth of his madness?

The questions keep coming, but beneath them all is the one that matters most: How do I save them both when saving one means destroying the other?

The clock ticks toward noon, and my heart breaks a little more with each passing second.