Page 49

XANDER

The cabin felt quieter without Eve and Orion, but the calmness was an illusion. With them gone, there was nothing left to buffer the tension. I felt it creeping in from the corners—tight, coiled, and ready to snap.

Ragnar was now pacing near the window, boots thudding against the wooden floor. His movements were restless, agitated, but it was the fists clenching and unclenching at his sides that gave him away.

Atlas still hadn’t moved. His arms were crossed, his gaze unreadable. He was the still point in a room that couldn’t stop spinning.

I leaned against the door frame—watching. Waiting. We were already fraying at the seams, and Atlas’s sudden reappearance wasn’t stitching us back together. If anything, he was pulling the threads faster.

“If the daema’s focus is Eve,” Atlas said, voice calm, “then keeping her here gives us the advantage.”

The words landed like a cold slap.

“That’s what she is now? Leverage?”

“We don’t have the luxury of waiting for a perfect solution,” he replied.

“What do you think we’ve been doing all this time?

” I pushed off the frame. “We kept going, even when it felt like the world was burning down around us. Orion bled for her. Ragnar almost got torn to shreds trying to save her life. She nearly burned the cabin to the ground. I was the one who stepped up. Not you.”

He didn’t even blink. Just kept watching, calculating.

“She’s not just some piece on your board, Atlas,” I said, lowering my voice. “She’s not a tactic. And if you think she’ll allow you to take control of her life like that, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“She needs to be controlled,” Ragnar said, stopping his pacing. “She’s a liability, brother. We’re circling her like moths to flame, and it’s going to burn us all if we don’t stop.”

“Careful,” I warned.

Ragnar turned from the window, his scowl deepening. “You’ve been coddling her. Protecting her like she’s helpless instead of dangerous. What do you think the daema see when they look at her? A girl who needs saving? No. They see fire. Chaos. A weapon.”

“And you think treating her like one is the better option?” I shot back. “She’s already been through hell. You want to weaponize that? Go ahead. See what happens when you push her too far.”

“Enough,” Atlas said.

The word cut clean through the room. Ragnar backed off, but not out. I felt his resentment burning, just waiting for the next opening.

Atlas turned to me, gaze steady. “You’ve done what you could, Xander. But this isn’t a situation you were equipped to lead.”

I stared at him, pulse roaring. “You think leadership is just about control? About calling the shots from the top down? You weren’t here when things fell apart. We held the line while you vanished without a word!”

Atlas’s expression didn’t change. “And now I’m here to do what you couldn’t.”

And there it was—cold, clean dismissal. Like everything we’d held together meant nothing.

Ragnar looked smug as hell. Atlas had been back for barely two seconds, and already the dynamic was shifting. Old loyalties, old habits… they were sliding back into place like we hadn’t even fought to evolve past them.

“She’s not going to be manipulated into a plan she doesn’t understand,” I said. “She’s more than that. And you’ll regret it if you treat her like less.”

Atlas’s gaze flicked back to Ragnar. “Let’s talk next steps.”

So that was it. Conversation over.

I didn’t respond. Just turned and walked out, slamming the door hard behind me.

I hated this conflicted feeling Atlas had brought to the surface in me. I’d been figuring it out. I was handling it.

And the worst part? A small, terrible part of me hoped he was right. That this could still be fixed if we just handed over control. That she wasn’t the Phoenix we hadn’t even known to search for. It should have come as a relief. But I knew what we were really up against. Atlas didn’t.

And if he thought I’d fall in line without a fight, then he’d forgotten who I was.

He might have thought this was all about control. But for me? It was becoming clear that it was about her.

And he’d have to go through me to get either.