Chapter 27
Kieran
I could hear Ash screaming from my cell.
They had moved him somewhere close. Close enough that the sound carried cleanly through stone and iron. No echo. No distortion. Just him.
I closed my eyes and counted the seconds between each breath he managed to drag in.
Three.
Five.
Too long.
They were being methodical.
My arms were bound in heavy suppressors, cold bands of metal that bit into the muscle and dulled the hum of my magic to a distant ache.
Chains fixed my ankles to the floor, short enough that I could not stand fully upright.
The cell stank of damp stone and rust. Rain slipped through the narrow barred window and pooled along the wall, dripping steadily against the floor.
Another scream.
Shorter this time.
I exhaled slowly through my nose.
Why did I bring him here?
I remembered the day I had met Ash at Darkmoor. Elliot had told me to be on the lookout for the exceptional.
And Ash was something special, alright.
I walked into the quad just in time to see Ash hurl someone upside down, suspending him in midair above the flagpole. With a flick of wind, he lowered the guy until he was left dangling by his underwear at the top.
Ash had been laughing so hard I found myself laughing with him.
Then his eyes fixed on me.
Mismatched. Wild.
They locked on like I was prey.
He stalked toward me, testing.
I knew then that in some ways Ash was more animal than man.
So I did what was required. I met him head-on.
He lunged. I put him on the ground before he could blink.
For anyone else, it would have been a threat.
To Ash, it was an answered call.
And God help me, the kid grew on me.
The key turned in my door.
I was on my feet before the guard stepped inside.
He said nothing as he unlocked the chain at my ankles. The suppressors remained. Of course they did.
I didn’t ask where we were going.
The corridor was narrow and damp, torches guttering low in their brackets. Water ran in thin lines along the stone. My footsteps echoed too loudly.
If they were taking me to watch, I would not give them the satisfaction.
We stopped at the last door on the left. The guard opened it.
I expected blood.
I did not expect Georgina Quinn.
She sat at a small table in the centre of the room; gloved hands folded neatly in front of her.
“Kieran Hawthorne,” she said pleasantly. “Good afternoon. Please, take a seat.”
I lowered myself slowly, keeping my eyes on her.
“It’s been a long time,” she said.
“It has,” I replied.
She watched me, unblinking. “I often wondered which parts of your father would surface first.”
I watched her, impassive. “What do you want Georgina?”
She smiled. “Skip the pleasantries then.”
“I think that would be best.”
She leaned back slightly. “I understand you’ve come into contact with my daughter.”
“Which one?” I asked casually.
Her jaw tightened. Just barely.
“You’ve heard about what happened to Sable.”
“Oh, you mean how the Council ordered her shot when she tried to help Seph?”
A flicker. Small. Controlled. But there.
“Sable would never have moved against us willingly.”
I laughed — once.
“You really don’t know what your daughters are capable of. And that’s the problem.”
Her eyes cooled.
“I’ll tell you what I know,” she said softly. “Sable was the brightest spark my family has ever produced. She had a future. Before you wormed your way into her head.”
“I don’t control Sable.”
“Please.” Her lip curled. “I know all about your little relationship. And the one you attempted to cultivate with my then underaged daughter.”
That one landed.
The air shifted.
She leaned forward.
“How would you like that narrative circulated? A grown man. An impressionable girl. You see how neatly that writes.”
I went very still.
“This is desperate,” I said quietly. “Even for you.”
“Desperate?” she repeated mildly. “No. Preventative.”
“You want to brand me?” I said. “Do it. I will still come for you.”
“Not while you’re under my care.”
“These walls won’t hold me.”
“They don’t need to hold you forever.” A pause. “Only long enough.”
I smiled faintly. “You’ll never find Seph. Or Gideon.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“So you do know where he is.”
I leaned back. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know Elliot Muir is involved.” She studied me. “The question, Kieran, is what you’re willing to endure to protect him.”
“I’m not afraid of pain, Georgina. You should know that by now.”
“And what about your friend,” she asked lightly. “The air mage.”
I went still.
Her smile deepened — slow, deliberate.
“The guards have had their fun with him,” she said. “I imagine you heard.”
The chain between my wrists shifted an inch.
“What do you want?” My voice was even now. Very even.
She leaned forward, elbows resting lightly on the table.
“I want to make you a deal.”
I let out a short laugh. “You don’t have the currency.”
“Oh, I do,” she murmured. “You just haven’t realised it yet.”
“You overestimate yourself.”
She didn’t react.
“I’m sure you remember my daughter,” she continued calmly. “Persephone.”
My jaw locked.
“She is… exceptional,” Georgina said softly. “And the world outside is not kind to exceptional girls. Especially not ones like her.”
I said nothing.
Her gaze held mine.
“You will bring her to me. Unharmed.”
A pause.
“And your friend walks out of here.”
The chains shifted against my wrists.
“That’s the offer.”
“And me?” I asked evenly.
A faint smile touched her mouth.
“Someone must answer for Muir’s crimes. If he refuses to show himself… it will be you.”
“That’s not much of an incentive.”
“It’s the only one you’ll receive.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“I have no interest in air mages, Kieran. That boy’s life carries no weight with me.”
A pause.
“Yours does.”
“And what makes you think I could bring her at all? You don’t even know her anymore.”
“But I do,” Georgina smiled faintly. “My daughter has always had a weakness.”
I said nothing.
“For the people she loves,” she continued. “Before Darkmoor, she could have run. She had every opportunity.”
A small pause.
“But she chose not to.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“She stayed to protect Sable. Even after what Sable did.”
There it was. The twist.
“She protects,” Georgina said softly. “Even when she shouldn’t.”
Silence.
“And you think she wouldn’t come,” she added, “if she believed someone was suffering because of her?”
The room felt smaller.
Ash’s screams threaded through my memory.
She was right.
I met her gaze.
“Show me,” I said evenly. “Prove he’s alive. Stop hurting him. Then we’ll discuss terms.”
Georgina smiled slowly. “I knew I could count on you.”
Of course you did.
I was already mapping exits. Guard rotations. Leverage points.
Ash first.
Seph never.
She would walk into this trap without hesitation.
And that could not happen.