Chapter 25
Ember
I sit perfectly still as Viktor takes his place at the head of the conference table.
The sleek room with its digital displays and soundproofed walls feels both safe and stifling.
Hargen sits to my right, a solid presence that anchors me.
My mother settles to my left, her back straight as a blade.
I can feel the tension radiating off her, barely contained.
I’m caught between them, protected and caged at once.
Every pair of eyes in the room shifts to me, then away. Some hold concern, others curiosity, a few something close to respect. The past few days have transformed me from “Vanya’s daughter” to someone worth watching. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.
I avoid looking directly across the table, where Luke sits.
Even without meeting his gaze, my skin prickles with awareness of him.
After what happened between us in that clearing—the heat of his mouth against mine, the weight of his body over me—I don’t trust myself to maintain the professional mask this meeting requires.
Viktor’s voice breaks the silence. “How are you feeling, Ember?”
“I’m okay.” I’m surprised at how strong my voice sounds. My body aches from the mission, but I won’t let them see that. “Really.”
He nods, clearly not believing me. “We understand you gathered intelligence during your… unsanctioned infiltration of the Syndicate facility.”
There it is, that careful neutrality in his tone. But I catch the edge underneath. Unsanctioned is code for reckless, impulsive, dangerous.
Next to me, my mother goes rigid. Her fingers twitch almost imperceptibly on the polished table.
I straighten my spine, refusing to shrink under their collective scrutiny.
“Yes, sir. I picked up details of their operational plans.”
“And you think you can remember everything?” He doesn’t look convinced.
“I spent years doing nothing but studying,” I tell him. “I know how to retain facts and details.”
“My daughter’s memory is almost photographic.” Pride colors my mother’s voice. I don’t say anything. If I’d had my own way, I wouldn’t have spent my entire childhood consuming information.
From across the table, I feel Luke’s eyes on me.
When I finally allow myself to glance up, the intensity in his dark gaze makes my breath catch.
Pride and something deeper flash across his features before his expression shutters back to professional detachment.
Heat blooms in my chest and spreads lower, an unwelcome reminder of what happened between us.
Nadia Frost leans forward. Her pale green eyes, sharp as cut glass, study me with renewed interest.
“Tell us what you found,” she says.
I pull out the notebook I’ve made extensive notes in since my return, determined not to let a single detail slip from my memory.
“They’re planning another ritual,” I tell them. “It’ll be seventy-two hours from now.”
“You’re certain of this?” asks Viktor.
I nod. “I overheard one of their meetings. They said that they have an artifact in place that will be part of the proceedings.”
Caleb’s nostrils flare. “Can only be the Shard,” he mutters. Beside him, Elena nods in response. Her face is drawn, eyes puffy. She took the news of Mara’s loss harder than anyone. Yet again, I feel guilt surge. If Luke hadn’t saved me, she might still be here.
That’s not true. We’d all be dead.
“I also saw maps with ritual diagrams and a list of locations with suspected hybrid residents. Dozens of them,” I go on, clearing my throat when my voice breaks slightly. “I took photos, that I’ll share after this meeting.”
Dorian and Juno exchange worried glances. Luke’s face remains impassive, but I can see his fingers flex where his hands rest on the table. The urge to reach across and cover his hand with mine is almost overwhelming.
Nadia breaks the silence. “How current is this list?”
“Updated within the last forty-eight hours based on timestamps I saw.”
Her expression darkens. “Then they’re already moving on some of these targets.”
Beside me, I can practically feel my mother’s concern ramp up. As the Shadowhand, she’d been privy to these plans while inside the Syndicate, but I can tell from the subtle shift in her posture that she’d hoped for more time.
“I still have contacts within the Syndicate,” she says. “I’ll reach out and see what I can learn.”
Viktor nods, then turns his attention back to the recordings. “What’s their objective? Control or elimination?”
“Both,” I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking as I remember the cold efficiency in their plans. “They want to harness the Sleeping King’s power to control dragonkind and wipe out what they call impure bloodlines.”
Caleb rubs his temples. “If they already have the Shard, this poses a very real threat.”
Luke speaks for the first time since we entered the room. His voice slides over me like warm smoke, triggering memories of whispered words against my skin. I press my lips together, praying I don’t give myself away.
“The power in those mountains isn’t stable. It’s waking.” His voice is measured, professional; the complete opposite of how he spoke to me when we were alone. “Whatever the Syndicate thinks they can control, they’re wrong.”
“You felt it? The power?” Dorian asks.
“We both did.” Luke’s eyes find mine again, and for a moment, the room fades away. The connection between us crackles with something beyond physical attraction, something that frightens me with its intensity. “It’s dragon essence—ancient, primal. And it’s aware.”
My father shifts beside me. “Our rescue team felt it too. When we went in to find Ember and Luke, we couldn’t use our powers to help locate them. No magic, no shifting. Something was interfering.”
Elena looks up, her grief for her friend written plainly across her face. “So it’s malevolent? This thing that killed Mara?”
“I don’t think it was responsible for her death,” I say quickly. “That was an accident.”
“But it’s the reason your helicopter went down,” Elena counters.
I hesitate, remembering the strange connection I felt in the mountains.
“We don’t know for certain. But if it was, I don’t think it was intentional. It wanted to help us.”
“How could you know that?” Elena’s voice breaks slightly.
“It responded to my presence in the Syndicate facility.” I struggle to find words for something I felt rather than saw.
“I think that’s how I was able to get in and out so easily.
It was like it was pulling me there, shielding me.
There’s no way I could have made it out alive without help.
I wouldn’t have learned of their plans to control dragons or get rid of hybrids. ”
My mother’s hands clench on the table. I can feel her anxiety vibrating through the air between us.
Her voice cuts through the speculative murmurs. “I know of these plans. Roland Vex has been pushing hard for purification protocols.”
“The Ivory League elder?” Viktor asks.
My mother nods, her expression glacial. “He believes pure dragon bloodlines are the only salvation. Mixed blood is corruption that must be eradicated.”
Samien, one of the advisors, leans forward. “Why would he think that?”
“Vex lost his entire clan in the territorial wars,” Hargen explains, his voice steady beside me. “Blames hybrids for diluting dragon strength.”
“I think he’s afraid of us,” I add, thinking of the alarm in the commander’s eyes when my power surged when they tried to torture me. “He saw what I could do when I combined my dragon and witch powers.”
“I doubt Vex will ever forget how Ember bested him when he tried to get me to execute Hargen,” my mother says. “My daughter’s magic is immeasurable.”
Luke’s attention sharpens, and a subtle heat colors his gaze.
I feel a flush creeping up my neck. His lips part slightly, and I wonder if he’s remembering how he pressed me against that rock, his mouth hot against mine, his hands everywhere at once.
I force myself to look away, keenly aware of my mother beside me.
“Vex has been systematically building support within the League,” my mother goes on, thankfully oblivious to the tension crackling between Luke and me. “And he’s a madman. He’ll do anything to put the Syndicate in complete control of anyone with dragon blood.”
Dorian leans forward, his expression grim. “Can they actually control the Sleeping King’s power?”
Caleb’s face darkens. “It would be a fucking disaster if they could. That power disintegrated Malakai Steele in seconds during the last battle. One of the oldest, most powerful dragons in existence—gone in an instant.”
The room absorbs that sobering thought.
“If they channel that…” Caleb continues.
“We’re done for,” Viktor finishes.
Nadia tosses her head, pride evident in her bearing. “Speak for yourself. We wolves don’t set stock in Sleeping Kings and dragonfire and magic. We rule by tooth and claw.”
Viktor’s eyes narrow. “A blow against the dragons is a blow against all supernaturals, Nadia. Your kind could be next. That’s why the Collective exists, remember? We work together. Fight together. Thrive together.”
Nadia considers this, then gives a sharp nod. “So, we have seventy-two hours to stop them. Which means we move now.”
“Agreed,” Viktor says. “Caleb, coordinate strike team. Hargen, European Council liaison. Tabitha, start warning hybrids on that list—get them into hiding.”
The meeting shifts into planning mode. Around me, voices rise and fall, discussing strategic approaches, extraction teams, asset deployment. I try to focus, but exhaustion pulls at me. The adrenaline that carried me through my escape is fading, leaving behind bone-deep weariness.
I glance at Luke, surprised to find him already watching me.
His expression shifts for just a moment, unidentifiable emotion breaking through his professional mask.
Does he regret letting things go as far as they did?
The uncertainty twists in my stomach, mixing with the need that flares whenever our eyes meet.
After several minutes of intense discussion, Viktor turns to me. “Ember, your intelligence gathering was… unorthodox.” He pauses, and I brace myself for reprimand. “But invaluable. You’ve given us the advantage we needed.”
The acknowledgment warms me. “Thank you, sir.”
“You’ll be debriefed further by intelligence. Then medical rest protocols.”
Before I can respond, my mother interjects. “She needs more than rest. She needs time away from…” her eyes slide deliberately to Luke, who stiffens almost imperceptibly, “operational stress.”
My stomach sinks. After everything I’ve done, she still sees me as a child who needs protection. Not as someone who infiltrated a Syndicate facility alone and made it out with critical intelligence.
Viktor nods, taking my mother’s side. “Agreed. Ember is off active duty pending a full psychological evaluation.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Viktor’s expression softens. “Watching Mara die must have left lasting emotional damage. You need time to process what happened, Ember.”
I can’t deny this. The image of Mara plummeting into the darkness swims before me, and I swallow hard against the surge of grief. But being sidelined when we’re facing such an imminent threat feels wrong.
My mother’s hand closes over mine on the table. Her touch is gentle, but her voice is unyielding.
“We’ll discuss this privately in my quarters.”
As the meeting adjourns, people move with urgent purpose. Teams forming, communications established, missions planned… all because of what I discovered. Yet I’m being escorted away like a kid who’s had enough excitement for one day.
My mother’s hand is at my elbow, guiding me toward the door. I let her lead me away, but the fire inside me hasn’t dimmed. We have seventy-two hours until the Syndicate unleashes their plan, and somehow, I know I’ll be there when they try. Whether anyone approves or not.