Chapter 47
Elira
The safehouse was tucked right beside the docks—an old warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned for years. From the outside, it was made of broken boards and rust.
But inside, Jasper led us to a hidden door at the back.
Phoenix had passed out in the flatbed, and Jasper and I were hauling him between us, as fast as we could without dropping him.
“Don’t die,” I whispered in his ear. “Don’t you dare fucking die.”
We shoved through the door.
The room was clean—bare, but functional. A couple of crates stacked in the corner, two makeshift cots, a shelf of supplies. No windows. Just harsh, overhead lights that made my eyes sting after the dark.
A woman paced inside—older, tall, with the posture of a soldier and muscle beneath her sleeves.
She spun the second we entered.
“Finally!” she barked. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry, Lacey,” Jasper said, breathless. “Picked up a couple friends. We need your help.”
Her cold grey eyes landed on me—sharp and assessing, like she was weighing my worth in weapons and scars.
“This is her?” she asked flatly.
Jasper grinned. “In the flesh. Lacey, meet Elira. Elira, Lacey.”
I didn’t have time for introductions.
“Can we skip the pleasantries?” I snapped. “You said someone here could help Phoenix. Is that true?”
Lacey tilted her head, frowning.
“Phoenix?” she repeated. “Shade Phoenix?”
Disbelief dripped from her voice like venom. She turned sharply to Jasper, eyes flashing.
“You brought me a goddamn Shade?”
“It’s not what you think,” Jasper said quickly. He stepped forward and tugged down Phoenix’s shirt. The scar beneath was raw and jagged—the brand, burned off by his own fire.
“He burned it,” Jasper said. “He made his choice.”
“He’s with me,” I cut in, voice shaking. “He’s mine. If you can help him, please—please do.”
Lacey grimaced, taking a step back as if the brand’s absence offended her more than its presence would have.
“If he burned it,” she muttered, “then he’s being hunted. That mark was the only thing keeping the King’s dogs from tracking him outright. You’ll bring the whole damn army to our doorstep.”
“How is that different from any other day, Lacey?” Jasper said, tone tight. “You know how this ends. Elira trusts him.”
She stared at me again—longer this time. I met her gaze and didn’t blink.
Finally, Lacey exhaled through her nose.
“Get him on the cot. And keep that scar covered. If we’re doing this, we do it fast.”
I nodded, breath hitching. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t say I’m doing it for him,” she said coldly, already crossing the room to dig through a crate of supplies. “I’m doing it because if we lose you, girl, then we’ve already lost everything.”
Lacey pulled out a selection of supplies—bandages, tinctures, and a round tin of dark salve.
“My own creation,” she muttered, unscrewing the lid. “Heals almost anything.”
She dabbed it onto Phoenix’s wound.
At her touch, he howled—a ragged, broken sound that tore out of him even in unconsciousness.
I lurched forward instinctively, but Jasper grabbed my arm.
“Hurts like a motherfucker,” Lacey said without looking up. “Still working out the kinks.”
But even as I watched, the wound began to seal—slowly, steadily. Skin knit together in unnatural motion, and though his body still trembled, colour had returned to his face.
Lacey threaded a needle and began to stitch, hands fast and practiced. Within minutes, the bleeding had stopped. Phoenix was still out cold, but he didn’t look like he was dying anymore.
“How many more of your Shade friends are we expecting?” Lacey asked, wiping her hands on a cloth.
“Two. Maybe three,” I said. “And they are not to be harmed.”
She lifted her gaze and pinned Jasper with it.
“What the fuck, Jasper?”
He didn’t flinch.
“We don’t get to pick our allies anymore, Lace,” Jasper said firmly. “The old rules don’t apply. She’s the one we’ve been waiting for—and they follow her.”
I blinked, heart pounding. “What do you mean, Jasper?” My voice cracked with exhaustion and anger. “I don’t understand!”
He looked at me then—really looked. There was something almost reverent in his eyes. Something that made my stomach twist.
“I know,” he said gently. “We’ll talk. I promise. When there’s time. But right now, you need to understand this much—Elira, you’re not just anyone. We’ve been searching for you for a long time.”
My chest tightened.
“Who has been searching for me?” I asked, stepping back. “Why?” The shadows around my feet twitched. “You don’t work for Vael, do you? Because I swear—I won’t—I won’t go back to him!”
Jasper shook his head instantly. “Vael? Hell no. Gods, no. I would never serve that monster.”
“Then who?” I demanded, fists clenched. “Who do you work for?”
He hesitated for half a breath. Then:
“Your family.”
I stopped breathing. “My—what? I don’t have a family!”
“You’re wrong, Elira,” he said softly. “You do have a family. A real one. You were never meant to grow up like this. You were taken. Stolen as a child. And your mother—she’s been looking for you for over a decade.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“No,” I whispered. “No, I don’t—I don’t have a mother. I don’t have anyone except—” My voice broke. “Except Finn…”
Jasper’s expression tightened with sympathy. “Your mother never stopped looking for you, Elira. And she’s been waiting.”
I shook my head, shadows flickering erratically now.
“It’s not possible…” I whispered. “What do you mean?”
Lacey turned back to me slowly, studying my face.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but he’s right. She’s alive.”
My breath hitched. The world tilted, sideways and wrong. My heart pounded against my ribs like it wanted out.
I was speechless. I thought for a moment Lacey almost looked sympathetic. But the moment passed and her eyes hardened.
“We’d better clear the path to the docks,” she said finally. “If your Shades are coming we’ll need every second.”
Then the first faint sound of boots echoed outside.
Jasper moved to the door. “They’re here.”