ログイン~ KAEL ~I walked out of my office and headed straight for the private elevator, pulling my phone from my pocket. I selected Marcus’s contact and pressed the call button. He answered on the first ring."Alpha," Marcus said."Initiate a full lockdown on the east wing immediately," I ordered, pressing the button for the underground garage. "Station two armed guards directly outside Lyra’s door, and do not let anyone enter or exit that corridor without my direct authorization. If anyone attempts to bypass the perimeter, you have my permission to shoot them.""Understood," Marcus replied. "I will handle the security detail personally and monitor the cameras.""Keep the external patrols on high alert," I added, watching the elevator doors slide shut. "Darius Venn held a press conference accusing Lyra of stealing the Veyrith Stone. He is trying to force a High Council Inquisition.""I will lock the front gates and arm the perimeter defenses," Marcus said. "How long will you be gone?""As lo
Chapter 21 – The Poisoned Seed~ Lyra ~The glass vial felt heavy against my thigh, a cold weight burning through the fabric of my pocket. I walked up the stone stairs from the medical wing, my mind racing through the conversation with Dr. Voss.Seventy-two hours of masked blood. Three days until the Inquisitors arrived to tear this compound apart, looking for an ancient artifact I did not steal.I gripped the folder of surveillance photos tightly against my chest. I had to show these to Kael. We needed to figure out who the mole was before they could plant the fake Veyrith Stone in my room. If we found the informant, we could cut Darius’s strings and blind him before the raid.I turned the corner into the main hallway and stopped dead in my tracks.Marcus stood near the entrance to Kael’s private office. He was leaning against the stone wall, talking quietly to one of the Enforcers. He held a ceramic coffee mug in his hands.My breath hitched. My fingers tightened on the folder.Dr.
~ DR. VOSS ~The girl was holding her own medical file.I had expected this, though not quite so soon. Mara must have pointed her in my direction. The old wolf had never trusted me, and now she was using the girl to dig.Clever.I closed the door and locked it. Not to trap her, but because what I was about to say couldn't leave this room."Sit down," I said.The girl didn't move. Her body was tense, her feet planted, her weight shifted slightly onto her back leg. Ready to run. Smart instinct."I'm fine standing," she said."Suit yourself," I replied. I walked past her to my desk and sat down in my chair. I folded my hands on the surface and looked at her steadily.She was young. Younger than I expected, given everything I had heard. But her eyes were sharp, and they were watching me with the kind of intensity that told me she had already made up her mind about who I was."You drew my blood," she said. "While I was unconscious.""I did," I said. "Standard protocol after a medical event
~ LYRA ~Mara was already waiting when I reached the courtyard at dawn."You look tired," she said."I didn't sleep well," I replied."Good," Mara said. "Tired is honest. It means your body is adjusting to the energy shifts. If you had slept like a baby, I'd be worried."She led me to the chalk circle again. I stepped inside without being told."Yesterday was about finding your core," Mara said. "Today is about controlling what comes out of it.""Controlled projection," I said, remembering her words from the day before."Exactly," Mara said. "What you did to Thorne was a blast. Raw, unfiltered power thrown outward with no aim and no restraint. It worked because he wasn't expecting it. But against a trained opponent, or an Inquisitor, a wild burst like that will get you killed.""So what do I do differently?" I asked."You aim," Mara said simply. She walked to the edge of the courtyard and dragged a wooden training dummy into position about fifteen feet away. It was battered and scarre
~ LYRA ~I couldn't sleep.My body ached from the training with Mara, and my side throbbed where the surgical scar was still healing. I needed rest, but my brain refused to cooperate. Someone inside this compound had been in my room. Someone who moved through locked doors without leaving a trace. And I needed to find out who.I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Sitting here staring at the ceiling wasn't going to get me anywhere.I pulled on a sweater and jeans and slipped out into the corridor. It was dark and quiet, the sconces dimmed to a low glow. The compound felt completely different at night. No guards marching past, no staff moving through the halls. Just silence and shadows.I headed downstairs toward the kitchen. I needed water and I needed to think.The kitchen was large and industrial, with steel counters and hanging racks of pots. A single light above the stove cast a warm circle on the tile floor.I filled a glass from the tap and leaned against the count
~ SELENE ~The call came at midnight.I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub in Darius's penthouse, staring at the phone in my hand. The screen was dark. The contact name glowed faintly.Kael.I hadn't spoken to him in over two years. Not since the night I left his apartment with my suitcase and told him I didn't love him anymore. Not since I chose Darius.That was the biggest lie I had ever told.My thumb hovered over the call button. Lucinda's instructions played in my head on a loop. Tell him you're scared. Tell him Darius is out of control. Tell him the baby might be his.The baby.I pressed my hand against my stomach. The bump was barely visible, just a slight curve beneath my robe. Darius's child. Not Kael's. I knew that for certain.But Kael didn't.I pressed the button.The phone rang three times before he answered."Who is this?" His voice was low and flat. The same voice I used to fall asleep listening to."It's me," I said.Silence.Long, suffocating silence."Selene," Ka
CHAPTER SIX~ KAEL ~I watched her sleep.It wasn't something I usually did. I didn't linger, I didn't hesitate. I moved, I struck, and I left.But Lyra Hale was different.She was curled up on the guest bed, buried under the grey duvet. Her breathing was even now, but her hands were still clenched
~LYRA~The adrenaline crash was brutal.My legs finally gave out when we got back to the penthouse. Kael didn't say a word. He just scooped me up, carried me past the dark living room, and set me down on the guest bed."Don't move," he said."I can't," I whispered.He left the room and came back wi
~LYRA~The adrenaline crash was brutal.My legs finally gave out when we got back to the penthouse. Kael didn't say a word. He just scooped me up, carried me past the dark living room, and set me down on the guest bed."Don't move," he said."I can't," I whispered.He left the room and came back wi
~ LYRA ~Ten minutes.That was all the time I had to pack my life into a bag. Not that I had much of a life left to pack.I threw the few clothes Kael had bought me into a duffel bag—jeans, t-shirts, a thick sweater. I grabbed the toiletries from the bathroom counter. My hands were shaking so bad I







