Page 28 of Lost in Fire

“And you only realized this after the fact?” she asks coolly. “That the witch was manipulating you.”

“I realized it when the distance between us broke her hold.” I switch back to the story I’ve been telling. “When I could think clearly enough to understand what had been done to me.”

“Physical distance weakened the magical influence? Made you realize you had to come back?”

“Physical distance and…” I pause, letting my eyes meet hers fully for the first time. Letting her see something in them that the cameras won’t catch but she will. “And other factors.”

The encrypted message. The one that brought me here:

They’re going to kill our daughter.

For just a heartbeat, her mask slips again. I see recognition flare in her eyes, followed immediately by anxiety. She knows I got her message. Knows that I’m here because of what it revealed.

Our daughter.

The words echo in the space between us, unspoken but deafening. We have a child.

“Your intelligence regarding Aurora operations,” she continues, her voice steady despite how our worlds are rocking. “Director Vex mentioned you had valuable information about their leadership structure.”

We shift into the rhythm of interrogation—questions and answers that satisfy the listening devices while we navigate the most dangerous conversation of our lives. Once more, I provide intelligence that Viktor carefully selected, information that serves Aurora’s purposes while appearing to serve the Syndicate’s.

But underneath the professional exchange, something else is happening. A recognition that transcends words. A reunion that’s been years in the making.

She asks about Viktor Parlance’s operational methods. I describe Aurora’s recruitment strategies. She inquires about remaining Rossewyn bloodline members. I paint a picture of scattered families struggling to survive.

All of it careful truth wrapped in convenient lies.

But my eyes never leave her face. And hers never leave mine.

God, she’s beautiful. More now than before. The years have hardened the lines around her eyes, made them colder, but underneath I still see glimpses of the woman who used to laugh with her whole heart.

And suddenly, it’s as if the years fall away. All the pain and heartache evaporate as I stare into the eyes of the woman I loved and lost, breathing and beautiful and more dangerous than ever.

The questions continue for what feels like hours. Professional. Thorough. Exactly what the surveillance equipment expects from the Shadowhand interrogating a high-value defector.

Finally, she glances at her watch. “We’ll continue this session tomorrow, Mr. Cole. I have enough to begin my initial assessment.”

She stands, gathering her tablet with movements that project absolute control. But as she reaches the door, she pauses.

“One final observation.” Her voice drops, and she angles herself so the cameras can’t see her lips clearly. “When faced with an impossible choice, Handler Cole, do you still believe in a third option?”

I suck in a sharp breath. The night before her supposed execution, I’d whispered to her.“When faced with an impossible choice, there’s always a third option. Always a way out.”

She couldn’t have remembered that phrase unless she was truly my Vanya. The woman I loved then still exists behind that cold mask.

“Always,” I whisper back, letting the single word confirm everything she needs to know. “Even when it seems impossible.”

Her eyes close for just a moment, and when they open again, they’re bright with unshed tears that she blinks away before anyone watching could notice.

“Tomorrow, then.” She activates the door controls, her professional mask sliding perfectly back into place. “Pleasant dreams, Handler Cole.”

The door closes behind her with cold finality, leaving me alone with the magnitude of what just happened.

Vanya Arrowvane is alive. She’s been alive all this time, facing the most overwhelming odds. And somehow, impossibly, she’s been winning.

The woman I thought I’d lost forever is the key to everything Viktor sent me here to discover. The mother of a daughter I never knew existed. Beating the Syndicate at their own game.

And now we have to figure out how to save our child without being destroyed in the process.

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