Page 70 of Lost in Fire

“Impossible to confirm specifics from this distance.” Viktor’s tone carries careful neutrality. “But given the timing and scope of the verification procedures, we felt it prudent to inform you.”

Ember glances between us, clearly sensing the undercurrents. Smart kid. Too smart for her own good, probably.

“This is about my mom, isn’t it?”

The directness of her observation makes Viktor’s eyebrow rise slightly. “We maintain surveillance on Syndicate operations as a matter of course.”

“That’s not what I asked.” She stands straighter, chin lifting in that unconscious gesture of defiance she inherited from her mother. “You think she’s in danger.”

Viktor studies her for a long moment before nodding slowly. “It’s possible. We’re monitoring the situation closely.”

“And if something happens to her?”

“Then we do everything in our power to help,” Viktor says simply. “But right now, our priority is ensuring your safety as you approach your twenty-first birthday.”

It’s more direct than Viktor usually is, a sign that he recognizes something important about the timing. Ember’s coming of age isn’t just personal—it’s potentially significant for the broader magical community.

“Thank you,” she says, surprising me by not pressing further.

After we’re dismissed, Nadia offers to show Ember some meditation techniques that might help with emotional control during magical practice. I’m grateful for the woman’s intervention—it gives me the space I need to process what we’ve just learned.

Instead of returning to my quarters, I find myself walking the compound’s perimeter. The mountain air is crisp, carrying the scent of pine and snow. In the distance, peaks rise toward a sky that’s just beginning to show stars.

Loyalty verification.

I know what that means—magical interrogation designed to strip away mental defenses and expose hidden loyalties. The kind of procedure that would reveal exactly what someone’s been hiding for years.

Someone like the Shadowhand. Someone who’s been playing a dangerous double game while feeding intelligence to Aurora. Someone who chose to stay behind rather than escape to safety.

Vanya.

I lean against the compound’s outer fence, closing my eyes and trying to settle my roiling emotions.

“Hargen?”

I turn to find Ember approaching, her expression troubled. In the starlight, she looks older than her twenty years. More like the woman she’s becoming and less like the girl I’m still learning to know.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

She shakes her head, moving to stand beside me at the fence. “I keep thinking about Mom.”

The simple words hit harder than any accusation could. Because she’s right to be thinking about her. Right to be worried.

“She’s strong,” I say, though the words feel hollow. “Stronger than anyone gives her credit for.”

“Is she?” Ember’s voice carries quiet desperation. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like she’s about to sacrifice herself. Again.”

Again.

The word cuts deep because it’s true. Vanya has spent twenty years choosing duty over personal happiness. And now she might be about to pay with her life.

“Your mother made an impossible choice,” I say carefully. “She stayed behind because people would die if she disappeared.”

“People like me.”

“People like you.”

We stand in silence, both of us staring out at mountains that hide everything we’ve lost.

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