Page 79 of Lost in Fire

The chains around my wrists flare with silver light. Pain lances through my body, fire in my veins. I arch against the restraints, teeth clenched to keep from screaming.

“Let’s try again,” he says when the pain subsides. “Location.”

I draw a ragged breath. “Last known location was a safe house outside the city. But she won’t be there anymore.”

“Because you helped her escape.” Not a question. “During verification, you admitted as much.”

“Did I?” I let my lips curve into a smile that costs more than it should. “Good.”

The chains activate again. This time, I can’t stop the cry that tears from my throat. When it ends, I’m slumped forward, sweat beading on my forehead.

“I don’t understand you,” Vex says, genuine confusion in his tone. “You, of all people—Arrowvane bloodline, one of the oldest pure dragon families. You should have upheld our values, protected our heritage. Instead, you betrayed everything we stand for.”

“She’s my daughter.” I meet his gaze directly. “Wouldn’t you protect your child, regardless of bloodline?”

The question catches him off guard. For a moment, something almost human crosses his features.

“Is that all you’ve been hiding?” he asks finally. “Just one hybrid child?”

The opening I’ve been waiting for. I let my expression crack, showing calculated vulnerability.

“What else could possibly matter more than my own daughter?”

He studies me for long moments, sensing the partial truth in my words. Then he adjusts something on the tablet.

The chains constrict, pulling my arms painfully behind me. Magic surges through the metal, not just pain now but invasive presence, searching for resistance.

“Who is the father?” Vex leans closer. “Another transgression to add to your list, no doubt.”

I fight against the restraints, unable to stop the instinctive response. Scales ripple across my skin despite the binding chains’ suppression—silver against pale flesh, my dragon nature fighting to protect me.

“No one important,” I gasp.

“The verification data suggests otherwise.” His voice drops lower. “A bond that predates your daughter’s birth.”

The chains tighten further. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision.

“Hargen Cole,” I whisper, presenting it as my final, shameful secret. “The Aurora operative.”

Vex’s expression transforms with triumph. “An Aurora operative and a witch? The ultimate betrayal.”

“Yes.” I let my head drop, feigning defeat. “The ultimate betrayal.”

“I suspected there was something wrong with how you handled his interrogation,” Vex says, satisfaction coating every word. “The missing recordings, the private facility, the convenient disposal with no body to verify. Now I understand why you let him go.”

I remain silent, letting him build his narrative. Every moment he focuses on Hargen and Ember is another moment my network stays hidden.

“The Ivory League will determine your sentence,” he says finally. “Though I think we both know what it will be.”

Execution. He doesn’t need to say it.

He turns to leave, pausing at the door. “You could have been one of our greatest assets, Vanya. Such a waste.”

The door closes behind him, leaving me alone with pain and silence. I slump against the wall, exhaustion claiming every muscle. The binding chains loosen slightly now that there’s no one to witness my suffering.

I’ve given him what he wanted—a confession, a betrayal he can understand. A simple story of maternal instinct overriding bloodline loyalty. It’s almost insulting how easily he accepted it, how readily he believed that my daughter was my only concern.

Men like Vex never understand that love extends beyond family. That protection can encompass strangers. That some principles matter more than personal loyalty.

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