Page 114 of Forged in Fire
“Are you certain?” Viktor’s face has gone pale, his features drawn tight with strain. “No distress call? No emergency beacon?”
The terrace falls completely silent now. Even the evening birds seem to sense the change, their songs fading to nothing.
“Understood. Begin search and rescue operations immediately. Full mobilization.” Viktor ends the call, but doesn’t put the phone down. His hands shake almost imperceptibly.
“Viktor?” Vanya’s voice is carefully controlled, but I catch the mother’s fear underneath. “What’s happened?”
He looks up, meeting her eyes across the terrace. When he speaks, each word sends dread spiraling.
“The helicopter carrying Luke, Mara, and Ember has gone down.”
Vanya makes a sound I’ve never heard before—raw, animalistic, the cry of a mother whose child is in mortal danger. Hargen’s arms go around her instantly, but she pushes away from him, rising to her feet with desperate energy.
“Where?” she demands. “Where did it go down?”
Viktor’s answer destroys what’s left of our peace.
“The Carpathian Mountains. Not far from the chamber site.”
Of all the places in the world, they’re down in the most dangerous one. Where the Syndicate just lost a major operation. Where Circle of Fire remnants might still be operating. Where ancient power sleeps beneath stone, and any number of hostile forces could converge.
“How long?” Caleb asks, already shifting into mission mode.
“Communication was lost six hours ago.”
My God. They’ve been down for hours, in hostile territory, with no backup and no way to call for help.
“Why the fuck are we only learning this now?” Hargen barks, his features set in grim lines.
“Because there was no reason to suspect anything was wrong until they didn’t return as expected,” says Viktor.
“Fuck,” Hargen mutters, rubbing a hand over his face. Fatherhood is still new to him, but it’s clear he’s settled into it.
“Search and rescue is already mobilizing,” Viktor continues, but his tone suggests limited hope. “But the terrain is treacherous, the weather is deteriorating, and—”
“I don’t care about the weather!” Vanya snaps, her composure completely shattered. “My daughter is in those mountains!”
“Our daughter,” Hargen corrects quietly, his own face carved from stone. “And we’re going to get her back.”
Around the terrace, the peaceful family gathering transforms into something else entirely. Warriors awakening. Protectors mobilizing. People who’ve survived too much to lose anyone now.
“We need immediate deployment,” Caleb says, already running calculations. “Full tactical team, medical support, extraction specialists.”
“We’ll go,” I say immediately.
“You’ve just returned. We’ll send a team that doesn’t need recovery time—” Viktor starts.
“We’re fine,” I interrupt, standing up. I sense Riven’s instant agreement, his protective instincts flaring to match mine. “We’re going.”
“Iris—”
“Those are our people down there.” My shadows respond to the emotion flooding through me. “Luke protected us in Romania. Ember risked everything to help us understand what we were facing. And Mara… Well, she’s Mara. We need her.”
The mate bond flares as Riven rises beside me, his own power stirring in response to mine. Fire and shadow, ready to burn down anyone who threatens our family.
“We’re not leaving them,” he says, voice carrying deadly certainty. “Not in that place.”
“The Syndicate will investigate the crash site,” Kieran says, his mind already working through implications. “So will Circle remnants. So will anyone else who knows about the chamber.”
