Page 69 of Forged in Fire
The monastery disappears behind us in a haze. I press my face to the helicopter’s window, watching muzzle flashes burst around the ancient walls. Somewhere in that madness, Riven is fighting for his life.
Because I trusted Elena to help me save him.
“You had no right to make that choice for me!” The words tear from my throat, raw with fury and desperation.
Elena doesn’t turn from the co-pilot’s seat, but her shoulders tense. “Iris—”
“No!” I slam my palm against the window. “You don’t get to decide who lives and who dies. You don’t get to drag me away while he’s down there bleeding out!”
Beside me, Luke keeps his eyes straight ahead, professional distance wrapped around him like armor. Smart man. This isn’t his fight.
“He told me to get you out,” Elena says, her voice carefully controlled. “His exact words were ‘Keep her safe.’”
The helicopter banks sharply, and I catch one last glimpse of the monastery. Smoke rises from the courtyard. Bodies scattered across ancient stones. And somewhere in that hell, the man who saved my life is probably dying.
“We’ll go back for him,” Elena says, finally turning to meet my eyes. “I promise you, Iris. We’ll go back.”
I stare at her, seeing the guilt written across her face. The knowledge that she might have just sentenced a good man to death. “Will we? Or will there be another committee meeting? Another strategic discussion about acceptable losses?”
The words hit their mark. Elena flinches, her pale eyes flickering with pain.
“He’s going to die because of me,” I whisper, sinking back into my seat. “Because I trusted you to help.”
The flight to Seattle stretches endlessly, each mile taking us further from the man I left behind. My shadows shift restlessly within me, competing with the fire, responding to the fury and guilt churning in my chest. Through the headset, the pilot’s voice provides clinical updates—altitude, heading, estimated arrival time. As if this is just another extraction. Another successful mission.
Successful. Right.
I’m so mad that I stay silent for the duration of the flight to the airport where the Craven jet is waiting. I’m still not speaking as we board and take off.
Elena tries to talk to me twice during the flight. I ignore her both times, focusing instead on the landscape rolling past below. Mountains give way to forests, forests to farmland, farmland to the sprawling suburbs that mark our approach to Seattle.
“Twenty minutes out,” Luke announces.
Elena keys her radio. “Viktor, we’re inbound. Iris is… she’s safe.”
Viktor responds, “And the other package?”
Elena hesitates. “Still at the monastery. We had to leave him.”
The silence that follows speaks volumes. And that suits me fine. I’m no longer fuming. Now I’m just numb. Grief, shock, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
The plane touches down at a private airstrip outside Seattle, and I watch through the window as a black SUV approaches across the tarmac. Aurora Collective. Of course they’re taking me straight to Viktor rather than letting me catch my breath.
“Iris.” Elena’s voice is careful as we prepare to disembark. “Viktor will want to debrief—”
“I don’t give a damn what Viktor wants.” I grab my phone and head for the exit. “But fine. Let’s get this over with.”
The drive to Aurora headquarters takes forty-five minutes through winding mountain roads that lead to what looks like an abandoned mining operation. It’s hard to believe I was here just days ago for Ember’s 21st. It feels like a lifetime.
The facility is far more sophisticated than it appears from the outside—hidden beneath rusted equipment and derelict structures is one of the most advanced supernatural operations centers on the West Coast.
Luke parks the SUV near the main entrance, and we’re immediately met by a team of Aurora operatives who escort us inside. The contrast between the exterior and interior never fails to impress—gleaming corridors, state-of-the-art technology, the quiet efficiency of people who know their lives depend on getting things right.
We’re met by a dark-skinned woman with platinum hair and brilliant blue eyes. Definitely not human, though I can’t get a read on what she is.
“Viktor’s waiting in Conference Room Three,” she tells Elena.
“Thanks, Tabitha,” Elena replies. “Are you joining us?”
