Page 91 of Forged in Fire
When his lips meet mine, this kiss is different from the others. Less desperate, more deliberate. Like a promise we’re both making without words. His mouth is warm and insistent, and when his tongue sweeps against mine, I make a small sound of approval that seems to undo something in him.
His hands tighten on my waist, pulling me closer until there’s no space between us. I can taste the coffee he had earlier, can feel the barely leashed control in the way he holds me—like he wants to devour me but is afraid of breaking something fragile.
My shadows spiral around us both, responding to the heat building between us. When I thread my fingers through his hair and tug gently, he groans against my mouth, and the sound sends fire racing through my veins.
We break apart only when breathing becomes necessary, both of us shaking slightly from the intensity of it.
“No making decisions without you,” he says against my lips, voice rough with want and something deeper.
“That goes for me too,” I agree, my hands still tangled in his hair. “I know I can be… headstrong.”
“Headstrong?” He chuckles, the sound rumbling through me.
“Okay, stubborn.” I grin ruefully. “But from now on, it’s a partnership, okay?” I feel like I’m making big assumptions, but somehow, it feels right.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, and there’s something solid and sure in his expression now. The vulnerability is still there, but it’s paired with determination and something that looks remarkably like hope.
“I’m still learning how to do this,” he admits. “How to be part of something bigger than just surviving.”
“We both are.” I trace the line of his jaw with my fingertips, marveling at how this controlled, dangerous man becomes something softer under my touch. “But we’ll work it out.”
“Yeah. I guess we will,” he murmurs, tightening his arms around me.
I press closer to him, savoring the solid warmth of his chest against mine, the steady rhythm of his breathing. Three days until the Blood Moon Eclipse. Three days until we infiltrate the hellish place the Syndicate is keeping Kieran.
Three days that might be all we get.
The thought hits me like an electric shock, and I must tense because Riven’s hands tighten on my waist.
“What is it?”
I shake my head, not wanting to voice the fear clawing at my throat. We’ve just found each other—this fragile, impossible thing between us that feels too precious to be real. The idea that it could all end before we’ve had a chance to see what we could become…
“I keep thinking about Ember’s visions,” I lie, because the truth is too raw. “All those possible outcomes.”
His thumb traces small circles against my hip bone through my shirt. “We’ll make it through this.”
“You can’t know that.”
“No,” he agrees quietly. “But I can promise you this—whatever happens down there, I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
I close my eyes, memorizing this moment. The feel of his hands. The sound of his voice. The way my shadows seem to dance with his inner fire. I burn it all into my mind, praying that I’ll have the chance to make more memories in the years to come. I tell myself I’m being paranoid, that we’ll get through this. But I do it anyway.
Just in case.
Chapter 28
Riven
This feels like deja vu… except it’s different. I’ve infiltrated fortresses before—Guild training made sure of that. But decades of perfect mission records, and now I can’t stop checking her six instead of watching my own.
Iris moves beside me through the cave system Ember mapped for us, her shadow abilities making her damn near invisible even to my enhanced senses. We’ve been descending for two hours, following natural passages that wind deeper into the mountain’s heart, away from the Syndicate compound where Viktor, Caleb, Dorian, and Luke are preparing their diversionary assault.
The air grows thicker with each step, heavy with old magic and something else—something that makes the dragon blood in my veins sing with warning.
The plan was simple: while the others hit the northern perimeter with enough firepower to draw Syndicate attention, Iris and I slip through the underground cave systems. Tightteam, just the two of us, equipped with the specialized gear Viktor managed to put together in forty-eight hours.
“Movement ahead,” I whisper, raising my fist to signal a stop.
