Page 32 of Fated By Fire

I don’t answer her with words. Instead, I grab my suit jacket and stride out, leaving her shouting behind me.

The vault is in the sublevels of Craven Tower. Unless you’re explicitly authorized, you don’t even get the privilege of going down there, let alone setting foot inside. Security is tight, both human and… otherwise. Only a fool would try breaking in.

Clearly, Jessica Mercer—Elena Ross—is some kind of fool.

When I reach the final checkpoint, everything seems normal. But as I step into the vault chamber, unease coils in my gut.

At first glance, everything looks pristine. The items inside—precious relics, documents of incalculable value, enchanted artifacts—are all sealed behind layers of reinforced glass and protective shields. But as I step deeper into the room, that feeling grows sharper, clawing at the edges of my senses.

Something’s wrong.

I stop abruptly near the center, my gaze zeroing in on the display housing the Heartstone. The energy field around it shimmers faintly, undisturbed.

I lean in closer. That’s when I see it—a mark on the floor near the pedestal. It’s almost unnoticeable, but the faint scuff bears tiny blackened edges, like the remnants of some… reaction.

For an instant, I pick up a whisper of a familiar scent: a mix of wild thunderstorms and rain.

It’s her.

Except it’s laced with something else. Something dark. Like burned wood and overheated rock. A dark presence that’s unmistakable—subtle yet seething beneath the surface.

“Malakai,” I breathe under my breath.

When I reemerge into the corridor, Dorian is waiting, leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets. His hair looks likehe’s just rolled out of bed, and his shirt is untucked, but there’s a tension in his eyes.

“Wanna explain the pissed-off goth girl in your office?” he asks lazily. “The one whose friend you’ve been playing kissy-face with lately?”

“Not now, Dorian. You’re not helping.” I shoulder past him, and he falls into step beside me.

“This is serious.” His bearing has changed.

I grit my teeth. “Very.”

“And it involves the woman.”

I nod sharply, picking up my pace. I’m feeling a growing sense of urgency. “She was in the vault, Dorian. I picked up her scent.”

“What?” He looks at me sharply. “How the fuck could she get in there?”

I shake my head. “No idea.”

There’s a man in a security uniform hovering nearby. He hurries to join us. “Mr. Craven.” His name tag reads Mason.

“We’ve had a breach at the vault,” I snap at him. “Your people missed it. Are you going to explain to me how the hell that happened?”

“I… I…” His mouth opens and closes. “I can’t explain that, sir.” He’s holding a radio and starts jabbering into it urgently. A minute later, after a hurried exchange, he’s looking at me again. “There’s nothing on the system, sir.”

“Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?” Dorian asks.

“Aside from an electrical disturbance on the screens around midnight, there’s no sign that anyone was here.”

“An electrical disturbance sounds like a sign, you idiot.” My brother’s casual attitude has been exchanged for something else.

“It was just a brief blur on the screen, sir. Nothing that gave any indication of an intrusion.”

“That’s not good enough.” I’m barely holding it together. “I want those records examined. And send over the footage.”

The elevator doors slide open as I brush my fingertip against the scanner. How could she have bypassed this? And the retinal scanner? It makes no sense.

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