Page 104 of Taken

Food appears before us—real food, not the bland nutrition of the Syndicate’s medical wing. I eat mechanically at first, then with increasing appreciation. Grilled chicken, steamed vegetables. Simple flavors, but intense after years of sameness. Talon watches me, concern and something warmer in his eyes.

“Better?” he asks when I’ve finished.

“Getting there.” I wipe my mouth, pushing the tray aside. “So, who exactly are these people? Really?”

Talon leans closer, voice dropping. “Dragons, mostly. Some witches. Others with abilities who don’t fit neatly into categories. All united by one thing: opposition to the Syndicate’s vision of the future.”

“And what vision is that?”

“Control. Order maintained through force and fear. Dragons as the superior species, with everything else serving our interests.” His mouth twists. “It’s seductive, especially to those who’ve lost their clans, their purpose. The Syndicate gives them something to call home, a sense of belonging, even if it comes at a high cost.”

“And Aurora wants…?”

“Balance. Coexistence. Finding our place in the modern world without the fear our ancestors lived by.”

I watch his face, seeing the conviction beneath the practiced phrasing.

“And which side are you on?” I ask, the question more personal than I’d planned. But I guess after what we did earlier, “personal” is our new normal.

His eyes meet mine, steady and certain. “Whichever side keeps you safe.”

The answer shouldn’t affect me so strongly. Shouldn’t send heat curling through my belly, shouldn’t make my heart flutter. But it does.

Before I can respond, a minor commotion ripples through the mess hall. I look up to see Hargen entering, supported by Zoe but walking under his own power. Relief floods me.

“He’s okay,” I breathe, half-rising.

Talon’s expression closes slightly, but he nods. “Go ahead.”

I cross to Hargen, hyperaware of Talon’s eyes on my back. Conflict tears through me—concern for Hargen, the connection we’ve shared for years, against this new, unexpected pull toward Talon.

“What are you doing here?” I scold Hargen quietly, taking his arm. “You should be resting.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” His eyes search my face, lingering on my neck. Without thinking, I put my fingertips to my skin where Talon’s teeth had grazed. Hargen’s eyes lock with mine. “But we both know that’s not happening.”

Zoe clears her throat. “Briefing in two minutes. We should move.”

The four of us make our way to a conference room carved directly into the rock face. The space is already filled with people—Viktor and his companions from earlier, plus several others in tactical gear or civilian clothes. The Aurora leadership, I assume.

Talon pulls out a chair for me, then takes the one beside it. Hargen sits on my other side, his presence familiar, steadying. The irony isn’t lost on me; I’m caught between the man who guarded me for years and the man who freed me.

Viktor stands at the head of the table, commanding attention without effort.

“We have a situation,” he begins. “The Syndicate found our sanctuary within days of extraction. The question is how.”

“Tracking device is the obvious answer,” says the silver-haired woman. “Either implanted or in their belongings.”

“We swept everything,” Talon counters. “Standard protocol. Nothing pinged.”

“The Shard, then,” suggests a bearded man further down the table. “It’s an ancient artifact. We don’t fully understand its capabilities.”

“It’s secured in the deepest vault we have, Samien,” Viktor dismisses. “Triple-shielded. If it were broadcasting, we’d detect it.”

My mind races through possibilities. “What about magical signatures? The ritual I performed to save Hargen… could they have tracked that?”

The room quiets, all eyes turning to me.

“Possible,” concedes the younger man who arrived with Viktor. “Blood magic of that magnitude leaves traces.”

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