Page 112 of Taken

She knows. She knows I’m alive. She’s looking for me.

“Lila?” Hargen’s voice seems distant through the roaring in my ears. “Your face… What do you see?”

“Elena.” Her name rips from my throat. “She knows about me. She’s searching.” Tears threaten, then fall unchecked. “My baby’s looking for me, Hargen.”

Before he can respond, the vault door slides open. Talon stands in the entrance, his expression shifting from suspicion to concern as he takes in the scene.

“What the hell is going on?” He strides forward, eyes fixed on the Shard glowing in my hands. “How did you—?”

“It’s okay,” I say, not releasing the crystal. “I needed to understand. To connect without Syndicate control.”

His gaze shifts between Hargen and me, tension evident in his posture. “You should have told me.”

“Would you have helped?” Hargen asks, his tone uncharacteristically challenging.

Something flickers across Talon’s face—doubt, perhaps. Acknowledgment.

“She needs this, Talon,” Hargen continues. “It’s her birthright. Her connection to understand.”

“And you’re, what? Supervising?” The edge in Talon’s voice carries more than professional concern. His eyes burn with something possessive as they move from Hargen to me. The dragon in him is closer to the surface than I’ve seen since our escape, scales shimmering beneath his skin, pupils narrowing to vertical slits.

“He’s family,” I say, the words still strange on my tongue. “Distant cousin. Rossewyn blood.”

Talon blinks, clearly surprised. “Blood relation? That’s why the binding worked so well.”

Hargen nods. “Diluted, but enough. The Syndicate knew. Used it.”

Understanding dawns in Talon’s expression, softening the hard edges of suspicion. “That’s why you stayed. Protected her.”

“One of the reasons.” Hargen’s eyes meet mine briefly, then return to Talon. “Not the only one.”

The acknowledgment hangs between them. Complicated, male, territorial in ways that would irritate me if I weren’t still reeling from the connection to Elena.

Talon moves closer to me, his body radiating heat I can feel even from several feet away. The dragon in him calls to something primal in me—something I saw in the Shard’s memories of Lyria and Kael.

“It doesn’t matter now,” I cut in, unable to waste time on their posturing. “I’ve seen Elena. Through the Shard. She knows I’m alive, Talon. She’s actively looking for me.”

That snaps his attention back fully. “Recently? You’re sure?”

“Right this minute.” I lift the Shard, its light pulsing faster with my excitement. “I can find her. Locate her precisely.”

“Viktor’s planning a diplomatic approach,” Talon reminds me. “Careful. Controlled.”

“Fuck that.” The vulgarity feels good on my tongue. “She’s my daughter. I’m not waiting for dragon politics to decide when I get to see her.”

Instead of the resistance I expect, a slow smile spreads across Talon’s face. Something fierce and approving that makes my breath catch.

“Never thought you would.” He moves closer, right beside me. His hand brushes a strand of hair from my face, the touch making my breath catch. “But rushing in half-cocked is suicide. The Cravens are powerful. Protective. And now there’s a phoenixin the mix. Not to mention two powerful factions after your blood. We need a plan.”

“We?” I challenge.

“You think I’m letting you go alone?” His voice drops lower, meant for my ears alone. “I meant what I said. What I showed you. You’re mine now, Lila Ross. Where you go, I go.” His fingers trail down my neck, making my pulse race. “We’ll find your daughter.”

The possessiveness in his tone should terrify me after decades of being owned. Instead, it sparks something molten in my core. This is different. This is claiming that goes both ways.

“I’m not yours,” I whisper back, leaning closer. “Not yet. But I could be. When I’m ready.”

His pupils dilate, a low growl escaping his throat. For a moment, I think he might kiss me right there, Hargen’s presence be damned. And I want him to, God help me. But he restrains himself, drawing back with visible effort.

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