Page 119 of Taken

Fire erupts behind us, illuminating the night in a blaze that burns my retinas. I can’t tear my eyes away. Talon—magnificent, terrifying, beautiful—stands fully shifted against a wave of enemies, wings outstretched against the burning sky. His scales gleam like molten gold in the helicopter’s dying flames.

He already saved me once. Now he’s dying for me.

“Move!” Hargen yanks my arm so hard I nearly stumble. “He did this so you could save her. Don’t waste it.”

My feet move, but my heart stays behind, stretched between rooftops like a thread ready to snap. The distance grows with each step—my daughter ahead, the man who freed me behind.

A lifetime of impossible choices, and I’m still choosing.

Another explosion rocks the night. Talon’s roar shakes the very air, bestial and fierce. I feel it in my chest, reverberating through bone and blood.

“Lila, focus!” Hargen pulls me down as bullets rip into the concrete around us.

The Shard burns against my skin, its crimson light pulsing in sync with my hammering heart. With each step toward the warehouse where Elena waits, its glow intensifies, responding to the proximity of blood calling to blood.

Elena.

I feel her through the Shard’s power—her fear, sharp and metallic; her determination; her magic, untrained but potent, crackling like lightning beneath her skin. And something else—recognition.

She feels me too.

Mom?The word isn’t spoken aloud, but I hear it anyway, echoing through the connection between us.

“This way.” Hargen navigates us through a maze of ventilation units and rusted pipes. Blood streaks his temple from the crash, but he moves with precision.

We reach a service door just as three Circle operatives emerge onto the roof. I don’t hesitate. The Shard’s power flows through me, no longer the violation it was under Syndicate control, but an extension of my will. I fling my hand outward, and crimson energy slams into the men. They drop where they’re standing, faces frozen in shock.

“Well, that’s new,” Hargen mutters, wrenching open the door.

The stairwell beyond is dark, the air thick with dust and decay. We descend quickly, ears straining for sounds of pursuit above the thunder of our footsteps.

“One level down,” I gasp between breaths. “I can feel her.”

The Shard’s connection to Elena grows stronger with every step, her presence a beacon drawing me forward. Her emotions flood my awareness. She knows I’m coming. My baby knows I’m here.

Voices echo from below; shouts, the crack of gunfire, a woman’s command cutting through havoc. And beneath it all, a sound that stops the blood in my veins: the distinctive hiss of dragon fire, followed by screams.

We burst through a door into a cavernous warehouse space. The scene before us stops me cold.

Caleb stands in partial shift, scales rippling across his exposed torso, eyes blazing with inhuman fire. He moves with lethal grace, positioning himself between advancing Circle operatives and—

Elena.

My breath catches. My daughter. My beautiful, fierce daughter. She stands in the center of a protective circle, hands extended, eyes glowing with Rossewyn power. Each gesture sends bursts of red and gold energy toward her attackers, keeping them at bay through instinct and raw talent alone.

A Circle operative notices us, turning his weapon in our direction. Hargen fires first, the shot echoing through the warehouse. The man crumples.

The Shard pulses against my palm as I pull its power through me. I don’t fight it. I surrender to it completely. Crimson light explodes from my fingertips, catching three operatives mid-stride. They scream as the energy lifts them, suspending them in the air before hurling them against the far wall.

“Mom?” Elena’s voice breaks, her eyes wide with astonishment.

“Keep fighting!” I shout, advancing into the warehouse.

Hargen covers my flank, his shots precise and deadly. Caleb roars, unleashing a torrent of flame that incinerates two more attackers. Elena’s magic flares brighter at the sight of me, her hands steadier now as she directs blasts of energy toward the remaining operatives.

I feel the Shard’s ancient power singing through my veins—not draining me as it did before, but amplifying what was always mine. I reach deeper, drawing on all my suppressed rage. The warehouse trembles as crimson light erupts in a shockwave that knocks the remaining attackers off their feet.

Hargen finishes them with methodical efficiency. The last operative turns to flee, but Elena’s golden energy catches him, freezing him in place until Caleb delivers the final blow.

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