I stared out the window as we drove. Watched the burning mansion disappear into rain and smoke.
Watched the place where I'd lost him fade into the dark.
My hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists. Made them stop. Made myself stop.
Emotion was weakness. Weakness got people killed.
I'd learned that lesson eighteen years ago.
Had apparently forgotten it somewhere between falling in love and pretending I deserved it.
“He's alive,” Dom said quietly. Not looking at me. “Marcel needs him alive.”
“For now.”
“For long enough to find him.”
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to hold onto hope like it was something solid instead of smoke.
But I'd hoped before. Had believed I could save Anya. Had been wrong.
Hope was just another word for delusion.
The palace appeared through rain.Golden. Beautiful. Completely empty without Sebastian in it.
Guards met us at the entrance. Tried to stop us. Adrian's name opened doors. The King's direct order opened more.
We moved through corridors I'd memorized. Past rooms where Sebastian had smiled at me. Teased me. Kissed me in shadows while the world turned.
All of it felt like memory now. Like something that had happened to someone else.
Someone who'd been stupid enough to believe he deserved happiness.
The war room was chaos when we arrived. Maps spread across every surface. Screens showing traffic feeds and border alerts and all the useless data that wouldn't bring him back.
Adrian's face glowed on the main screen. Scarred. Furious. “Viktor. Sit down before you fall down.”
I ignored him. Moved to the maps. Started marking known locations. Shell companies. Properties. Everything we'd already searched.
Everything that had come up empty.
“We're missing something,” I said. Voice mechanical. Professional. Everything I needed to be instead of the mess I was. “Marcel's too smart to hide in obvious places. He'll use something personal. Something only he and the King know about.”
“The King's en route,” Dom said. “Ten minutes.”
“Then we wait.” I braced myself against the table. Let it hold my weight because my legs wouldn't. “And plan.”
“Plan what?” Troy asked.
“Extraction. Assault. Whatever it takes.”
“We don't even know where he is.”
“We will.” I looked at the maps. At the city spread out like a chess board. “And when we do, we move fast. We don't negotiate. We don't hesitate. We get Sebastian out and we end Marcel.”
“That's not a plan,” Dmitri said. “That's suicide.”
“Then it's suicide.” I met his eyes. Let him see everything I usuallykept locked down. “I'm not leaving him with that monster. I don't care what it costs.”
