Chapter 62. Heir of Ashes

The drop boat cut a hard line through the black water, hull shuddering under the weight of salt spray and systems damage. Midnight’s Forge vanished behind them—its silhouette devoured by the fog, like a secret already slipping into legend.

Harper sat forward, shoulders stiff, eyes locked on the horizon. The silver clasp on her wrist glinted faintly, catching the moonlight, like it meant something more now—like it chose her back. Knox sat close, but not touching. Not yet. His gaze scanned the sky, and the tension in his fingers betrayed how many scenarios he was calculating in silence.

Behind them, Lucien crouched over the encrypted console embedded in the launch’s chassis, his voice terse. “Syndicate fleet’s moving. Three aircraft deployed. No lights. Just signatures. They’re not watching anymore. They’re hunting.”

Harper’s throat tightened. “Then we don’t run. We vanish. Ghost the airspace, reroute the override. We end this where it began—on our terms.”

Knox