Page 192 of Elemental Becoming

“Without dragons reinforcing the wards, every city across the realm could be vulnerable.”

We could lose everything.

The realization lands hard enough to hollow out my chest. But Thane’s heartbeat remains steady beneath my cheek, a small anchor in the middle of this nightmare.

I swallow hard. “The Shadowed Hand? I’ve never heard of them.”

“Most people haven’t,” Thane replies, his arm tightening protectively around my bare waist as our legs remain tangled beneath the blankets. “We’ve known they existed in the shadows for years. Maybe longer. Stirring unrest. Siphoning secrets. But we only recently realized how far their reach extends. Now we know they aren’t just informants. They’re actively working with the Shadow Forces.”

The warmth lingering beneath my skin cools abruptly at the revelation. Gooseflesh rises along my arms. Thane notices immediately. Without a word, he pulls the blankets higher around us and draws me closer against him.

“So they’re the ones who tampered with the runes?”

“Likely. And we suspect it wasn’t just one traitor, but multiple agents working together.” His voice hardens. “They would know how the wards function. Which runes to distort. Exactly when to strike. It explains how the Shadow Forces slipped inside soeasily tonight.”

He pulls back just enough to look at me directly, his gaze sharpening.

“And they probably knew you were here because of the Shadowed Hand.”

My thoughts race immediately. The breach. The chaos. The sickening realization that we had been completely unprepared for it. It all fits.

“That means this conspiracy runs far deeper than any of us imagined,” I murmur, the realization turning my blood cold.

Thane’s gaze gentles, but his tone remains grim. “It does. And with the wards failing across the realm, with no new dragons to strengthen them, our enemies have found their opening. The Shadowed Hand is exploiting every weakness.”

“Is there a plan now?” I whisper. Then even quieter, “How do we fight a threat we can’t see?”

His voice softens, but the determination beneath it never wavers.

“We will rebuild the wards if we can. We figure out what’s happening with the dragons. We strengthen the protections that still remain.” In his eyes, there’s an unspoken resolve. “But more than anything, we root out every member of the Shadowed Hand. No matter who they are. No matter where they hide.”

“We will find them,” I say quietly, the certainty in my voice surprising even me. “Whatever it takes.”

Thane’s arms tighten around me.

When he speaks again, his voice is rough with quiet conviction. “Good.” He gives a small nod. “We’ll hunt down every last one of them. Burn them out if we have to.”

And somewhere beneath the lingering fear, beneath the grief and exhaustion still clinging to this night, a new certainty begins to take shape inside me. No matter how dark the shadows become, we will stand against them. Together.

I lie draped across Thane’s chest, my fingers moving absently over the scar beneath my fingertips. I press a soft kiss against it.

“He still doesn’t realize how much I need this. Need him.”

Thane’s hand slides up my back, then he murmurs softly, “I need you, too.”

He presses a kiss to the top of my head.

I freeze.

My heart stumbles hard against my ribs because I did not say that out loud.

I lift my head, eyes narrowing. “What did you just say?”

He studies me carefully.

“You . . . ” He hesitates, confusion flickering across his expression. “You said you needed me. Right?”

My brow furrows. “No,” I say slowly. “I didn’t . . . ”