MICAH’S POV One week later The Obsidian Park on Level 90 wasn’t a park, and It was a monument to everything wrong with Kryos.
Scrap-metal trees stretched toward a ceiling of steel and smog.
Synthetic pine needles rattled overhead whenever the industrial ventilation fans kicked into a higher cycle.
Workers drifted through the walkways in silence, shoulders hunched against the cold, clutching ration cups and heat credits like lifelines.
I paced beneath a rusted iron willow.
Again.
And again.
And again.
“You’re going to wear a trench into the floor.” The voice came from behind me, and I stopped as Alpha Vex Varr stepped out from the shadows.
“I almost died in that tower,” I said immediately.
“You keep saying that.” “Because it’s true.” Vex folded her arms.
“You’re alive.” “Barely.” “Still alive.” “I watched Rujin Marks melt a wall.” I huffed.
“You watched him not melt you.” “That wasn’t because of him.” “No?” “It was because of Koro.” Vex studied me carefully.
“The Thermal Lock.” “It’s more than that.” Her eyebrow lifted.
“Explain.” I exhaled slowly.
“I’ve been around desperate people before.” “And?” “I know what survival looks like.” “You think they’re past survival?” “I know they are.” Vex went silent, and the wind rattled through the iron branches overhead, and finally she spoke.
“What exactly did you see?” I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Koro threatened to stop his own heart.” “I know.” “Don Marks panicked.” I lowered my voice as the words came out of my mouth.
That got her attention.
“Panicked?” “Not as angry as it should have been, the reaction I expected.” “Not territorial?” “No,” I reported.
“Fear?” I nodded.
“Real fear.” Vex stared at me.
“The Dragon Don?” “That’s what surprised me the most,” I exhaled.
“Describe it.” Vex pressed on.
“He looked like the entire world disappeared.” I huffed.
Vex’s expression hardened.
“You’re sure?” “I’m a panther-shifter, Alpha.” I tapped my nose.
“I can smell fear.” A grim smile crossed her face.
“And you smelled it on Rujin Marks.” “I smelled it the second Koro made the threat,” I added.
The Alpha looked toward the Apex Spire, and Orange light shimmered through the distant haze, and for a moment, she said nothinga nd then she laughed, a harsh bark of amusement.
“The Board must be losing their minds.” “They are.” I asserted, and her laughter stopped instantly.
“Did you hear what happened after I left?” “What ?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I heard rumors.” “You know how useful rumors are.” “Fair point.” I moved closer.
“The Board tried to separate them.” Vex swore.
“They actually did it?” “Lead-lined cryogenic containment.” I snickered.
“The idiots.” “It gets worse.” “It always does.” I couldn’t help smiling.
“Koro walked into the containment unit voluntarily.” Vex blinked.
“He what?” “He walked in.” “Why?” “I don’t think anyone knew except him.” “Don Marks?” “Nearly tore the room apart.” I chuckled.
The Alpha’s amber eyes narrowed.
“Keep talking.” “The Board filled the chamber with absolute-zero gel.” Vex actually winced.
“That should’ve killed him.” “That’s what they thought.” “And Koro?” “He absorbed it.” “Impossible.” “Possible, am afraid.
It happened, and our guard mole reported it as he was a witness.” “No hybrid can process that amount of thermal debt,” Vex stated.
“Koro can,” I explained.
“Damn.” Vex huffed.
“That’s what I said.” “What happened next?” I grinned.
“Then Don Marks lost control.” A dangerous smile appeared on Vex’s face.
“Oh no.” “Oh yes.” “The Dragon flared.” “The entire room registered a thermal spike.” “How bad?” “The system thought a reactor was melting down.” Vex laughed.
“The Boardroom?” “Destroyed.” “The containment unit?” “Gone.” “The guards?” “Hospitalized.” Her laughter echoed through the park.
“I wish I’d seen it.” “You would’ve loved it.” I nodded at her.
“I would’ve brought snacks.” I shook my head, and Vex’s amusement slowly faded, and her gaze drifted toward the lower sectors.
“The lockdown is coming.” I nodded.
“Already started.” “Damn.” “If they seal the upper tiers—” “They’ll reroute power.” “Exactly.” “The clinics will suffer.” “The clinics always suffer.” Her cybernetic fist tightened, and the railing groaned beneath her grip.
“I hate this city.” “You and me both.” “No.” She looked at me.
“You still think this place can be fixed.” “And you don’t?” “Kryos was built on exploitation.” The bitterness in her voice surprised me.
“It doesn’t know how to survive any other way.” I looked down into the endless abyss beneath the park, and the workers moved like ants far below.
Tiny.
Insignificant.
Disposable.
“What about Koro?” I asked.
Vex’s eyes softened slightly.
“What about him?” “Do you still think we can bring him home?” She didn’t answer immediately, and that alone told me enough.
“You don’t know.” “No.” “That’s not like you.” “I’m not omniscient, Micah.” She huffed.
“You usually pretend pretty well.” A snort escaped her.
“Fair.” I leaned against the railing.
“I saw the way he looked at Marks.” Vex remained silent.
“And?” “He doesn’t hate him anymore.” I pointed out.
“He should.” “Maybe.” “He was kidnapped.” “I know.” “He was manipulated.” “I know.” “He was chained to a biological bomb.” “I know.” I sighed.
“But that’s not all he sees now.” “No.” The Alpha’s voice was quiet.
“It isn’t.” We stood in silence, and finally she spoke.
“Do you blame him?” The question caught me off guard.
“What?” “Do you blame him?” I thought about it, about Koro, about the months he’d spent trying to keep his sister alive.
About the impossible position he’d been forced into and Rujin standing between him and the Board.
“No.” Vex nodded.
“Neither do I.” That surprised me.
“You don’t?” “He still belongs to the pack.” “But?” “But people change.” The wind howled.
“He found something in that tower.” “What?” “I don’t know.” She stared toward the orange glow of the Apex.
“But whatever it is…” “It’s keeping him there.” “Exactly.” My chest tightened.
“Nara’s still there.” The Alpha’s expression darkened instantly, and everything else disappeared.
“If the board gets desperate,” I said quietly, “They will use her.” “They absolutely will.” “They will threaten her pod and move to unplug it.” “And Koro will obey.” “At first.” The way she said it sent a chill down my spine.
“At first?” Vex looked up toward the Apex.
“If Nara dies…” She didn’t finish; she didn’t need to, and I already knew that Koro would break.
And if Koro broke, Rujin would break with him, and the city wouldn’t survive that.
“We need eyes on her.” “We need more than eyes.” Vex pulled out her encrypted slate.
“We need assurance.” She activated the secure channel, and a green icon appeared.
“Lira.” Static crackled, and then a female voice answered.
“You sound stressed, Alpha.” “I am.” “That’s never good.” “I need you on Level 120.” A pause.
“The clinic?” “Yes.” “The heavily guarded clinic?” “Yes.” “The clinic with armed patrols?” “Still, yes.” Lira sighed.
“I knew answering this call was a mistake.” I laughed despite myself.
“Lira.” “What?” “You love impossible missions.” Vex pointed out.
“I love surviving impossible missions.” Vex cut in.
“Focus.” “Fine.” “What am I looking for?” “Nara Dew.” Silence.
“Koro’s sister?” “Yes.” “Oh.” The humor vanished from her voice instantly.
“I understand.” “Good.” “I assume this is urgent.” “If her pod loses power, we’re all dead.” “That’s pretty urgent.” “I need a secondary power line installed.” “I can do that.” “Undetected.” “I can do that too.” “If technicians interfere—” “I know.” “No witnesses.” “I said I know.” Vex smirked.
“Good.” Another pause, and then Lira spoke quietly.
“How’s Koro?” I exchanged a glance with Vex.
“Complicated,” I answered.
“That’s bad.” “It’s complicated.” “That’s worse.” The line crackled.
“Tell him we’re still here.” Something tightened in my chest.
“I will.” The channel disconnected, and Vex slipped the slate away.
“You trust her?” I asked.
“With my life.” “Good.” We started walking toward the elevator, and the orange glow of the Apex seemed brighter now.
“The bond is changing,” I said.
Vex nodded.
“I know.” “They aren’t fighting it anymore.” “No.” “They’re working together.” “Yes.” I looked at her.
“Does that worry you?” She smiled, a slow, dangerous smile.
“For the Syndicate?” “Yes.” “Terrifies me.” “And for us?” The smile widened.
“For us?” She stepped into the elevator, and the doors began sliding shut, and her amber eyes locked onto mine.
“For us, it might be exactly what we need.” The gap narrowed.
“What happens tomorrow?” Vex’s voice emerged from between the closing doors.
“Tomorrow?” “Yeah.” The doors are nearly sealed, and then she gave me one final grin.
“Tomorrow, the Dragon and the Wolf stop surviving.” The elevator began descending.
” And they will start choosing sides.” The doors closed completely.
Leaving me alone beneath the iron trees, watching the Apex burn orange against the storm.Wondering whether Kryos was about to witness a revolution or a catastrophe.
Maybe both.
But what I did not tell Vex was that Don Mark Rujin’s second in command, Vane Thorne, had been sniffing me, and he was the one who discovered I had sneaked into the tower to see Koro.
I wondered what kind of vampire he was that he made my panther react and want to go back.