Daggermouth

Shadera turned the photo over. No inscription, no date. Just an image of their unmasked faces frozen in time. A single picture that in the wrong hands, could get Greyson killed.

She turned it back, studying Brooker’s face more carefully. A strange sensation crawled up her spine as she looked at him—a sense of déjà vu she couldn’t place. Something about the angle of his smile, the way he held himself . . .

She’d never seen an elite in the Boundary. No member of the Serel family would ever venture into the outer ring, especially not unmasked. But somehow, she knew this face.

A sharp knock at her door yanked her from her spiraling thoughts. She jerked in surprise, nearly dropping the photograph.

“Shadera?” Greyson’s voice filtered through the door. “Are you ready?”

“I’ll be right out,” she called back, her voice steadier than she felt. Quickly, she folded the photograph and slipped it into her back pocket, patting it once to ensure it was secure. Her fingers slid over her mask, tracing the design before pulling it from its stand and placing it over her face. The weight settled against her skin, a barrier between her and a world she didn’t belong to. Between her and Greyson.

She would need that barrier tonight.

The patrol vehicle smelt cleaner than anything in the rings. Jameson climbed in last, settling onto the hard bench across from Jaeger, the unfamiliar weight of the uniform constraining his movements. Eight of them packed tight in the transport’s rear compartment, breathing the same recycled air, hearts pounding in unison. No one spoke. The stakes were too high for small talk, the risks too great to waste breath on anything but necessity.

The engine hummed to life, the subtle vibration traveling up through the metal floor into Jameson’s bones. For a moment, claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm him—the enclosed space, the identical faceplates surrounding him, the knowledge that they were heading straight into the heart of enemy territory with only the thi

The partition slid open, revealing their driver’s unmasked profile. Jameson’s gun was raised and pointed toward him in one single breath, without hesitation.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Jameson snarled as Jaeger pushed him back.

“Put your gun down, Ghost,” Jaeger commanded, but Jameson didn’t listen. His finger tightened on the trigger.

“This is your officer on the inside? Him?” Jameson breathed, his voice shallowing to a pitch he used to steady himself before taking a shot.

“Put. Your fucking. Gun. Down.” Jaeger ordered again. This time his hand wrapped around the barrel, yanking it toward the floor.

“Control your dog,” Captain Mikel hissed from the front seat.

A low growl left Jameson’s throat. He was Maximus Serel’s right hand. The man that kept all the Veyra in line. The man that stood beside Greyson Serel on the execution platform.

Jameson’s eyes snapped to Jaeger, rage erupting in his gut. This was a setup, this had to be a setup. “You are trusting this piece of shit with our lives? With Shade’s life?”

“I told you,” Jaeger barked, the palm of his hand co

Jameson’s chest rose and fell frantically, his eyes darting back and forth between Mikel and Jaeger, weighing his options. The silence pulled for a long minute before Mikel spoke again.

“Credentials,” he said, his eyes still studying Jameson’s form as he passed Jaeger a small stack of metallic cards. “They’re genuine but time sensitive. They will only be good for four hours, after that any checkpoint they are sca

Jaeger took the stack and distributed them to the team. Jameson accepted his, ru

“How’d you manage genuine credentials?” Scout asked, examining her own card with skepticism.

“Courtesy of the uniforms you are wearing now,” Mikel answered. “Officers die on patrol. Sometimes their deaths aren’t reported immediately.”

Jameson bit back a scoff. “No loyalty to your own men? I wonder what that means for us.”

Mikel turned to fully look at him then, his full unmasked face on display. “My loyalties are no concern of yours. I have skin in this rebellion, and I plan to save it.”

“Where’s the target?” Jaeger intervened before Jameson could snap back.

Mikel turned forward, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror, meeting Jaeger’s reflective faceplate before pulling his helmet back over his head. “She was last seen entering Club Thane in the Entertainment District, approximately eighty minutes ago, with him.”

With him.

Two words that twisted into Jameson’s gut like a serrated blade. He didn’t need clarification on who he was speaking of. The Executioner. The man who had taken Shadera, who was parading her through the Heart like a trophy.

His hand clenched around the credential so tightly the metal edge bit into his palm through the glove. The pain was grounding, a sharp counterpoint to the rage threatening to cloud his judgment. This wasn’t about Serel. It was about Shadera. Getting her out. Getting her home.

“Club security?” Jaeger prompted.

“Standard for Heart elite establishments on the outside,” Mikel replied as he guided the vehicle through the dimly lit maintenance roads that wound through Cardinal’s industrial sector. “Six guards at the main entrance, two at each emergency exit. Inside, though, I can’t help you. Thane uses his own private security and surveillance inside all his clubs and it changes by the hour.”

“Convenient,” Breach muttered.

“The Broker doesn’t take kindly to Veyra inside his establishments,” Mikel added. “So you better be discreet and you better be ready. If he gets his hands on you, you’re going to wish it had been Maximus Instead.”

Jameson stored the information away. He didn’t trust the Captain, but he was as dead as the rest of them if they were caught, and that brought him a semblance of comfort. He forced himself to focus instead on the view through the windshield as they approached the first checkpoint. The thick wall separating Cardinal from the Heart loomed ahead, illuminated by harsh spotlights that eliminated all shadows. Guard towers punctuated its length at regular intervals, each topped with mounted weapons that could reduce their vehicle to ash in seconds.

The checkpoint itself was a fortress within a fortress—triple gates, sca

Jameson’s mouth went dry. He’d never been this close to the Heart above ground before—he’d been in their tu

“First check incoming,” Mikel a

The vehicle slowed as they reached the first barrier. A guard approached, hand resting casually on his sidearm. Mikel lowered his window, offering a crisp salute.

“Captain Mikel, Patrol Unit 8, returning from Cardinal sector sweep.”

The guard’s posture straightened at the sound of his name. “Sir.” He inclined his head, mirroring Mikel’s salute. “Credentials please, sir,” he said, gesturing toward the sca

Mikel pressed his card against the pad. It glowed green, accepting his identity without hesitation. The guard glanced at the scan results on the tablet in his hand, then peered into the back of the vehicle, eyes taking in the rest of them.

“Full complement tonight?” he asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.

“President’s orders,” Mikel replied smoothly. “Increased presence in Cardinal following the agricultural incident.”

The guard shook his head, his voice hardening. “About time. Stringing up a few more of those thieves might help the rest remember their place.”

Jameson’s jaw clenched behind his faceplate, but he kept still, kept silent.

The guard waved them through the first barrier, and Mikel eased the vehicle forward toward the main sca

“Remain still,” Mikel murmured as they pulled into position. “The scan is calibrated for Veyra equipment. Anything else will trigger alarms.”

The sca

Seconds stretched into eternities as the scan completed its cycle. Then, mercifully, the light changed from blue to green, and the barrier ahead lifted.

“Proceed to final checkpoint,” came a mechanized voice from a speaker mounted on the arch.

Mikel drove forward, his movements unhurried despite the tension radiating from him. The final checkpoint was staffed by higher-ranking officers, those with the authority to override automated systems if they suspected something amiss.

As they approached, a commander stepped forward, hand raised for them to stop. Mikel complied immediately, lowering his window again as the commander approached.

“Credentials,” he said, voice clipped and cold.

Once again, Captain Mikel presented his card. This time, the commander took it, examining it personally before sca

“All officers, present credentials,” he ordered.

Jameson’s heart hammered against his rib cage as he reached forward with the others, offering his card through the small window that opened in the rear door. The commander collected them all, sca

Jameson’s hand dropped to his sidearm, fingers curling around the grip beneath his seat. If they were discovered now, they’d have seconds to react before reinforcements swarmed them.

The commander spoke into his comms, voice too low to hear. Jaeger’s posture stiffened—the only sign of his readiness to act if necessary. The rest of the team remained perfectly still, waiting for the signal to strike.