3rd Person Pov
Kaison Monroe stood at the window of his S City penthouse, the sprawling cityscape below illuminated by the cold blue light of his flames. The fire danced across his fingertips, responding to the tumult of emotions he typically kept in rigid control.
Amiriah Spellman.
Not Mira, the name she had given him. Amiriah Spellman—daughter of one of S City's most powerful families, presumed dead in a psychiatric hospital fire three years ago. The woman he had sheltered, protected, fallen in love with—had lied about her very identity.
Yet the betrayal he felt was tempered by a strange sense of understanding. After all, hadn't he done the same? He had been Kai to her, not Kaison Monroe, heir to an empire built on blood and shadows.
"What did they do to you?" he murmured, extinguishing the flames with a thought as he turned from the window.
His desk was covered with files—everything his organization had been able to gather on the Spellman family in the twenty-four hours since his grandfather's revelation. Financial records, business holdings, political connections, and most importantly, what little information existed about GreyStone Psychiatric Hospital and the mysterious Project K his step-cousin had been involved with.
Cole—his mother's sister's son—had always been the family disappointment. Brilliant but erratic, constantly seeking shortcuts to power. Kaison had never bothered much with him, considering Cole beneath his notice. Now he wished he had paid more attention.
According to the fragmented records his team had uncovered, Cole had been working at GreyStone as a "special consultant" during the time Amirah was institutionalized there. The hospital's official records had been destroyed in the fire, but whispers remained in the darker corners of S City—rumors of experiments on patients with natural magical abilities, attempting to harness and weaponize their powers.
Project K. Kaison's grandfather had ordered him to take over this abandoned project as the price for Amirah's location. But what exactly was it? And how was Amirah involved?
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Enter," he commanded.
His most trusted lieutenant, Vex, stepped into the room, a slim electronic tablet in hand. "We have confirmed the Spellman girl's location," he reported, his voice carefully neutral. "She is indeed at the Spellman mansion, as your grandfather indicated."
Kaison nodded. "Security measures?"
"Substantial. The Spellman have always been cautious, but they've enhanced their protocols significantly in the past month. Shadow wards, motion detection, magical barriers—all top of the line." Vex hesitated. "There's something else. The magical signature profiles show multiple darkness wielders present at the mansion."
This wasn't surprising—the Spellman family was known for their shadow manipulation abilities, similar to but distinct from Kaison's own esoteric flame. But something in Vex's tone made him look up sharply.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Vex swiped across the tablet, projecting a holographic display into the air between them—energy readings from the mansion. "This signature here," he indicated a pulsing point of deep violet, "is unlike the others. More powerful, more... unstable. Based on the comparison to previous datasets, we believe it's Amiriah Spellman."
Kaison studied the display intently. "And this smaller signature beside it?"
Vex hesitated. "Unknown. Impossible to determine precisely."
Seeing Amirah again—the possibility burned through him, igniting possessive fury and something else—something dangerously close to hope.
"I want surveillance increased," he ordered. "Round-the-clock monitoring of the mansion. I want to know everyone who enters and leaves. And I want a direct visual on Amiriah as soon as possible."
Vex nodded. "We've already deployed our best operatives. But sir, even with our resources, direct visual confirmation will be difficult. The Spellman have kept her closely guarded since her return."
"Find a way," Kaison said, his tone making it clear the matter wasn't open for discussion. "And locate Cole and his friends Luke Blackwood and Johns. I want to know exactly what his role was in Project K and how it involved Amiriah."
As Vex departed, Kaison returned to the window, his reflection in the glass overlaying the city beyond. His blue flames flickered in his eyes, betraying the emotion he rarely allowed himself to display.
If Amiriah had kept it from him... if she had fled rather than telling him the truth... it changed everything. And nothing. He would still find her. Still reclaim her.
Project K could wait. His grandfather's machinations could wait. Even the truth about why she had left could. He just wanted to see and hold her again.
Kaison retrieved his phone, dialing a number few people possessed. "Prepare my new S City estate," he instructed when the call was answered. "Make it secure for a woman. Highest level protocols."
Once that was done, he began formulating his plan. Direct confrontation with the Spellman would be unwise—they were too powerful, too connected in S City. Abduction would be challenging given the enhanced security, but not impossible with his resources.
But first, he needed confirmation. Needed to see her with his own eyes, to know for certain that she was truly there.
The Spellman's contract meeting with the Monroe family was approaching, despite their shadowy reputation. Kaison had intended to send a representative rather than attending himself, preferring to avoid such public spectacles.
This time would be different.
He would attend personally, would position himself strategically, and wait for the moment Amirah appeared—if indeed she was well enough to participate in such an event. And he would watch. Would see for himself what had become of the woman who had shared his home, his bed.
After that... well, after that would depend on what he discovered. But one thing was certain: Amiriah Spellman would not remain beyond his reach for long. She had been his once. She would be his again.
As plans crystallized in his mind, the room temperature rose perceptibly, blue flames dancing across the surface of his desk, scorching the files laid out there. Kaison barely noticed, his thoughts consumed with the woman who had slipped away from him once.
It would not happen again.