The vault loomed open, a black mouth swallowing the silence. The glyphs Helena had carved still pulsed faintly, humming like a heartbeat.And Fang—her weapon, her curse, her crown—was leveled at Ethan’s chest.Her eyes glowed red in the dim light, calm and merciless. “You don’t get it, Vale,” she said. “Zurich isn’t just money. It’s power. Thrones are bought here, kings crowned here. Ouroboros doesn’t need you—they need me. And I don’t share.”Wren staggered forward, blood dripping down her arm, blade clenched in her hand. “You backstabbing witch—”“Stay where you are, wolf,” Helena snapped, her voice sharp as steel. “Take one more step, and Vale dies.”Camille froze, her tablet trembling in her grip. She looked from Helena to Ethan, panic rising in her throat. “Helena… you swore—you said we were a team—”“We were,” Helena said coldly. “Until it became clear who should lead. Ethan Vale isn’t a leader. He’s a storm—loud, terrifying, but storms pass. I’m permanent.”Cain chuckled, slow

The Bosphorus shimmered like molten silver beneath the night. Istanbul stretched across both continents like a jeweled crown—ancient mosques, glittering towers, and palaces clinging to the straits. The city of emperors, sultans, and merchants. A city Cain wanted to set ablaze.Ethan stood on the rooftop of the Çırağan Palace hotel, the wind tugging at his coat. Below, black sedans rolled into the courtyard, headlights flaring, armored men stepping out with rifles slung across their chests.Cain joined him at the railing, his smile wolfish. “Beautiful, isn’t it? A city built on conquest, blood, and betrayal. Fitting, really, for your next move.”Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Whose empire am I dismantling tonight?”Cain gestured toward the courtyard. A half dozen patriarchs were entering the palace ballroom—men in silk suits, heavy rings glittering on their fingers, shadows of centuries-old dynasties walking in their wake.“The Demirci Consortium,” Cain said. “Smugglers. Bankers. Arms dealers

The ancient cisterns beneath Istanbul were older than empires. Pillars rose like drowned giants from the black water, their stone faces eroded by centuries of silence. Shadows writhed in the flickering torchlight, disturbed only by the sound of boots splashing and weapons clattering.Ouroboros had chosen the place well—dark, suffocating, impossible to track. But Ethan Vale was not a man easily lost.He stood at the threshold of the underground chamber, his coat dripping with water, Cipher humming faintly in his veins. Behind him, Camille adjusted her earpiece, eyes sharp as she monitored the drone feed. Cain lounged against a pillar with infuriating ease, twirling a dagger between his fingers.“You’re insane,” Camille muttered. “Charging straight into their nest—this is suicide.”Ethan’s voice was iron. “No. This is extraction.”Cain’s grin widened. “Ah, so romantic. Risking empire and blood for one woman. You’re going soft, Vale.”Ethan shot him a look that could freeze fire. “I’d gu

The train to Berlin cut through the night like a blade, its windows tinted black, its passengers silent.Ethan sat shackled at the center of the armored carriage, wrists bound in silver coils that pulsed with Cipher glyphs. Every breath he drew was heavy, every muscle screaming from the Council’s poison running in his veins.He had let them take him.Not because he was weak. Not because he had no choice.Because Cain was right—sometimes a wolf needed to step into the trap so the whole forest could watch him tear free.Across from him, two Enforcers in bronze masks sat rigid, halberds resting against their armored legs. They didn’t blink. They didn’t move. They weren’t men so much as meat sculpted into obedience.Ethan lifted his head, smirking despite the venom burning in his blood. “You boys always this lively on night shifts? Or do you save the conversation for after your lobotomies?”Neither flinched.But he saw the smallest twitch in one’s gauntlet. His grin widened. Even perfect

The chamber felt colder the moment the words left Ethan’s lips.“Ethan Cross: Last King.”The etched script gleamed faintly, as though it were alive, pulsing in rhythm with the Cipher in his veins. He could feel every heartbeat echoing in his bones, every breath weighted with something older than him, older than the Nine, older even than the Council’s cycles.Wren broke the silence first, her voice low, wary.“Cross. Not Vale. Why would it say that?”Ethan didn’t answer. His hand hovered above the plate as though afraid to touch it, afraid to prove it real.Cain stepped closer, his grin feral. “Because Vale was never your name, pup. It was a mask. A cage. But Cross? That’s blood. That’s lineage. That’s why the Cipher bends for you when it devours everyone else.”Camille’s fingers danced frantically across her slate, recording glyphs from the shelves. “The archive predates the Council. If it names him, then the cycles themselves are… wrong. He’s not an anomaly. He’s the endpoint.”Hele