Dragons Lose Their Grip

A hidden bunker outside Jakarta. The air inside the bunker was thick, humid from the sweat pouring off Felix’s skin, heavy with the scent of metal and burning ozone. Shadows flickered across the concrete walls, cast by the dim emergency lights pulsing overhead.

Felix sat against the wall, legs sprawled, body shaking violently. Heat radiated from him in waves, making the air shimmer. His skin, slick with sweat, had taken on an unnatural glow, faint embers sparking across his arms. His breath came in ragged gasps, and when he spoke, his voice was barely human.

“Something’s wrong.”

Eka was already working, her hands a blur over the portable scanner. Data streamed across her tablet, numbers jumping wildly, none of it making sense. “His core temperature is at 45 degrees and climbing—he should already be in shock.”