Chapter 25 #2
My chest tightened. I could understand the helplessness of feeling like no one in power cared enough to help solve the murder of a loved one, but to do so many terrible things under the guise of grief?
“The vampire who killed your sister was a monster,” I admitted.
“I know that.” Her lips pressed into a white line.
“But you hunted all supernaturals,” I continued. “Instead of demanding justice for Cynthia and for the vampire’s other victims, you came for all of us. You decided one human death meant every supernatural life was collateral.”
“Of course it was collateral! We shouldn’t be at the bottom of the food chain!” she cried out.
“You captured kids,” I snapped, pointing back toward the cell block.
“Teenagers. People who had nothing to do with Cynthia. You ripped the magical essence out of supernatural bodies. You injected my DNA into humans who did not know what they were signing up for. You slaughtered entire villages, and for what? To make yourself feel better? To make your pain loud enough that it had to become everyone else’s problem? ”
Her shoulders shook. Imp magic crackled around her, wild and unfocused, sparks bursting against my skin and dissolving on contact.
“It’s your fault,” she whispered. “If you’d just died in that lab with the others, none of this—”
I drew my hand back and slapped her across the face. My palm connected with a sharp crack that echoed down the corridor. Venom flared across my skin on contact; a paralytic, to be precise.
Allison froze.
Her body locked from head to toe, her muscles seizing. She toppled sideways, hitting the ground hard. Her blue eyes stayed open, pupils blown wide, chest still heaving.
She could feel everything.
She just couldn’t move.
I crouched beside her, my face close to hers.
“Darian suffered before he died. He didn’t get a painless death, and he felt every second.
He made a lot of women suffer, Allison. Not just me.
Even his mother understood the horrible being her son had become.
If you don’t want to believe that, that’s on you. ”
Her eyes rolled, fury and grief swirling.
“My conscience is clear,” I told her. “I made an irredeemable man pay with his life. What did you do? Mate with him and decide that I needed to die because you couldn’t accept he was a monster?”
A tear slid sideways along her cheek into her hairline.
“Just because of one human death, your family built all of this.” I gestured to the facility around us.
“You caged and tortured and experimented on my people, on kids, and on families. You call us monsters?” I shook my head.
“You’re fucked up, Allison Whettlock. I’m going to make you feel the way your victims did until your very last second.
Your dead parents? That’s just the start of it. ”
Her pulse fluttered frantically in her throat, but I turned away from her.
Drecken stepped through a portal next to me, pulling me into his arms. “Thank Fates you’re alright.”
“I’m fine,” I promised, realizing that my mom and Evelyn, along with two Human Council aides, had walked through the portal after him.
My mom’s gaze took in the scene in one sweep, skimming over the paralyzed and dead Whettlocks, and the venom still glistening on my fingertips.
“Status?” she demanded.
“Facility neutralized,” Jesper said crisply. “Cells breached. Survivors in extraction. Whettlock leadership terminated and subdued. Tourmalyke gas disabled, thanks to our tech specialists.”
Mom’s gaze flicked to Allison, pinned on the ground. “Allison is the only survivor?”
“Yes. Paralyzed but stable,” I answered. “I didn’t kill her, even though I wanted to. I killed her mom while protecting my mate, but she killed her own father by missing a hit on me.”
“You did great, honey drop,” Jesper murmured, pride and relief threading through his voice.
Evelyn stepped forward, face pale as she took in the destruction. Shame and horror warred in her expression. “This happened under our noses.”
“Correct,” Mom said coldly. “And this woman—” she nodded at Allison, “—is human, so technically, she’s yours.”
Evelyn’s jaw tightened. “We’ll have a joint trial. Human and Supernatural Councils together. We’ll sign off on extraditing to the Supernatural Council if that’s what it takes to maintain our peace treaty.”
“Oh, it will,” Zuko muttered under his breath, fingering his kit.
Mom nodded in agreement.
“Then we don’t have to have a joint trial or a trial at all, considering all of this evidence.” Evelyn waved her hand around the facility. “I officially leave Allison Whettlock in your hands.”
Mom smiled coldly. “We appreciate that.” She looked at Jesper. “Agent Wyvernheart and his squad will escort Allison Whettlock to a holding cell in the Supernatural Council’s Headquarters. Keep her alive until Rune decides her outcome.”
Jesper smirked faintly. “Understood.”
Allison was lifted by Jesse and tossed roughly over his shoulder.
“Actually,” I interjected. “I’ve already decided what her outcome should be. Let’s put her in the lab at HQ as a research subject. She has imp magical essence inside of her. Drecken has been wanting a live human to do experiments on, and since they thought it was okay to do it to us…”
Drecken’s eyes widened with excitement. “You mean it?”
I nodded. “Let her feel what it’s like. Keep her weak with similar effects tourmalyke has on us.”
“I love you so much, viperling,” Drecken gushed.
Zuko snorted. “But is Sabine okay with this?”
Mom’s gaze met mine and softened. “Yes. Take her to the lab and treat her as she treated my daughter. She will live her short human life as a test subject for us.”
Evelyn winced but said nothing.
Drecken teleported all of us to the Supernatural Council’s lab, and he snapped his fingers, chaining her to a bed and hooking her up with an IV of sedatives.
A scientist was walking by, and Drecken stopped him. “I’d like you to take blood and research her DNA for me. She has imp magical essence inside of her.”
The scientist nodded and scurried away.
Allison’s eyes followed me, and I could easily see the hatred in her aura.
“This is an appropriate punishment,” I mused, glaring at her.
Her breath hitched.
“Don’t you think so?” I added, glancing at Jesper.
He nodded once, brown eyes hard. “Absolutely, honey drop. A taste of her own medicine.”
As we walked out of the lab and into the lobby, Slater came barreling down the hall and hugged me. “You okay, venom baby? I hated every second of not being in there with you.”
“I’m okay.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his lips softly. “You were a lot of help back there, in my ear.”
“Thank Fates,” he groaned. “I felt useless, honestly.”
“Nah.” Zuko clasped his shoulder. “You saved us by deactivating the gas.”
“I guess I was pretty helpful.” He ran his hand through his red hair.
“Everyone was,” Jesper cut in with a soft smile. “I’ve led many missions in the past. This was the smoothest one, and one of the few with no casualties of our agents.”
“Perhaps because of me,” Drecken gloated, referring to how fast he took out the humans before the gas became part of the equation.
“Most likely,” I agreed.
“Instead of being a rep, maybe you should be an agent,” Koa suggested.
Drecken’s face twisted in a sour expression. “As if I would ever give up the lab…” He turned to me with a soft expression. “But if my viperling needs me, I’ll be there.”
“I’m just so happy this is finally over.” I let out a steady breath as my muscles finally loosened.
“Aw, venom baby. You’re so tense.” Slater walked behind me and kneaded the tightness in my shoulders out with his hands. “I also hacked into all of their data storage and wiped it.”
“Thank Fates,” I hissed as I leaned into his touch.
“And I destroyed every single device, sample, and concoction in their lab before we left.” Drecken winked at me.
My heart swelled with victory.
My first true mission as an agent had been more than successful.
It wasn’t just about taking down the Whettlocks.
It was about the kids and supernaturals we’d pulled from those cells.
About reuniting the kidnapped supernaturals with their families, which we could do successfully now.
All but three kidnapped supernaturals, adults who had unfortunately passed away in the cells, had been returned.
The phoenix child Koa knew, the basilisk Zuko knew, and the demon that Slater knew were all home safe.
There were reports that said they planned on trying to see if my DNA would merge with theirs, though.
Thankfully, the humans didn’t get a chance to try.
The outcome of this mission was a win for Mason, the dragon baby Jesper had found, and a win for Seth, who had given his life for mine. This was a victory for every supernatural who’d died because humans thought our lives were a lab resource.
“Killing her parents was therapeutic,” I admitted. “But her being forced to live how she kept the supernaturals she stole? That’s karma.”
Zuko slid his fingers into mine and squeezed. “That’s my pretty little poison. Cruel in all the right ways.”
Koa stepped in on my other side, his eyes soft and fierce. “You did the right thing, little vixen. Beings like that deserve to suffer for their sins.”
Dimitri took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, fangs just brushing my skin. “Lethal darling, justice suits you.”
Slater leaned in from behind, his arms looping around my shoulders. “Venom baby did as amazing as she always does.”
Drecken’s magic curled around my ankles, steady and protective. “I am very glad that you’re on our side, viperling.”
Jesper met my gaze, warmth flooding our bond. “You ended their operation, honey drop. On your terms.”
Peace thrummed through me, knowing that we had burned the human facility from the inside out. We left nothing of the Whettlocks’ work standing.
I pushed my love through all six bonds at once, letting their love fill every spot in my heart.
Kalista wasn’t at peace. Humans still had their factions and their hatred, but the supernaturals still had their own problems. There would be more missions, more blood, and more pain to overcome.
But for the first time since the humans had dragged me into a lab and tried to turn my DNA into a weapon they could wield, I felt balanced.
“The Fates really outdid themselves,” I murmured.
“With what?” Slater asked.
“Blessing me with all of you.” I smiled. “And making damn sure the humans never get to use my power again.”
The Whettlocks and their fucked up research were done, and we would keep trying to make Kalista a better place. If anyone ever tried to weaponize supernatural DNA to fit a human agenda again, they’d learn that we were not theirs to use.