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HUNTER

S abine Bloodwyne was a legend in her own right.

Infamous basilisk with no special power but the strength to kill with just one touch. She was the strongest basilisk alive, perhaps aside from her daughter who had been rumored to be even stronger. Unfortunately, the Demon Council was on her bad side ever since the mole had leaked information to Dark Veil about her agent infiltrating the ranks and getting them killed.

Now, we knew the mole was Bane.

Bloodwyne had her short green hair slicked back, and her dull green eyes were burning holes into all of us as we sat inside the Supernatural Council’s Headquarters meeting room. The only Supernatural Council members present were Sabine Bloodwyne, Rowan Clearwater, and Drecken Grimsworn. For the Demon Council, we brought myself, Death, Joel, and Everglow. Though Pandora and the rest of her mates were present as well.

The room was extravagant, with long floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the sunshine. Sunlight splashed off the golden marble floors and walls, blinding me a little.

I drummed my fingers against the large, polished granite table we sat at, trying to ignore my instincts screaming at me that we were in danger. Bloodwyne was fierce, but she had morals. There was no way she would hurt us unprovoked.

However, Bane had provoked her on behalf of the Demon Council.

“For those I haven’t met, I’m SSSabine Bloodwyne, but you may call me Sabine. This is not out of friendlinesssss but rather my own preference. I will call you by your last names out of formality if you wish, and you shall call me by my firssst for the same reason.” Her voice was like ice, stabbing into us as she spoke—even with her speech impediment. “I’m here as an executioner and the agent coordinator today.”

“Sabine has called this meeting to address the biggest development after her agent was killed undercover with Dark Veil because of the mole on your council, Renee Bane,” Clearwater explained.

“I’ve turned over Bane to you.” Everglow nodded in respect.

“You have,” Sabine agreed, her eyes softening slightly. “I alssso have a couple of my agents I’d like to introduce you to. They will handle the investigation and dismemberment of Dark Veil.” She gestured to a young man and woman standing next to her at her spot beside a virtual screen at the front of the room.

“I’m Jesper.” The man had long white hair that was pulled halfway back and a razor-like jawline, and he looked extremely competent. Militarized, just like supernatural agents were supposed to be.

“Hi, I’m April,” the woman squeaked. She, however, looked less competent. She had shoulder-length curly brown hair and brown eyes that were filled with wonder as she looked up at the man she stood beside.

She definitely had a crush on him. I could sense that from her soul when she looked at him. The man, though, did not feel the same way. In fact, it was the opposite. He did not like being around her at all.

“Jesssper is new to this position,” Sabine explained, “but he’s the most advanced, most intelligent agent we’ve had graduate from Apex Elite Academy in a long time. He’sss a dragon and a field agent.”

Jesper nodded his head respectfully toward Sabine, awkwardly taking a step back, away from both Sabine and April.

It seemed they made him uncomfortable.

“April is a sssecond-year student at Apex Elite Academy. She’s also a vampire,” Sabine told us. “She’s just shadowing Jesper for this mission, though. She had the highest marks on the first year final, and the top five students who do are permitted to shadow missions in their second year for one of their classes. Usually, only fourth year students are permitted to.”

“I studied hard,” April sighed dreamily at Jesper, who looked as uncomfortable as his soul felt. “And I appreciate the opportunity.”

“The reason I’ve brought my agents into this cassse is simply because I do not trust the Demon Council anymore. The agent your mole got killed wasss a friend of mine,” she told us with a small crack in her voice. “I already have my agents infiltrating the cult again and gathering intel. I do not want your council involved in this part.”

“We deeply apologize on behalf of the council.” Death bowed his head in respect. “We understand you not wanting us involved in the infiltration. You have plenty of agents at your disposal while we barely have a council at the moment. We are disappointed in ourselves, frankly.”

“We were just as surprised to have a mole,” Joel murmured bitterly. “My infiltration failed with me being captured, anyway. Be aware of any magic you use to conceal identities. Sybil Shaw found mine out with one glimpse.”

“We aren’t using magic to conceal anything. We have an agent who specializes in undercover missions,” Sabine explained.

“Sybil Shaw is strong enough to spot any magical manipulation without effort,” Grimsworn uttered.

“Bane tried to kill me,” Everglow whispered. “I trusted her, and she betrayed me. All of us. She is yours to punish.”

Vengeance bubbled through Sabine as she nodded, and she gave Everglow a bloodthirsty smile.

“You should seek vengeance for your agent in blood,” I declared, agreeing with the others.

“I intend to.” Sabine clapped her hands three times, and the sound echoed through the room.

The agents dipped their heads and disappeared from the room for a few seconds before coming back, dragging Renee Bane by her arms into the room and forcing her onto her knees in front of Sabine.

She was shackled with tourmalyke, and she looked pissed .

Anger slithered through me. I’d trusted her, too. We’d worked beside Bane for years—and my dad had as well before me. How long had she been a traitor?

Bane turned her head to us, tears of hate spilling from her green eyes. “Blackthistle was the only loyal companion I made of you lot.” Her gaze landed on Reed, and she lunged unsuccessfully. “You!”

The agents forced her down again, not letting her up from her knees.

“Charlotte was my godchild!” she screeched at Reed. “Her mother was my best friend! She sacrificed herself earlier than planned when Charlotte had her heart ripped out in her sleep. Don’t think we don’t know you did it!”

“I did do it.” Reed shifted closer to Pandora, who placed a hand on his shoulder. “Your godchild was as evil as you are.”

Unadulterated anger surged through her, palpable in the air even though her magic was useless with those shackles on. “I will kill you!”

“You won’t be killing anyone,” Death growled. “Definitely not my son-in-law.”

“You fucking asshole!” she roared. Her face was red, and I could even sense the anger that radiated off her soul without calling on Pandora’s magic inside of me to do it. “I worked decades to gain your trust so that I could betray you all! I had you in the palm of my hand!” she laughed maniacally. “You had no idea! How does it feel for the legendary soul eater to be outsmarted by a shadow demon?”

“You’re right, we didn’t know,” Joel stated, hurt behind his eyes. Bane had taken him under her wing, so to speak, when he first joined the council. Aside from me, she’d been the one he was closest to. “But you betrayed us.”

“You knew what Penny Bones was doing to my daughter!” Death stood, his hands slamming on the table, making it vibrate underneath my fingertips. The whites of his eyes bled into black.

Bane laughed at him in the most condescending way. “I didn’t know she was yours. I never even met the prophetic baby of dark magic.” Her eyes slid to my mate’s, who tensed beside me. Reed moved even closer to her other side. “I only knew Dark Veil’s plan to bring her up to wield dark magic for us all and bring a new era of demons. I only knew she was failing our expectations, so she was put through conditioning to bring her magic out.”

“You knew!” Death roared, and his aura turned black. “She was innocent!”

I’d never seen him so pissed off.

Vengeance snaked through him. I sensed the need for it in all of us.

“I didn’t know she was yours,” she denied smugly. “But even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you shit. She was supposed to be a new type of demon, but she was utterly disappointing.”

My magic exploded, and a bolt of my power struck dangerously close to her, shutting her up as her eyes found mine.

“SSStop!” Sabine hissed. “She isss my kill. Did you two forget? She got my friend killed.”

Death and I shared a heated glance before he sat back down.

Pandora’s hand found mine and squeezed, and I exhaled a breath. I was barely restraining myself. “I apologize.”

“Me too,” Death murmured. “But please, make it hurt.”

“Make her suffer,” I bit out.

“Breathe,” Pandora whispered, stroking her thumb over my hand. “This is Sabine’s right to kill her. She will make sure justice is served.”

“Death’s daughter isss right.” Sabine's voice slithered through the air, cold and venomous, and her forked tongue flicked out.

“I didn’t just tell Sybil about your agent, I killed that bitch myself,” Bane laughed at Sabine. “Do you want to hear about how I stabbed her with my shadows until she died?”

“I’d rather not.” Sabine’s thirst for vengeance skyrocketed. She stepped forward and slowly lifted her hand—extending her hand toward Bane.

Bane didn’t have time to flinch or scream.

The moment Sabine’s fingertip grazed the bridge of Bane’s nose, her venom struck. Her magic seeped into Bane and squeezed the life out of her with merciless intent.

I’d only heard of her taking lives this way, but I’d never seen it in person.

Bane’s skin tightened, clinging to the sharp ridges of her bones, turning ashen and thin like parchment left in the sun. Her veins had even vanished, leaving behind only a brittle network of gray web beneath the surface. Her cheeks hollowed out, sinking into the contours of her skull. Her lips cracked and peeled away, revealing teeth clenched in silent agony.

“Fates, the pain coming off her is fucking insane,” Dex muttered.

“Good,” Death said. “She deserves every bit of it.”

“Do not feed off it,” Sabine instructed Dex.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he assured her.

Bane’s eyes—burning with cruelty— flickered at Death before they softened, liquefied , and collapsed inward. They oozed down her gaunt cheeks before vanishing into the shadows of her sockets.

Everyone grew impossibly still, and the air filled with the heavy scent of decay.

Bane’s body could no longer hold itself upright.

With a brittle snap, her knees crumbled from underneath her, and she fell onto the marble floor in a grotesque heap. What little remained of her seemed impossibly light, as if a breath could scatter her remains like dust.

That was much worse than what my vengeance magic could do to someone.

It was impressive.

Sabine slowly withdrew her hand, studying the lifeless form before her. There was no satisfaction in her eyes—only cold inevitability. “Let that be a lesson for those who oppose us.”

Silence answered her.

Sabine brushed her hands together with a satisfied smile. “Now, my agents will gather more intel, but we have a plan on dismantling Dark Veil.”

“I want in,” Pandora spoke up, her voice making my heart pound harder. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered by what Sabine had just done.

Sabine’s eyes narrowed on her. “You do?”

“You all know what I’m capable of,” she insisted. “You know I can help.”

Grimsworn began clapping excitedly. “Oh, yes! Let her help. She’s very capable.”

“Shut up.” Sabine rolled her eyes.

“Drecken,” Clearwater growled.

He pouted.

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Death protested slightly.

“Why not?” Sabine asked.

“She’s their target,” I answered, and Death nodded. “Wouldn’t her being involved essentially be putting her in more danger?”

“Yesss.” Sabine’s lips curled into an understanding smile as she stared at my mate. “But this decision would ultimately be up to Pandora Gravesend. Not her father or her mates.”

“Realistically, I’m your biggest weapon,” Pandora stated, her red eyes unwavering. “I’m tired of sitting around being target practice for Dark Veil’s attempts on my life. I want to fight back and eradicate the cult alongside you.”

Clearwater hummed his acknowledgment. “She has a point.”

“I agree,” Sabine said. “That’s that. As long as she wants to, she will be part of our missions to take down Dark Veil. She is the only one of you demons that I trussst. Dark Veil has done far too much to her for her to be on their side.”

Dread welled up in my gut as I looked at my mate. I was worried . I loved her enough to back any decision she would make, but it didn’t make it easy. I hated the thought of her being so involved in taking down the cult that tried to end her life multiple times. However, I’d be right there beside her.

“Pandora is the strongest demon I know.” Joel shrugged, shooting a grin her way. “She saved my life.”

Death grunted.

“You’re her dad.” Joel waved him off. “You’re partly responsible for her greatness.”

“Flattery won’t get you far.” Death frowned.

Joel pouted. “Jenni says flattery is the way to your heart.”

Before Death could retort, Sabine clapped her hands again.

“Draw your attention to the map.” She gestured to the virtual board behind her that now had a map of the Demon Capital pulled up on it. “I want to unify our efforts against the cult. Though I trust Gravesend, I’m hesitant about fully trusting the Demon Council again.”

Five locations were distinctly marked by black triangles, but there was a red circle over the Capital with a question mark.

“The triangles are locations of key ritual sites. There is one location we haven’t found yet that is supposed to mark where the big ritual will go down. All we know is that it’s in the Capital, but we don’t have coordinates yet. Jesper, explain what you’ve found out so far.”

Jesper cleared his throat and nodded, stepping over Bane’s withered corpse with ease. “The key ritual sites Coordinator Sabine brought up are all areas that need to be sabotaged before the ritual dates. These sites are supposed to bring more dark magic into the Demon Capital and thus, Kalista as a whole. Dark Veil is a serious threat to the world as we know it—to demons, specifically.”

We all nodded, engrossed in what Jesper was telling us. The dragon seemed to really know what he was talking about. No wonder Sabine trusted him with this.

“The cult is targeting demonic youth for recruitment, specifically students from Demon Reform Academy. Be aware of your surroundings. If these dark magic infected demons are students, the drake scale ward won’t matter. The wards are in place so that infected demons can’t get in, yes, but if the infected demons are students and staff, the wards may not catch the dark magic infections since they are programmed to protect the students, staff, and student family members at the academy,” he briefed us.

I already was aware of that loophole, but the drake scale was much better than a dragon scale in terms of protection. No wonder Dark Veil was targeting students. They were trying to use that loophole against us, and I was sure it was working.

“We’ve located these sites, and we will find the exact location of our missing ritual. Though, that’s classified as of now. Until we learn of that location, we need to focus on sabotaging the sites we do know.” He smiled coldly. “The first ritual we need to sabotage is in Gleaming Gulf. The next follows in order: Infernal Grove, Sandstone Springs, Demonic Watch Tower, and the Ice Factory. Understood?”

We nodded.

“For the ritual site on the shores of Gleaming Gulf, my squad is coming with us. We believe there to be dark magic present, but that’s, unfortunately, all we know. Since Gravesend has agreed to help, that eases my mind on the threat of dark magic. We need to coordinate these sabotage efforts the day before the rituals take place. To put it frankly, there’s no room for fuck ups.”

Nerves sparked in my gut, but I could feel the surge of desire for vengeance stemming off my mate and everyone else in the room.

“Our first mission will be at the end of this month, the day before Sybil Shaw performs the ritual at Gleaming Gulf. We will be in touch with more information,” Jesper finished his speech and bowed to Sabine.

“I look forward to our combined effortsss to dismantle that cult,” she hissed.

“We feel the same,” Death answered for us, and Pandora nodded in agreement.

“It’s time we take the fight to them,” Pandora rasped, determination bleeding into her words.

I was so fucking proud of her.