Chapter 370: Fire and Ice (2)
Penelope sighed softly, lowering her hand. She had actually tried to hold back; she hadn’t wanted to end the fight so quickly, but she couldn’t afford to play games forever.
A moment later, the sound of shifting rubble echoed from the dark hole in the building.
Frost stepped out. She was battered beyond recognition. Her hair had reverted to its natural black, and her skin had returned to normal. Her jacket was shredded, severe burns covered her chest and arms, and blood streamed freely from a nasty gash on her temple.
She shuddered, limping forward, dragging her leg. Yet, against all odds, the moisture in the air gathered in her trembling hand, forming a jagged, desperate ice blade. With a primal, agonizing scream, she dashed at Penelope.
Penelope blinked in genuine, awestruck surprise. To still be conscious after that attack, let alone standing, was a testament to an indomitable will. "Interesting," she smiled, truly amused.
Frost reached her and slashed wildly. Penelope simply tilted her torso backward. Frost slashed again, and again, but Penelope evaded every single strike with effortless, fluid grace, moving even cleaner and faster than she had during the peak of their fight. It became blindingly obvious: Penelope had been severely holding back the entire time. And the crazy part was; she was still holding back right now.
"Give it up, darling," Penelope said softly, sidestepping a sloppy thrust. "This fight is over."
"Not yet," Frost gasped, spitting blood. "As long as I live... I haven’t lost yet."
Penelope sighed softly. She blurred, appearing instantly behind Frost, and delivered a surgically precise, soft strike to a nerve cluster at the base of Frost’s neck.
Frost’s entire nervous system seized. She fell hard to her knees, dropping the ice blade. But she wasn’t ready to give up. Her arms shook violently as she stubbornly tried to push herself back up.
Penelope watched in stunned silence. The sheer, raw determination of this girl was unparalleled.
Eventually, Frost’s shaking legs gave out entirely. She stumbled backward against the brick wall of the building behind her, sliding down slowly until she was sitting on the scorched pavement. She let her head fall back against the brick, her eyes half-closed.
"Okay," Frost rasped, her voice barely a whisper. "I give up."
Penelope exhaled a long breath. "Finally," she chuckled. Then she walked forward, stopping a few feet away, and offered a gentle, sympathetic smile. "You look terrible."
Frost rolled her eyes weakly. "Gee, I wonder why."
Penelope chuckled. The humor quickly faded into absolute, profound respect. "I am impressed, Alaya. You managed to push me further than anyone has in a very long time. Fights with me do not normally last this long. You should be very proud of yourself. You fought brilliantly."
Frost coughed, splattering a few drops of blood onto her torn shirt. Instead of snapping back, she looked up at the matriarch with a dark, weary chuckle. "It was an honor fighting you, Your Highness."
"A deal’s a deal," Penelope said, her tone shifting to business. "You lost. So, who hired Black Cobra to kidnap my daughter?"
Frost tilted her head back, her breathing ragged. "If I tell you... the syndicate will have me punished, probably killed." She let out a dark, broken laugh. "But I’m going to die here anyway, so I might as well tell you."
Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "Who was it?"
Frost met her gaze. "It was someone from the de Bree family," she said. "But I don’t know who exactly it is."
Penelope frowned instantly. "Are you certain?"
Frost nodded weakly. "I was in the room when our leader got the request letter," she explained. "It had the de Bree family seal on it. But I didn’t see the signature of the person who sent it."
Penelope’s jaw tightened. She already knew exactly who it was; Felix de Bree. The arrogant, wealthy brat Jayden had humiliated at Kate’s masquerade party a few weeks back. He must have arranged Cassandra’s abduction as petty, psychotic payback for the humiliation she and Jayden had caused him that night.
"What did he ask the syndicate to do to Cassandra?" Penelope asked, her voice dropping to a terrifying, lethal whisper.
"They wanted us to bring her to Geneva," Frost coughed, wincing in pain. "To sell her at a private, underground auction. They planned to buy her as a slave, so it would seem perfectly legal on paper."
Penelope clenched her fists, the air around her instantly spiking in temperature. "That bastard," she seethed. "I am going to destroy everything he holds dear."
"I was the one who was supposed to do the job," Frost admitted quietly, her dark eyes filled with shame. "But I turned it down. I know what happens to girl slaves out there. I couldn’t do it. So, the syndicate passed the job to Scorched instead."
Penelope stared at the broken woman, realizing that Frost still had a shred of morality. "Thank you, Alaya," she said sincerely. "For the information. And for not taking the job."
Frost managed a single nod.
Then Penelope turned her gaze toward the thick shadows pooling near the mouth of the street. "Are you planning on standing there forever?" she asked, referring to the person who had had been there the whole time, watching and waiting patiently.
Jayden stepped out of the shadows, the red neon lights reflecting off his mask. "I didn’t want to interrupt." He said.
Penelope exhaled, smoothing out the un-torn side of her coat. "Well, I’m done here. She’s all yours." Without another word, she turned and walked away down the street, melting into the night to likely secure a quiet perimeter and process what Frost had told her.
Jayden walked calmly across the cratered asphalt, stopping a few feet from Frost.
Frost scoffed, a bitter, cynical smirk on her bloody face. "Guess you’re going to kill me now, huh?"
Jayden looked down at her. "You’ve taken thousands of lives," he said simply. "And destroyed countless others."
"Yes. But how does that make me any different from you?" Frost shot back, her eyes flashing with defiance. "You might have only a few body counts right now, I had a few once too." She looked at him. "But you’re going to have more. You know that."
"Yes. But I’m not like you," Jayden stated coldly. "I’m doing this for—"
"Let me guess..." Frost cut him off. "the greater good?" She laughed—a harsh, barking sound that immediately turned into a violent cough. "That’s what I thought I was doing at first y’know. I worked for the EVA for five years. I did all sorts of tasks for them. I killed for them. I believed in their mission of peace."
She leaned her head against the brick, tears of raw agony welling in her eyes. "And do you know how they repaid my loyalty? They murdered my mother and little brother in cold blood."
Jayden froze beneath his mask. He knew from the bartender that she had lost her family, but he hadn’t known the EVA was responsible.
"The EVA?" he muttered, acting curious. "Why?"
"Because I found out the truth about them. The real truth," Frost spat, pure venom in her voice. "I was going to expose all their corrupt, illegal black-site activities. So they slaughtered my family to shut me up. And then they killed me, too." She pointed a trembling finger to the deep, faint scar hidden near her hairline. "After a shot to the head, they left me in a ditch to rot. I only survived because Black Cobra found me. They saved me and got me where I am today. Alive."
Jayden listened in stunned silence.
"The EVA is just as bad as every other criminal organization out there," Frost continued, her voice cracking. "In fact, they’re much worse. Syndicates like Black Cobra only kidnap, traffic, and extort. They don’t hide what they are. But the EVA? They abduct people for horrific, unauthorized experiments. They manipulate the global system, keeping everyone blindly believing they stand for peace and security while they butcher innocents in the dark. They’re not after the evolution of humanity, they’re just another evil corporation that needs to be burned to the ground." She let out a long, ragged exhale. "So, if you ask me, deciding to work for Black Cobra was just a change of uniform. It’s the same bloody business."
Jayden absorbed every word. The bloodlust inside him vanished, replaced by a profound, hollow realization. Frost wasn’t an heartless murderer. She was just another victim of the EVA’s relentless transgressions. Just like him.
Slowly, Jayden reached up. He tapped the side of his mask. The nanotech retracted seamlessly, revealing his young, hardened face.
Frost’s eyes widened in sheer, utter disbelief. "You? You’re the kid from the bar?" she whispered in shock. "Jay?"
"Actually," Jayden said softly, "it’s Jayden."
Frost smiled. "I did think ’Jay’ was a little vague," she joked. Then she stared at him for a long moment before a tragic, broken chuckle escaped her lips. "Looks like you already let the dark side take over after all. Guess my little speech at the bar was completely useless."
"It wasn’t," Jayden corrected earnestly. "You reminded me of what I’m truly fighting for. My family. You made me realize that if I continue down this path blindly, I might end up losing the very family I’m trying to protect."
Frost nodded her head weakly. "Now you’re getting it. So stop trying to play Batman, kid. Go home. Go enjoy whatever time you have left with your family. In this world, you never know when the last time you see them will be."
"I can’t," Jayden said, his golden eyes filled with an unshakable, heavy resolve. "I already started this war. And I have to finish it. Only when the EVA and the syndicates are destroyed can I live with my family in peace."
Frost looked at him with profound, pitying sadness. "You’re too far gone, kid. But I won’t tell you not to fight," she said softly. "Protecting your family is a noble cause, but at what cost? You could lose your soul, your humanity."
"That’s funny, coming from someone like you." Jayden replied softly.
"It’s too late for me," Frost whispered, a single tear finally slipping down her cheek, cutting through the ash and blood. "But it’s not for you. I might have killed a lot of people, Jayden, but it doesn’t mean I’m an heartless bitch."
Jayden stared at her for a long, heavy moment. The city sirens were getting closer.
"If I spare you," Jayden asked quietly, "will you go on to kill more people?"
Frost offered a tragic, weary smile. "Probably," she said flatly. "It’s what they pay me to do. And honestly? Your very own family might end up on that hit list someday. That’s just how the world works, kid. It’s cruel."
She leaned her head back, exposing her throat. "So why not just kill me now? Cross one more name off your little list. Because if you don’t, I might be the one who ends up putting a blade in your skull down the line."
She closed her eyes, a look of absolute, exhausted peace washing over her broken features. "Do it, Jayden. Save yourself the trouble and send me right down to hell. It’s where I deserve to be."
Jayden stood perfectly still. The only sound was the crackle of the dying flames and the distant wail of sirens. Then....
Snikt.
The brutal, metallic ring of his knuckle claws extending shattered the silence. The razor-sharp blades glinted under the flickering streetlamp.
"Very well," Jayden said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. "Any last words?"
Frost chuckled, keeping her eyes closed. "Just get it over with," she whispered softly.
Jayden inhaled softly, the cool night air filling his lungs. He raised his claws high above his head, and with a blinding, brutal arc, he brought them down.
