Chapter 143 Adorably Cruel

Chapter 143 Adorably Cruel
[Cedric]

We brought the woman—Lydia, I gathered from their conversation—into a magical cell in the basement. Lana removed the gag from her mouth.

Lydia looked up, her eyes filled with hatred despite her obvious pain. "Freya...good to see you," she spat, voice dripping with venom. Their mutual animosity was palpable.

Gabriel clenched his fists. "She should be executed immediately. She's caused enough damage."

Emerson, more collected, countered, "We should extract all information about the hunter organization from her first."

Lana turned to her mother with a challenging tone. "Mom, what do you think? She killed your mother, after all."

Freya looked at her longtime enemy with a cold expression. "According to Council regulations, she should receive a public trial."

Lana laughed loudly. "The Council? Mom, I've killed most of them already. The few who remain are terrified."

Freya shook her head, somewhere between exasperated and amused. "Sometimes I forget my daughter is a revolutionary."

Gabriel interjected, "Technically, she's a wanted criminal. We have the right to execute her on the spot."

"And her actions after escaping warrant a death sentence anyway," Emerson added.

Freya looked at her daughter's expectant face and sighed. "Fine, do what you want. She's getting the death penalty either way. But I want it clean and quick."

Lana's smile widened. "I promise, Mom. Clean and quick."

The wicked gleam in her eyes made it clear she had no intention of keeping that promise. Like hell I'd believe her "clean and quick." But damn, she was cute like this. I caught myself smiling at her excitement and wondered if her darkness was starting to infect me too.

[Lana]

I stood alone in the basement, admiring my handiwork. Lydia's body lay before me, her expression frozen in that final moment of terror when she realized her centuries of running had ended at my hands. A smile of satisfaction spread across my face. After all these years, justice for my grandmother was finally mine to deliver.

"Perfect," I whispered, raising my hands. Dark energy swirled around my fingertips, deep and violet as a bruise. With a simple gesture, I sent that energy cascading over Lydia's body.

The corpse erupted in unnatural purple flames, burning hot and fast. No screams, no struggle—just the quiet crackling of flesh and bone becoming ash. Far neater than blood.

"Ashes are always easier to clean up than blood," I murmured to myself, watching the last of her disappear into fine gray dust.

I knelt beside the remains, conjuring a small glass vial from thin air. With practiced movements, I collected the ashes, my fingers moving with the delicate precision of someone harvesting rare flowers. When I finished, I held the vial up to the dim light, admiring my collection. Grandmother's murderer, reduced to nothing more than a jar of dust. Poetic.

I pocketed the vial and headed upstairs, my steps light and my mood buoyant. The family's garden beckoned, bright with late morning sunshine. As I emerged from the house, I spotted Cedric among the rose bushes, his fingers gently touching a crimson bloom. He looked... peaceful. The sight stirred something unfamiliar in my chest.

"The roses here are beautiful," he said as I approached, his voice carrying across the garden. "Did you tend to them as a child?"

I couldn't help the small smile that crept across my face. "They're about to become even more beautiful," I replied, pulling the glass vial from my pocket and giving it a little shake. The ashes inside swirled like a miniature storm.

Cedric's brow furrowed in confusion. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the vial.

"Lydia's ashes," I answered cheerfully, watching his expression transform from curiosity to horror. "Roses love to feed on the nutrients of enemies."

I unscrewed the cap and began sprinkling the fine gray powder across the base of the rosebushes, humming softly as I worked. The ritual felt satisfying—returning Lydia to the earth beneath the flowers my grandmother had once loved.

When I glanced up, Cedric had taken a step back, his face pale. The fear in his eyes was unmistakable.

"You coward," I laughed, amused by his reaction. "It's just a corpse."

"It's not that," he said, but his voice betrayed him. I could feel his unease pulsing through our bond like an erratic heartbeat.

I finished my task and wiped my hands on my jeans. Suddenly, I felt a rush of excitement. "Let's go up to the mountain! I haven't been home in so long."

"The... mountain?" Cedric echoed, clearly trying to regain his composure.

"I want to show you my childhood hideout," I said, surprising myself with my eagerness. "There's a beautiful forest there."

Cedric nodded, relief flooding his features at the change of subject. "I'd like that."

We walked up the mountain path side by side, my fingers occasionally brushing against his. I pointed out landmarks as we went, memories surfacing that I hadn't accessed in decades.

"When I was little, Raven and I lived in the city," I explained, gesturing toward the distant skyline. "Then Mother grew tired of urban life, and we moved back here."

I indicated a stone structure partially visible through the trees. "That's my grandmother's castle. Though she disowned us long before I was born."

Cedric listened attentively, his curiosity evident in every question he asked. His genuine interest in my past felt... oddly pleasant.

We passed through a dense section of woodland, emerging into a sprawling meadow carpeted with wildflowers. With a casual wave of my hand, I sent a gentle breeze through the field. The flowers swayed in response, releasing tiny sparkles of light that danced above their petals.

"My mother created this meadow when I was small," I said, watching Cedric's face light up with wonder. "The flowers change color based on the emotions of whoever approaches them."

Around Cedric, the nearest blossoms shifted from blue to a deep purple, revealing his relaxed curiosity. I didn't mention what my own nearby flowers revealed—their edges tinged with the black of my constant darkness.

"Race you to the lake," I challenged suddenly, already darting toward the tree line before he could respond.

I heard his surprised laugh behind me, then the sound of his footsteps accelerating. We tore through the forest, both moving with supernatural speed, dodging trees and leaping over fallen logs. The wind whipped my hair back, and for a moment, I felt lighter than I had in centuries.

Cedric kept pace beside me, his movements fluid and powerful. Our eyes met briefly as we raced, and I felt something electric pass between us.

We burst from the trees, the hidden lake appearing before us, its surface glittering in the afternoon sun. Without breaking stride, I ran straight toward the water's edge.

"Last one in is a human!" I called over my shoulder, shedding my jacket as I ran.