Chapter 455: The job must be finished.

Zena’s jaw tightened. "It had to be Trinity. She knew about my plans. Our friendship was already falling apart back then. If it wasn’t her, then...perhaps it was Sabrina?"

"It wasn’t them," a shaking voice called out from behind the Grand Elder. "It was Holly Demerides."

The crowd parted. Tori stumbled forward, her face completely pale and soaked with tears. She stood before Zena, her body trembling violently as she sobbed. "I am so sorry, Zena... I should have known better than to trust her! I should have seen it!"

Zena stared at her in utter shock. "Tori... are you sure?"

Tori was too distraught to speak, burying her face in her trembling hands.

"We interrogated the humans that worked in the silo and they confessed," Zyra explained bitterly. "Holly was working for Erik long before you met with the twins while on the run."

Zena choked on a sharp breath, her hand flying to her chest. Holly had been her dear friend for years. The betrayal hit her like a physical blow. But then she looked at Tori, who was completely broken and sobbing uncontrollably. If anyone was feeling worse than she was, it was Tori.

Zena stepped forward and wrapped Tori in a tight, protective hug. Tori buried her head into Zena’s shoulder, weeping as years of grief and guilt poured out of her.

"I never stopped looking for you," Tori sobbed against her neck. "The moment I got your message; I started the search. I left the guild, quit my job, I left everything and focused on you. I searched everywhere! I just... I didn’t know my traitor of a sister was blocking every single plan to find you..."

The Grand Elder grunted, his eyes darkening. "Speaking of the traitor... where is Holly now?"

"She’s locked up inside the Warden Tree," Zyra said coldly.

"Good," the Grand Elder gritted his teeth. "We will deal with her later."

Almeida ran a hand over his face, shaking his head in deep shame. "I had no idea any of this horror was happening right under my roof," he said, turning to address Zena and the nearby maidens. "I am deeply, deeply sorry. To all of you."

The Grand Elder turned to Almeida. "Almeida... can you hold off on taking the ship back just yet? I know that you plan to leave and all that."

Almeida shook his head with a small, sad chuckle. "I am not so unreasonable as to demand my ship back immediately after everything you’ve suffered. It’s useful to all of us. Take all the time you need." He turned and looked at Zena and Zyra, it was horrible what had happened to the family.

He remembered the last time he had met Mr. Abel Price, the human father who dared to go beyond the veil seeking for a solution to seal his daughter’s bloodline. Almeida had told him where to go, not knowing that someday he would across the man’s daughter. Or, that daughter would be married to his son.

Hunter looked over at the Scorpion women, his brow furrowed in thought. "What about the hybrid babies back in the pods? What are we going to do about them?"

Zyra blinked, her stomach dropping. In all the chaos, she had totally forgotten about the babies in the pods.

"We let them die," Achilles said bluntly from the bench. "We do not know what they did to those kids...they may not be normal hybrids!"

[Host,] the System’s voice chimed softly in Zyra’s mind. [The moment the suction tubes and blood feeds were disconnected from the soul maidens, the hybrid offspring lacked the life force to survive. They have already passed.]

Zyra looked up at the group, her voice heavy. "They... they didn’t survive the disconnect."

A grim silence settled over the room. Before anyone could speak, a sharp chime rang from Almeida’s personal communication device. He pulled out the device, listened for a few seconds, and his face instantly turned to stone.

"What is it?" Hunter asked.

"It’s Othrok," Almeida said, his voice dropping into a lethal, dangerous tone. "He just took over the Red Center. He’s declared Erik the supreme leader and lied to all the knights, telling them that I am dead. It was truly a well a planned coup!" He straightened his back, his eyes burning with fury. "If you’ll excuse me... I have to go clean my own house."

Hunter immediately stepped up beside his father. "I’m going with you."

"Count me in," Zyra said without a second thought.

"We’re all coming," Bullet shouted from the back, with Ivar, Solazo, and the rest of the available combat team stepping forward with weapons ready.

Zena looked at Zyra, her eyes filled with maternal pride and worry. Zyra was so much like her. Nobody could stop her when she wanted to do something they considered crazy, and clearly, it was the same for her daughter. She cupped Zyra’s cheek one last time. "Be safe out there, sweetheart."

Zyra gave her a strong, confident nod. "I will."

The grand elder looked at Zyra and spoke, "I will look after her and bring her up to speed with all that has happened in her absence."

Zyra, Hunter, and the rest of the squad turned toward the portal, stepping through the glowing light to finish the job they had started. As soon as they crossed the veil, Almeida opened a portal to another place. They materialized on the Red Center’s top-most tower, in his office.

Standing behind a grand obsidian desk, holding a heavy golden firearm, was Othrok. The second his eyes landed on Almeida_ alive, healthy, and standing tall_ his jaw dropped so low it almost hit the floor.

"How are you not dead?"

The gun slipped right out of his trembling fingers and hit the ground. Othrok staggered backward, his knees knocking together so violently he completely lost his balance. He slammed down onto one knee, wringing his hands frantically like a beggar.

"Supreme leader Almeida!" Othrok stammered, his voice squeaking in pure panic. "You’re... you’re alive?! I didn’t know! I heard that you were dead! I was just trying to keep order!"

Zyra stepped forward, her arms crossed over her chest, a dangerous smirk playing on her lips. "Oh yeah, heard from who, Erik?"

Before Othrok could invent a clever lie, Ivar stepped out from the group, glaring down at the trembling man with absolute disgust. "That is right, Zyra. He’s one of Erik’s hybrids. We always wondered why he was breeding many of them. Now we know. He was building an army for himself."

Zyra chuckled, a cold, dark sound that made the hair on Othrok’s neck stand up. "Oh, really? Well, lucky for us, a little bit of Oath Sap will make our friend here tell us about every single hybrid and corrupt human working in his evil father’s camp."

Othrok’s eyes went wide with horror. "No! Stay back! Get away from--"

Hunter didn’t give him the chance to scream. He lunged forward, grabbed Othrok by the jaw, and ruthlessly pried his mouth wide open.