The figure stepped into full view, a smile on her lips as she stepped forward. Her long black coat swayed with every step, lined with silver markings that glowed faintly.

    Underneath that coat was a fitted black dress that clung to her figure, with an opening on her chest, also revealing her cleavage.

    Once she came into the light, her pink eyes never left Asher''s, not even for a second. And he didn''t shift his gaze either.

    "Cinder," Asher muttered, although this was the first time he would be meeting her. He had already seen a picture of her from what Sinnett showed him, she was pretty, no doubt.

    And he could understand why she could easily give poison to men without being fought off. That was impressive.

    She tilted her head, her smile widening. "You know me. I''m flattered." Then she flicked her wrist.

    The walls on both sides split open, and soldiers poured in...at least ten of them, fully armored and armed with automatic rifles and poison-tipped blades.

    They didn''t hesitate for a second. They opened fire.

    "Shit!" Asher cussed, dodging a bullet that was heading for his eyes. He leapt backward and darted behind a pillar, while Sinnett stood in his spot, observing, as his hair did his work for him.

    Nova, on the other hand, was lying flat on the ground. Her bow and arrow both appeared in her hands, and she immediately began firing back, using the cloud of dust that formed to hide herself.

    "Bingo," Sinnett mumbled with a smile. His locs stopped moving, and he slowly phased completely, just a mere outline one could make of his figure, but it would be too late.

    Then he made his way toward the soldiers, blocking and dodging the bullets that came his way.

    Nova rolled to the side. She snapped her fingers, causing her bow to vanish, leaving only her arrows. She stretched her hands forward, keeping her eyes between her index and middle finger, like an aim box.

    Then a black energy formed before her, just enough to be the size of her palm. Then suddenly, incredibly fast-moving needles shot toward their targets.

    Like arrows, but faster. She didn''t miss anything. But there were still a lot of soldiers, yet no one dared go close.

    Once they were confused, she directed her free hand behind her and shot a larger arrow at the cell. It exploded.

    The containment shattered upon impact. Shards flew everywhere, but the moment Zero stepped out, she collapsed immediately. Her eyes fluttered, then rolled back until her body was completely still.

    "Zero?" Nova called lowly when she noticed. She immediately rose to her feet and hurried over to her side. Asher left his spot too. He lifted Zero in his arms as fast as he could and hid behind a pillar again.

    "Nova, get ready to run," he ordered and raised his free hand.

    Nova, understanding what he was doing, switched to her hybrid form, growing a little taller, with her horns gleaming softly in the cloud of dust.

    "Alright, come out," Asher ordered, and his soldiers all filed out before him. They were fewer in number, and he hadn''t noticed, which was strange, but he decided to let it go.

    Orin and Darius stared around them with frowns. Asher knew what they wanted to ask, and he replied, "She''s gone. It''s just you two."

    "Oh, understood, Master. What do you need us to do?"

    "Create an opening for us, and back Sinnett up," he gestured at the soldiers firing, and at Cinder, who stood at the corner, watching everything with a stick of sorts between her lips.

    Asher''s soldiers nodded and blended into the shadowed parts of the hall. Once Asher was certain they had already begun attacking, he gave Nova signals, and she moved. Sёar?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They had to hurry up, because Zero''s body was burning up horribly—not in a way one would say it was just a fever. It was terrible. Yet her palms were cold, which was also strange, and her pulse was nearly impossible to feel.

    Sinnett, who spotted them leaving, called out, "Leave the building, don''t wait for me... I can handle her."

    Cinder''s laugh echoed through the hall. "Really? You think you can handle me?"

    Sinnett reappeared before her, phasing past the guards that had been protecting her. His silver eyes were now glowing softly, but at the center was a faint purple.

    His skin shimmered for a moment—scales appeared on his arms but then vanished. Then he whispered, loud enough for only her to hear, "You know, you''re not the only one with poison in you."

    Cinder''s smirk faltered for just a second before she lifted her hand and sent a cloud of purple smoke toward him.

    It hit him, of course, and he even inhaled it—but it did nothing. Not even a scratch.

    Sinnett walked through it, laughing softly. He looked at the smoke dancing over his skin, then licked the corner of his lips, revealing his split tongue.

    "Tastes familiar. Sweet, though," he mumbled, and dusted the rest off him.

    She narrowed her eyes. "Impossible."

    Behind them, the soldiers rushed toward Nova and Asher as they ran out, but Nova didn''t let them get close. She turned around swiftly, still moving, shot a series of arrows, and turned to keep moving.

    Two soldiers fell immediately. Another screamed as an arrow hit his shoulder and detonated, tossing him backward into a wall.

    Asher, cradling Zero, ran past the fight, weaving between the chaos and fallen soldiers. Nova followed, covering him as best she could.

    Meanwhile, Sinnett and Cinder began fighting.

    She moved fast –faster than he expected—with sharpened fingertips that also had poison on them. He met her with a punch that sent a shockwave through the air and even broke some pillars.

    She managed to steady herself before crashing into the wall, and she spun, launching multiple needles from her wrist.

    They hit Sinnett and sank into his skin, causing him to stop. He glanced at them, unimpressed, and yanked them out.

    "I wonder how you must have forgotten so easily," he muttered, taking another step. "You should be a thousand years old, if I considered your dragon age... but you''re actually eighteen, right?"

    She frowned. "And what does that have to do with you?"

    "Just wanted to know if you remember Sinnett Varrow," he paused and shoved his hand into his pocket. "You were there that night, right?"

    "Varrow... Varrow..." she mumbled to herself, shifting her gaze to the ceiling to think. "Yeah, but I don''t know who Sinnett is... I ask again, what does that have to do with you?"

    "Just trying to find out who wiped them out, that''s why I''m even here. I figured the only girl with the ability to make poison within her would know, since she''s also a relative."

    She chuckled softly, then released a scoff. "Those self-centered, over powered bastards deserved to die. And besides, they were too powerful to be kept alive. Like imagine they''d be alive, i''d have to live with the fact I''m not the only unique kid."

    Sinnett smiled, glad she was actually talking casually with him, maybe because she thought he wasn''t dangerous, or that she could easily kill him off.

    That was a good trait of an intelligent person: get you calm and then hit you with a horrible attack that would instantly kill.

    "Ahh..." he exclaimed, raising a hand to his lips. "That means you know they are like you."

    She shrugged. "Yes. An annoying bloodline, nearly impossible to kill if we didn''t use that old guy''s abilities."

    Sinnett''s brow curved. "You don''t happen to be talking about the dragon dude?"

    "Yes, him. He''s missing now, which is none of your business... I ask again, who are you?"

    "Someone you should be very worried about."