"You both okay?" Kai's voice softened as he addressed them both carefully, his eyes flicked between Kady and Anya.
Kady was still trembling, shock seeping out of her bones, but she managed a nod. Anya nodded too, only for the dam inside her to finally break. The reality hit her like a tidal wave: everyone else was dead, butchered before her eyes. And worse she had almost been raped by the very entity they had summoned. Her legs buckled and she sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Kady moved instantly, wrapping her arms around her, whispering soft reassurances, rocking her as if to shield her from the memory.
Kai's gaze lingered a moment, unreadable. Then he turned to Travis.
"We need this place cleaned out. Every inch."
Travis gave a curt nod.
Kai crouched near Kady, lowering his tone. "Are you ready to come back to Brakebills?"
Her eyes snapped up. "No."
"You don't have to worry about the punishment," Kai said quickly. "I'll get Henry to lift it. He owes me—"
"I said no." The firmness in her voice startled him. It was a kind of defiance he wasn't expecting from her.
Kai tilted his head, studying her as if she were a puzzle he hadn't expected. "Okay… why? The safest place for you both is Brakebills. So why not?"
"No," she repeated, even sharper.
He exhaled, long and slow, then nodded. "Fine. Then do you at least have anywhere else to go? At least until we sort out this mess." His eyes swept the blood-slick floor, the strewn body parts, the copper tang of gore still clinging to the air.
Kady hesitated, then nodded. "I have a place."
"Good." Kai straightened, dusting his hands as though the problem were already boxed up. "First things first—"
"Kai—"
"Travis, compel everyone in the area. No witnesses. Plausible deniability, blah blah—"
"Ugh, boss—"
"Travis, don't whine. Plausible deniability is everyone's best friend."
"KAI!" Kady's voice cracked like a whip.
"What?!"
She pointed.
Travis wasn't staring at her. He was staring at what she was pointing at which turned out to be… nothing.
Kai followed his gaze. His heart dropped.
"Where the bloody hell… is that statue?"
The space where the statue was a minute ago was empty. Reynard's petrified form was gone.
It hadn't crumbled. It hadn't cracked. It had simply… vanished.
An eerie silence fell. The air seemed colder and the shadows grew deeper.
Kai's mind ran the possibilities, none of them good. Reynard couldn't have broken out alone. The petrification spell was absolute especially after reinforcing it with divine magic. That meant someone had helped him. Someone who had slipped in, unnoticed, right under Kai's nose.
Another god.
The realization struck like ice water. Rage flared hot in his chest. His fist slammed into the wall, stone shattering beneath his knuckles. Anya jumped at the sound, eyes wide with fresh fear.
Kady's voice trembled. "Kai… what's going on? How the fuck did he escape?"
Kai steadied his breath, forcing composure. "There's only one person who could've taken him. The only one who'd let a monster like him run free."
Travis frowned. "Boss, you're not making sense."
"The fucking Lady Underground," Kai said, his voice low, bitter. "Persephone. Wife of Hades. Reynard's mother."
Anya gagged, stumbling forward before vomiting across the floor. Kady paled, voice shaking. "She's… she's his mother?"
Kai nodded grimly. "And a type of mother who will do anything for her child. Even stand by and watch him defile her servants. Just for attention."
The fury simmered in him, barely contained. 'There goes my reserve of divine magic.'
Originally, he had thought it simple. Siphon enough of Reynard's essence, forge a god-killing bullet, end him clean. But then another thought had come. Why kill him when he could use him? Keep him petrified, siphoning enough power to make more hybrids, lord knows they come in handy and proven by how easy they made it in subduing the god, maybe even craft an ascendant or two. Build a personal realm of his own. And then, when he was done, dump Reynard at the bottom of the Mariana Trench with a cloaking spell… maybe a hundred cloaking spells in another reality or even Chuck him into space.
It had sounded so good at the time.
"Ahhhhhh," Kai muttered, dragging his hands over his face. "I want to rip that stupid bitch apart for taking my prize… oh well. Plan B."
His voice turned sharp again. "Travis, get to cleaning. You—" he pointed at Kady—"where's this place? I'll take you both."
---
A while later, they stood outside a rundown apartment building. The bricks were cracked, the windows dirty. But when Kai pushed the door open, the inside was much more different compared to what he was expecting, it was with warmth, spacious and pristine, as though it belonged to another world entirely.
He arched a brow. "Okay… what the hell is this?"
"Interior Glamour," Kady explained quickly. "Layered. Makes the inside better, bigger and cleaner. It hides what's actually there."
Kai smirked. "So basically magical catfishing for real estate. Nice."
Kady helped Anya to a bedroom, where she finally collapsed into sleep. Then Kady returned to the living room, sinking onto the couch beside Kai.
"…Thank you," she said softly.
He nodded, saying nothing.
"Will you be okay?" he asked finally.
Kady's laugh was bitter. "If you hadn't made it on time… Anya and I would've—"
"Don't." His tone cut through hers, sharp but steady. "Don't think like that."
Silence lingered, until Kai broke it. "It's okay to ask me about him, you know. He misses you too."
A sad chuckle escaped her lips. "…How is he?"
Kai smirked faintly. "Oh, you know Penny. Still a dick, but with better hair."
Kady laughed, shaking her head. "You should come back and tell him that yourself."
Her smile faded at that making Kai sigh. "…But you won't will you."
He glanced toward the bedroom. "Take care of her, will you?"
Kady turned to Anya and nod and when she turned back to Kai, the space beside her was empty.
Kai was gone.
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