CHAPTER 79: NOT THE REGULAR HOSTAGE

The morning sun cast long shadows across the Cincinnati airport tarmac as three black SUVs pulled up in formation. The vehicles came to a synchronized stop near the silver private jet that had brought them to Ohio about a day ago. From the lead vehicle, President Nacht emerged first, his dark coat billowing in the morning breeze.

The other agents followed suit, Amira, Kevin, Jin checking his watch, and Liam stepping out last, his expression thoughtful and distant. The group moved toward the aircraft steadily, and one by one they ascended the stairs into the plane.

Nacht approached Quinn, who stood apart from the boarding party. "You got this then?," Nacht said quietly, extending his hand to Quinn.

She grasped it firmly, her grip conveying both understanding and determination. "The governor’s office confirmed the meeting for this afternoon," Quinn replied. "I’ll make sure they get the help they need."

Twelve victims of the Quillforte experiment had been rescued from that hellish facility, one that subjected them to unspeakable horrors. The previous night, the team had carefully transported them to the same hotel they stayed in, where medical staff and counselors that Quinn had earlier made arrangements for, after the first meeting briefings, were already waiting to begin the long process of rehabilitation.

As the only one remaining behind, she would serve as their advocate, working with Ohio’s governor to ensure these victims received proper care and, where possible, reunification with their families. For those who had no families left to return to, new lives would need to be built from the ashes of their trauma.

Nacht released Quinn’s hand and turned toward the aircraft. "Keep me informed," he said simply, then climbed the stairs slow and steadily. The jet’s engines hummed to life as the stairs retracted and the doors sealed shut. Within minutes, they were taxiing down the runway, Cincinnati falling away beneath them as they headed back toward Detroit.

...

Twenty minutes into the flight, the cabin had settled into a comfortable silence. Liam sat across from Nacht, both men lost in their own thoughts as the landscape rolled by below. The other agents had dispersed throughout the cabin, Amira particularly engrossed in her phone, Kevin staring out the windows and Jin simply resting with his eyes closed.

It was Nacht who broke the silence,with unexpected directness but only between the agent across from him, "Why do you fight?" He asked.

Liam looked up, momentarily caught off guard by the question, but understood where it came from. "To protect the ones I love," Liam replied after a moment’s consideration. It was the simplest truth he could offer, though the full story was far more complex—the dream of the veiled woman and the threat she made, his sister getting kidnapped and how he could some day be the target of the most powerful beings on the planet.

Nacht nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The silence stretched between them again, then Liam this time broke it again. "How come you’re in on this whole thing?" Liam asked, curiosity finally overriding his usual reserve. "Shouldn’t you be against this, given that you’re part of the Thirteen Families?"

A bitter laugh escaped Nacht’s lips. "I rejected my family a long time ago. Only a few people know I’m from the Nyron family, and I intend to keep it that way."

Liam absorbed this information, then asked another question that had suddenly popped up in his mind. "And what about Miss Selene?... Is she part of all this too?"

Nacht shook his head. "She knows this whole arrangement exists, but no, she isn’t part of it. However, she would do anything to protect a member of the White Hunters, even from the families."

Liam nodded, understanding Selene’s position now. She walked a careful line, maintaining her neutrality while offering protection when it mattered most. He turned his gaze to the window, watching clouds drift past as his thoughts inevitably turned to Yaela. If only he had been strong enough to protect her when it truly mattered.

...

Meanwhile, in a mansion resembling a dark cathedral, a very different scene was unfolding. Ophix moved through her dining room with an almost domestic grace, wearing a simple apron over her usual dark attire. She hummed some weird sound as she arranged plates of food on the expansive dining table, dish after dish appearing from the kitchen, carried by her own hands rather than materialized through magic.

Yaela sat at the opposite end of the table, her appearance disheveled from another restless night. Her dark robe hung loosely around her shoulders, and her hair fell in tangles around her face. She watched Ophix’s movements with a mixture of wariness and genuine curiosity.

When Ophix finally removed her apron and tossed it onto an empty chair, she settled into her seat with a satisfied smile. The contrast was jarring, this scene of domestic normalcy between captor and captive defied every expectation of how such situations should unfold.

"Why didn’t you just magic yourself the food?" Yaela asked, her voice carrying genuine intrigue. "Why go through the stress of cooking this much?" She had been held here long enough to witness Ophix’s considerable magical abilities. The question came from a place of honest curiosity rather than defiance.

Ophix’s smile widened as she reached for a serving dish. "Because sometimes there’s satisfaction in cooking your own food." She gestured toward a plate of meat, silently asking Yaela to pass it.

Without hesitation, Yaela complied. The interaction felt surreal in its normalcy. This was not how hostages were supposed to behave, nor how captors typically treated their prisoners. Yet here they sat, sharing a meal like two people who had simply found themselves at the same table.

Ophix noticed Yaela’s hesitant eating pace and chuckled softly. "Eating any slower wouldn’t save you if it was poisoned," she observed with dark amusement before taking another bite of her own food.

Yaela’s expression tightened at the comment, but she swallowed her current bite and increased her pace slightly. Ophix shook her head, finding the girl’s reaction endearing in its transparency. As they continued eating, it occurred to Ophix that she had never bothered to truly know this girl beyond her utility.