Kaison Pov
The second the call ended, I felt a switch flip inside me—a cold, ruthless determination replacing the carefully cultivated patience I had been exercising for Mira's sake. She was in danger. The knowledge that my cousin—my own blood—had likely played a part in her suffering ignited a rage so profound that the shadows in the car seemed to writhe around me, eager to be unleashed.
I cursed under my breath, yanking the silk hair tie from my pocket—one Mira had left behind at the mansion in Crystal City—and roughly gathering my long locs into a tight bun at the nape of my neck. It was a small connection to her, a reminder of who I was doing this for.
"Change of plans," I barked at my driver, the code words barely audible above the drumming rain. "New priority target: Cole Blackwood. Find him. Now."
Within minutes, the car swerved off the main highway, heading in the opposite direction of my original mission. I tapped my fingers impatiently against my thigh, the blue flame flickering beneath my skin as I pictured Cole's face—smug, self-satisfied, always eager to please Grandfather. Now he would have the chance to please me.
The coordinates led us to a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of the city, a known haunt for low-level criminals and enforcers. My team had been tracking Cole's movements for days, and it seemed my feckless cousin had decided to hole up here, surrounded by armed guards but utterly unaware that he was about to become my prey.
I moved with practiced stealth, my steps silent on the damp pavement as I approached the warehouse. The rain provided excellent cover, obscuring my movements and muffling the sounds of my approach. The few guards posted outside never saw me coming, collapsing silently under my precise and lethal attacks before they could raise an alarm.
Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit, the air thick with the smell of cheap liquor and stale cigarette smoke. I could hear Cole's voice from a back room, loud and boisterous as he regaled a group of thugs with embellished tales of his past glories. He had always been desperate for attention, eager to impress, a trait I had used to my advantage on numerous occasions.
Moving with the speed and precision I had honed over years of training, I cleared the warehouse with brutal efficiency. Each guard fell silently, dispatched with swift, lethal strikes that left no trace of struggle. When I reached the door to Cole's private room, I paused, taking a moment to compose myself. I needed to be in control, to temper my rage and focus on extracting information.
I kicked the door open, sending it crashing against the wall. Cole whirled around in his chair, his eyes widening in shock as he took in the carnage behind me.
"What the hell—" he began, but I was already on him, moving too fast for him to react.
I attacked him from behind, a brutal strike to the base of his skull that sent him tumbling unconscious to the floor. It was a crude, undignified assault, but I had no patience for games. I needed answers, and I needed them now.
I dragged Cole's limp body to a chair in the center of the room and secured him with restraints, ensuring he couldn't escape. Then I retrieved a bucket of ice water from a nearby cooler and tossed it in his face.
He gasped awake, sputtering and coughing, his eyes darting around the room in confusion. "What the hell, Kaison? What are you doing?"
I loomed over him, my face inches from his, my voice a low growl. "Shut up, Cole. What do you know about the patients of Project K at Greystone Hospital?"
Cole blinked, trying to focus on my face. "Project K? Jesus, Kaison, what is this? Some kind of corporate audit? I don't know anything about that shit. That was Johns's project. I just provided some financial oversight."
I resisted the urge to strike him, focusing on maintaining a semblance of control. "Don't lie to me, Cole. I know you were involved. Tell me about the patients."
Cole swallowed hard, fear flickering in his eyes. "Look, man, I just know what Johns told me. It was his baby, his pet project. They were trying to enhance magical abilities, create super soldiers or something. All highly classified, above my pay grade."
"And Dr. Johns?" I pressed, my grip tightening on his shoulder. "What did he do to them?"
Cole hesitated, glancing nervously around the room as if trying to gauge his escape options. "I know that the hospital was crazy, the the buddy Dr.John had worked on that that team."He's very prize position." They all love that one." Cole then added. And I know that Its most prize position was A they called "her," Cole eyes turn red.
The word jolted something inside me a new power and I had no control off."Hearing these my mind went blank anger written all over my face and flames growing. Cole saying how it was always men coming and going out of that cell, its was a girl in there she had to in that hospital since she was like seventeen.I think her name was amia, no amira, no umm."
I looked at Cole the hate burning in side of me. "Amiriah." I said
Cole looked surprise and said " ya thats it amiriah man i wish I could have been given some of her"before Cole could finish his last words something in me took over with my bare hands with all of my power I started punching his face with no stops blood was ever were until someone pulled me off.
"What are doing your going to kill him Kaison". The voice of Vex pulled me off from Cole
" Your here to give him and bring him back alive and to your Grandfather said." I stepped back I had to send him back alive thats the deal I mad with my Grandfather who gave me info about Amiriah.
"Take him," I said, turning my back on Cole. "Before I change my mind."
As soon as he left, and I look at the blood on hands.
Wiping the blood off my hands with a nearby cloth, I prepared to leave. It was time to pay a visit to Greystone Hospital old staff and uncover the secrets that had been buried there for too long. I wouldn't rest until I had all the answers, until I knew exactly what had been done to Mira and who was responsible.
And when I found them, they would learn the true meaning of suffering beneath the consuming heat of my blue flame.