A test.
Confused, Hanna’s mouth opened and shut.
No doubt she had told Istvan everything when she was being debriefed, being the perfect obedient soldier. It was what we were trained to do. No questions asked.
She didn’t know it was her death warrant and would be used against her. He got whatever information he needed out of her, and now she was worthless to him. Something to discard. Especially now if he thought her in any way “compromised.” And because her parents were imprisoned, Hanna’s return was a gaffe he couldn’t have. She wouldn’t have accepted their disappearance or whatever story Istvan claimed about them. She would have been a thorn in his side. Another reason to dispose of her.
“Here is your chance, if you really meant what you said, private Molnár. You stated you hated the fae, especially him.” Istvan motioned to Scorpion. “Wished him dead. Here is your revenge. Kill the vile trash.”
Hanna glanced over at Scorpion, their eyes meeting for a moment. Her body shifted with hesitation.
Weakness.
Istvan could smell it from miles away.
“Do not tell me you have grown soft for these monsters?” Istvan clutched the railing, baring his teeth. “Have they tricked your brain into thinking they are human like us? Have you become a traitor fae lover as well?”
“No-no.” Hanna’s head wagged, her voice cracking in half before her expression locked down. “No, sir.”
“Then prove it.” He waved to us. “You prove yourself…here, now, and not only will your parents live, but you might be reinstated back into HDF.”
“Hanna, do it! Do what he says.” Albert yelled from the stands, and Hanna clenched her jaw even stronger.
“He’s lying to you, Hanna.” I shook my head. There were so many dog whistles Caden and I learned to recognize when many did not. People only heard what they wanted.
He didn’t say her parents would be set free or even be treated well, just that they would live. And the strategic game of might be reinstated meant the chances were probably zilch.
Istvan’s glare went to me, his amusement ebbing, while Olena stirred at his side as if she was getting bored.
“Enough talking. Kill them, or you and your parents die miserable deaths. No one will remember you even existed.”
Hanna hesitated, her weight shifting nervously from foot to foot.
It was slight, but I caught the…dip of Istvan’s…head.
Bang!
The gunshot sliced through the arena, my attention jolting back to the stands with a harsh gasp. Blood from Albert’s head sprayed over Nora, his body falling hard to the ground.
Nora and Hanna’s shrill screams pierced the air with horror and grief.
Hanna collapsed to the dirt, deep wails sobbing through her, while a guard held Nora up, her body almost limp with trauma, her arms out, trying to reach for her husband as if there might be a chance to save him.
No remorse or reaction came from Istvan at murdering an old friend in cold blood. Istvan never had much substance before, a man solely driven to gain more power, but now he was becoming a replica of a cruel dictator. A narcissistic psychopath who only feels something when others suffer. And like with any drug, it would have to keep increasing to get the same high off it.
“Better decide quickly, Hanna,” Istvan warned, as the guard with Nora practically was salivating at the idea of killing her.
Hanna tried to fight back the sobs, struggling…to move.
“Lil’ viper.” Scorpion’s voice came out low, barely skimming my ears, almost intimate as he crouched near her.
“Last time I dozed, the little evil viper bit me.” The memory of him calling her that when she was chained up in the base came back to me.
Her sobs shuddered through her body, but she quieted, her blue eyes lifting to his. “Dig deep. I know you got it in you. You gonna keep crying worthless tears, or you gonna come and get me?” He rose back up, looming over her. “Here’s your chance. Were you all talk about kicking my ass? Think you got it in you? I personally think you are just a weak, pathetic human.”
It was a taunt, pushing her to get up and fight, turning her anguish to anger. Saving her mother’s life…
Hanna sneered, taking the bait. She sucked in, climbing to her feet.
“That’s it, come on.” He opened his arms, beckoning her to come and get him. “Show me what you got, Little Viper. I like the way you bite.”
Darting quickly, Hanna swiped up the hairpin I dropped, a sneer curling her lip, going into fighter mode. How fast Scorpion was able to get her to compartmentalize her grief and turn the energy into something operable.
But instead of Scorpion, it turned on me.
Stepping around him, Hanna swiped her arm at me, the dagger of the pin only a breath away from my skin. “This is all your fault.”
I darted back.
“No! Come after me.” Scorpion growled, trying to regain her attention off me. “I’m the one who kept you handcuffed to a pipe.”
“You are just a mindless soldier. Doing what you are told.” Hanna’s eyes never left mine, her pain twisting into fury, but I saw Scorpion flinch at her words. “She is the reason for all of this. It always comes back to her.” Hanna tried to cut me again, but I dodged out of her reach. “Little did I know that someone I considered a good friend would destroy my life and everything I cared about. You took everything.” A flash of agony went across her face. “My father…”
“She is not the reason your father is dead.” Scorpion moved in, creating a triangle, his hands up. “The real person to blame is the man right up there.”
“Does it matter?” Hanna’s lip trembled, no matter how much she tried to hide it. “I won’t let my mother die as well. I—I can’t.”
Fuck, did I understand.
“I know.” My teeth gritted together, my own eyes filling up.
Scorpion’s head swung to me, his eyes wide. I don’t know if it was the tone in my voice or if he was able to pick up on something, but I saw the “no” start to form around his lips, his head shaking.
I was a fighter. A survivor, but I realized with Istvan, there would be no end to the suffering. He would force me to kill each of my friends, leaving me a husk even if I made it out.
If I died, I hopefully would take the most powerful object in the world with me. It needed me. If I was dead, I felt in my gut the magic in it would wane. No one else could ever use it for their own greed and power.
If it wasn’t Istvan, it would be someone else. There would always be another wanting to possess it, to use its power.
I knew what I had to do.
Without hesitation, I whirled on the person standing next to me. My knuckles smashed into the side of Scorpion’s neck, striking the vagus nerve, the exact spot I was trained to hit to knock someone out cold. I couldn’t have him part of this fight. He would only try to stop me.
Scorpion toppled to the side, grabbing his neck, his wide eyes meeting mine in bewilderment.
I hoped in time he’d understand.
Striking again, I hit the pressure point. He tried to gasp for a breath before he fell over into the dirt. Unconscious.
“What are you doing?” Hanna gaped at me when I turned for her.