He moved impossibly fast, and the chains wrapped around me before I could react. The moment they touched my skin, agony exploded through me. The white fire engulfed me, smothered by whatever magic was woven into this chain.
"No!" I struggled, but the chains tightened, burning deeper.
"Silver chains forged in Phoenix ash," the Hunter explained. "Specifically designed to bind your kind. The more you struggle, the tighter they get."
"Excellent timing," I heard father say with relief. "Subdue her completely. The vampires want her alive."
"Obviously," the Hunter said, pulling the chains tighter. I screamed as they burned into my flesh. "Though after that display, I'm tempted to just kill her. White fire Phoenix-those are supposed to be extinct."
"She's the last one," Father said. "That's why she's so valuable."
"Then the vampires will pay double," the Hunter said.
Through the pain, I saw my mates trying to reach me. Avalon was fighting through a wall of Father's guards. Zane was dragging himself forward despite his broken arm. Osilus was gathering earth magic for another attack.
And Bron was healing, the burns already fading as vampire blood worked its dark magic.
"Kill the mates," Father ordered the Hunter. "They're witnesses."
"No!" I screamed, pulling against the chains. They cut deeper, and I felt blood running down my arms.
The Hunter pulled out three silver daggers. "This won't take long."
He threw them in one precise motion. One for each mate.
Time seemed to slow as I watched the daggers fly through the air, saw them move toward the men I'd somehow come to care about. The men fate had bound me to.
And I realized I couldn't let them die.
Not for me. Not because of me.
I stopped fighting the chains. Instead, I pulled them inward, just like before. Let the silver bite deeper, let the Phoenix ash recognize what I was.
"What are you doing?" the Hunter demanded. "Stop..."
But it was too late as the chains exploded, this time, the explosion wasn't just fire. It was pure Phoenix power, ancient and terrible, the kind that had made vampires hunt us to extinction.
The silver daggers vaporized mid-flight. The Hunter was thrown backward, his mask cracking. Father's guards simply ceased to exist, turned to ash in an instant.
And Bron, with his vampire-enhanced blood, screamed as the white fire found him again. This time, there was no resistance. The vampire blood that gave him strength became his weakness as it boiled and burned.
"Zephyr!" Avalon called out, "You're burning too hot! You'll kill yourself!"
He was right. I could feel it-the Phoenix fire consuming me from the inside out. Using this much power would destroy me.
But I didn't care.
"GET FATHER!" I screamed at my mates. "Don't let him escape!"
Then I turned my full attention to Bron.
He tried to run, but the white fire was already eating through him. His vampire-enhanced speed meant nothing when every movement just spread the flames faster.
"Zephyr, please," he gasped, falling to his knees. "I'm your brother-"
"You stopped being my brother when you held Mother down," I said, walking toward him through the flames. "When you watched her die. When you tried to kill me."
"It was Father's idea," Bron said desperately. "He made me do it..."
"Liar," I said. "You enjoyed it. I can see it in your eyes. You enjoyed watching her suffer."
"She deserved it," Bron spat, his true nature finally showing through the fear. "Always so perfect and loving. Making the rest of us look like monsters. We ARE monsters, Zephyr. That's what this world made us."
"Then die like one," I said, and let the white fire consume him completely.
His screams echoed through the estate as he burned. I made sure every second hurt, made sure he felt every bit of agony Mother had felt.
When he finally stopped screaming, when there was nothing left but ash, so I turned to find the Hunter.
He was struggling to stand, his leather armor burned and smoking. "You're insane," he said. "Using that much power, you'll burn yourself out-"
"Good," I said. "Because I'm taking you with me."
I grabbed him, and white fire poured from my hands into his body. He screamed, but I didn't let go.
"How many?" I demanded. "How many Phoenixes have you killed?"
"Dozens," he gasped. "Maybe more-I stopped counting-"
"Their names," I said, burning hotter. "Tell me their names."
"I don't-I don't remember-they were just targets-"
"NAMES!" The white fire surged, and he shrieked.
" I don't know... they are so many... please..."
"You don't get to forget them," I said. "You don't get to erase them like they never existed."
I pressed my other hand to his forehead and did exactly what I'd planned for Father. I burned away his memories, his identity, everything that made him who he was. But I left the pain. Left him aware enough to know he'd lost everything.
When I released him, he collapsed, he was still breathing.
"That's for every Phoenix you killed," I said.
Then I heard fighting from downstairs and remembered Father.
I ran, or tried to as my legs barely worked, and every step sent pain shooting through me. The white fire had taken too much. I could feel my Phoenix burning out and consuming itself.
But I had to reach him. Had to finish this.
I stumbled down the stairs to find Avalon, Zane, and Osilus surrounding Father in the main hall. He was cornered, holding a silver knife, looking desperately for escape.
"Zephyr," he said when he saw me, and his voice actually shook. "Daughter, Please. I'm your father-"
"You're nothing," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "You killed Mother. You tried to kill me. You turned Bron into a monster."
"I did what I had to do," he said. "To survive, to maintain our position. You would have done the same..."
"I would have protected my family," I corrected. "Not sold them."
"The vampires gave me no choice," he said desperately. "They threatened everything to take everything. Sacrificing one person to save hundreds...it's just math..."
"It was Mother!" I screamed, and the last of the white fire flared. "She loved you! She trusted you! And what did you do? You poisoned her!"
"She was going to expose me," Father said, his mask finally slipping. "Going to tell the pack what I'd done. I couldn't allow that. My reputation, my power-"
"Your reputation," I repeated flatly. "You killed her for your reputation?"
"Yes," he said, and there was no remorse in his voice. "And I'd do it again. Just like I'd kill you if it means keeping what's mine."
He attacked with the silver knife but I was faster.
I caught his wrist, and the knife clattered to the ground. Then I placed my hand over his heart.
"This is for Mother," I whispered.
White fire poured into him. Not the quick consuming flames I'd used on Bron. Something slower. More painful. I burned him from the inside out, cooking his organs, boiling his blood, making every second an eternity of agony.
He screamed until his throat gave out. But I didn't stop even as he kept screaming silently. I watched his eyes, made sure he knew exactly who was killing him. When he finally died, I let his body fall.
The last of the white fire went out completely, and I collapsed.
But before I reached the floor, strong arms caught me.
"Zephyr! Stay with me! Osilus, get the healers!"
"Did I... did I get them?" I managed to ask.
"You got them," Avalon confirmed.
"Good," I said, then allowed the darkness pull me under.
I woke up three days later.
The first thing I felt was pain-a deep, bone-deep exhaustion that went beyond physical. The white fire had burned through me completely, leaving me hollowed out.
"Easy," Osilus said. "Don't try to move yet."
I forced my eyes open to find all three of my mates surrounding the bed. They looked terrible-Avalon had bandages across his chest, Zane's arm was in a sling, and Osilus had dark circles under his eyes.
"How bad was it?" I whispered.
"Bad," Avalon admitted. "You used white fire which is a Phoenix's last resort-the power that burns everything, including yourself. You're lucky to be alive."
"What about them?" I asked.
"They're both dead," Zane confirmed with savage satisfaction. "Along with most of his men. The ones who survived are talking about the vampire deal, the murders, everything."
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of what I'd done settle over me. "I finally avenged your death mum."
"There's something else," he said and I could feel the tension in his voice.
"The vampires are coming," he said quietly.
