Song: Deep end (Ruelle)
Hope POV
It had taken hours for the chaos of the attack to finally settle.
Hope had done her best to ignore the stares directed at her and her family.
Fear and awe mingled with a myriad of other emotions.
Thirty dead.
That was the preliminary count, not including the wounded.
The groans of pain and the sobbing that had accompanied the arrival of the Enforcers left little doubt about the impact the attack had taken on people’s bodies— but even more so on their minds.
The Councilors were shouting at one another, but the man who would ultimately be forced to shoulder the blame for this disaster was the Sheriff, who had failed to ensure the security of the premises.
After being questioned, the Mikaelsons sat together at a table.
Hope held a red-stained cloth in one hand, the same one she had used to wipe the blood from her face.
“We—
Hope turned to study Cassandra and Mel.
Both women appeared to have escaped the attack unharmed.
But in their case, the wounds were invisible.
“We…” Cassandra began.
She paused before trying again.
“We would like to thank Clan Mikaelson for its assistance during these tragic events.”
“Who knows what might have happened without your intervention.”
“You’d be dead,” Jinx said bluntly.
“All of you.”
Both women visibly shuddered at her words.
“Sweetheart…” Hope murmured.
Jinx rolled her eyes.
“The Council is grateful for your intervention,” Cassandra continued, “and is considering an appropriate reward—”
“We don’t want a reward,” Hope interrupted.
“We would simply like you to do us a small favor.”
Cassandra’s expression grew more cautious.
“What kind of favor?”
Location: Stillwater Prison
Vi POV
The days all blurred together.
Eat.
Sleep.
Hit.
Get hit.
There was something horrifying about getting used to it.
Used to these walls.
To the screams and insults of the prisoners.
But the worst part was the loneliness.
Those moments when you found yourself sitting alone on the cold floor of your cell.
Vi couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed.
At night, in her dreams, she saw the faces of the people she had loved.
Vander.
Mylo.
Claggor.
And Powder.
She watched their faces disappear into the flames.
But the worst dreams were the ones where she heard Powder screaming for her to come back.
Sometimes, she saw Silco stabbing her little sister, a cruel smile on his face.
So she did what she was doing now.
She punched the wall.
Again.
And again.
Because it was the only thing she knew how to do.
She had failed to protect her family.
She had lost her sister.
So she hit.
She hit because she had failed.
She hit to feel alive.
She hit to keep hope alive.
But this time, someone had decided to interrupt her routine.
Vi slowly turned around, already expecting to find a guard there to reprimand her.
Then a tear slowly slipped from her eye.
“Powder.”
A Few Hours Earlier
Jinx POV
“It was an accident.”
“I was only eleven.”
“Stealing from a rich Piltie was a challenge, and Mr.
Talis wasn’t exactly smart enough to hide his wealth.”
“We broke into his apartment.”
“It was supposed to be quick.”
“But then I had to touch those gemstones.”
“And…
boom.”
Her voice faltered.
“My sister took the fall for me.”
“To protect me, she spent years in prison.”
Hope took her hand, knowing how painful it was for Jinx to relive those memories.
“Freeing her sister,” Hope said, “is the favor we’re asking.”
Jinx could see the astonishment on Cassandra’s and Mel’s faces.
After all, the chain of events that had ultimately led to Hextech’s economic revolution had begun at that exact moment.
It had never been an attack.
Just a child’s mistake.
“Very well,” Cassandra said at last.
“By my authority as a Councilor, and in recognition of your act of bravery today, I hereby declare the charges against your sister null and void.”
“She will be released before the end of the day.”
At those words, Jinx lost her balance.
Hope had to catch her and hold her upright.
She looked at her wife with concern before turning toward the two women.
“Thank you.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
By the time Jinx had finally regained some of her strength, they were back at the manor, and dawn was beginning to break.
How long had they spent in that ballroom?
Jinx didn’t care.
Her sister would soon be free.
The family she had believed she’d lost would soon be by her side again.
And as her wife helped her wash the smell of blood from her skin beneath the shower, Jinx found herself drifting back into the past.
⸻
While Jinx was lost in her memories, two women stared down at the documents spread across the desk before them.
“Just as I thought,” Cassandra said.
“There was no trial.”
“I’ve never met this Vi, nor did I ever sign an order for her imprisonment.”
She stared at a file containing only a single entry:
Prisoner 516 — Incarcerated for the explosion of a building.
“Then how?” Mel asked.
“Do you really need to ask?”
“It was either Salo or Hoskel.”
“One of them probably saw the reason for imprisonment and signed off on it without another thought.”
Cassandra sighed.
“Are you going to tell them?”
“There would be no point now.”
Cassandra remained silent for a moment.
“I’d like to believe I might have hesitated if I’d known her age.”
“But my daughter was inside that building.”
“My anger might have gotten the better of me.”
She picked up the official release order.
“All we can do now is keep our word.”
Cassandra brought her seal down upon the document.
The authorization for Vi’s release was granted.
Hope POV
“Are you sure?” Hope asked.
Cassandra had contacted them to let them know that the documents had been signed.
All they had to do now was wait for the transport that would bring Vi back from the prison island.
But Jinx had decided that wasn’t good enough.
She wanted to go there herself.
“She’s spent enough time alone.”
“I won’t let her suffer for even one more second,” Jinx said.
The transport car slowly approached them.
There were only two ways to reach the island.
By sea…
or by the elevated railway.
That was why Stillwater had earned its reputation as inescapable.
Hope couldn’t help thinking about all the lives that had been lost behind those steel walls.
When the car came to a stop, she gently took her wife’s hand.
Somehow, Jinx seemed more fragile today.
As though the slightest thing might shatter her.
It frightened Hope.
Because she knew exactly who had the power to hurt Jinx without even trying.
And that person was sitting inside a cell.
They boarded the car and sat on the floor.
There was nothing luxurious about these transports.
Everything had been designed to carry as many people as possible.
At that very moment, a man sat in handcuffs between two guards, his gaze empty and unfocused.
A Zaunite.
Hope had the distinct impression that not many Piltovans had ever been here.
One of the guards looked at Jinx with open contempt.
But the moment his eyes fell on the medallion resting against her chest, his expression changed.
Fear appeared on his face.
No matter the world…
only power mattered.
Then, suddenly, the car came to a stop.
Under different circumstances, Hope would have laughed.
How could any place possibly radiate such a hellish atmosphere?
Everything about the architecture and lighting made it look like some final destination, as though nothing but suffering awaited anyone unfortunate enough to arrive there.
She had to admit…
Piltovans and Zaunites certainly knew how to be dramatic.
When they approached the warden’s desk, Hope’s eyes widened.
Was he a giant?
Whatever he was, the warden was enormous, and the desk buried beneath mountains of paperwork was taller than she was.
Her head barely reached the top of it.
The man looked up from his papers and frowned.
“What do you want?”
Jinx stared at the prison warden with pure hatred.
She knew what he and his men had done to her sister.
When Hope saw her wife’s hand drifting toward her weapon, she immediately stepped in front of her, blocking her view.
Then she placed the document bearing Cassandra’s seal on the desk.
The man looked down at it.
His expression shifted to surprise.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Prisoner 516?”
“That pain in the ass is being released?”
Hope felt her wife trembling behind her.
“Just do your job,” Hope said coldly, “and take us to her cell.”
The man frowned.
Then Hope deliberately shifted her clothing, making the medallion she wore clearly visible.
The moment he saw it, he straightened as though an electric current had shot through his body.
“R-right away!” he exclaimed.
“You!”
He pointed at one of the guards.
“Take them to Prisoner 516 and release her!”
Hope quickly guided her wife toward the elevator.
She wasn’t sure Jinx would be able to restrain herself if she stayed there much longer.
The prison warden couldn’t disappear right now.
But if her wife wanted him dead later, once they were no longer the obvious suspects…
then Hope would help her aim if necessary.
As the floors raced past them, she found herself wondering when they would finally arrive.
She tightened her grip on her wife’s hand and waited.
Jinx POV
When the elevator doors opened, she found herself facing the corridor that had haunted her dreams ever since she’d seen Marcus’s memories.
Every footstep seemed to echo.
Then she heard it.
A sound like a hammer striking stone.
She remembered that sound.
She could see Vi training with Vander again.
She could see their life before her mistake.
Before the explosion.
Jinx stopped.
What if her sister hated her?
What if she didn’t want to see her?
“You can do this, my love.”
Jinx smiled.
She had forgotten.
Forgotten that she wasn’t alone anymore.
She would not let the shadows of her past control her again.
Jinx met Hope’s gaze, released her hand…
and walked forward.
Before she even realized it, she had arrived.
The cell was dark.
But even through the shadows, she could make out an enormous tattoo.
Of course.
Prison hadn’t stopped Vi from carrying the mark of their family.
Slowly, her big sister turned her head.
And their eyes met.
“Powder.”
She recognized her.
She recognized her.
Jinx didn’t know when the tears had started falling.
Her sister rushed toward her and gripped the bars.
“Vi.”
“No…
no, what are you doing here?”
“They arrested you?”
“No.
No, he promised.”
“He promised!” Vi cried desperately.
Why had Jinx ever believed her sister would hate her?
Even after all these years…
Vi was still trying to protect her.
But now it was Jinx’s turn to protect her.
“Open the door,” she told the guard coldly.
The man who had escorted them jumped and hurried to shove the key into the lock.
The cell door opened beneath Vi’s confused stare.
Jinx threw herself into her sister’s arms.
Even in her confusion, Vi held on to Jinx desperately.
“I’m here,” Vi whispered.
“I’m here.”
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Jinx sobbed.
“I’m so sorry, Vi!”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s okay,” Vi repeated, trying to comfort her.
The tears seemed to last forever.
But eventually, Jinx pulled away.
“Did you really have to tattoo your own name on your face?”
At that, Vi burst out laughing.
Once she had finally calmed down, her gaze shifted toward the open cell door.
“What’s going on, Powder?” she asked.
Jinx smiled.
She took her sister’s hand and pulled her toward the exit.
The guard didn’t stop them when they stepped out of the cell.
He didn’t stop them when they reached the elevator.
Hope appeared in the doorway.
Jinx saw her sister eye Hope with suspicion.
She smiled when Vi stepped in front of her.
It reminded her of how Hope had done exactly the same thing earlier.
“What do you want?”
“Who are you?”
Hope approached them with an easy, unhurried stride.
Before Jinx had time to stop her, Vi threw a punch.
Hope caught her fist without even moving.
“She’s every bit as protective as you said,” Hope remarked with a smile.
“I warned you,” Jinx replied.
Vi slowly lowered her fist, clearly startled by Hope’s strength, then turned toward Jinx.
“Powder…
you know her?”
Jinx gently took Hope’s hand.
“Of course.”
“After all…
she’s my wife.”
Jinx leaned over and kissed Hope on the cheek.
“WIFE?!”