The Lightning Mage

54 | The Confession [End of Flashback!]

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Present...

Cydney stared blankly into the grimy grey walls. There was a muffled conversation going on outside the locked door, but her mind was more preoccupied with the roughness of the orange jumpsuit and the discomfort from the ankle monitor she had to wear. They were for magic detection and suppression, she was told. Everyone here had to wear them.

She sighed. Nothing was going according to plan, yet again. The six months spent with the Witches had gotten her nowhere closer to home. Every rare gemstone, every unicorn horn, every treasure—none of them had been able to open a portal big enough for Cydney. Sure, they had given her tons of new weapons (and some cool new Apple products), but she was still stuck in square one.

There was nothing in this world that could replace actual lives.

And meeting Han again had worsened her fears. Gazini had been sacrificing more lives for the portal, but it had not worked for him either. A couple of regular human lives were not even enough for this magic—an entire cave of powerful mages was required.

Her heart sank. Did she still want to go home, knowing this? Was going home really worth the sacrifices?

But what could she do? She was a captive now, ready to be grilled by the QA. And worst of all, Sybil had been right: Lyn didn't believe her when she told her the truth.

She suppressed a whimper. Idiot. Why did she think Lyn would believe her? The concept of there being another world was ridiculous, even if this was a world of magic.

Was she going to spend the rest of her life in prison? Or... was she going to die? Lyn had mentioned a while back that people who do Blood Magic might face death sentences.

Gulping down the lump in her throat, she closed her eyes. Was this it for her?

Her eyelids remained shut even as she heard the door open.

"You're good to go."

Huh? She jerked up. "What?"

The guard at the door motioned with his head. "Come with me."

Frowning, she followed the man out of the cell. They trudged along the dim corridor and into what seemed to be an interrogation room. Dozens of guards encircled the spacious area; clad in full-body protective suits and armed with several blasters, they looked as though they were preparing for war.

And indeed, a head of grey stood out in the middle of the room—war it was.

"Sy?" Cydney asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

The familiar serene eyes flickered towards her. "Oh hey, Sīn-Sīn, I hope you've been well."

"What is the meaning of this?" Cydney glanced around as questions inundated her head.

The witch was flanked by a group of people Cydney recognized as the lawyers from Dawn Avengers and the officials from QA. Every one of her limbs was cuffed with multiple magic-suppressing bracelets as if one arm of Sybil was equivalent to a dozen regular mages.

"Sorry, Sīn-Sīn, forgive me for breaking your trust," Sybil said with a rueful smile. "I had to reveal your memories to save you."

"W- What?"

"We negotiated a truce with the Witches," said one of the QA officials. He had been the person Lyn had worked with during the joint commission a while back. Brendan, or something.

"A truce?" Blood drained from Cydney's face as she turned back to Sybil. "Did you betray the others? Even... Even Freya?"

Cydney's words stung Sybil, but she maintained her calm demeanor. "I'm surrendering myself and all my knowledge, in exchange for your freedom." She chuckled lightly before flashing a pointed glare at Brendan. "Well, not complete freedom, unfortunately. The QA is still an ass of an organization."