By midnight, the City thrummed with such commotion that it muffled the blaring music.

    Screeching tires, honking horns, rattling pipes and steaming smoke—it all faded under the flurry of excited chatter and stolen glances.

    Konray walked down the sidewalk with her collar turned up, weaving in and out of the crowd. The City was usually packed, but it was never this busy. Evolveds streamed in and out of buildings, walking with their hands in their pockets or their purses and bags clutched tight. The fast-moving streets were now frozen—a traffic jam. The cars slowly inched forward, and a few Evolveds exited their taxies in the middle of the street to walk instead.

    Something was definitely off.

            Even when there was a festival, or a special visit from a High Evolved, it never backed up like this.

    Konray carefully examined her surroundings. There was an excitement in the air—a stronger life that she'd never felt in the City before. It was electric... magnetic.

    She eyed a group of girls walking by, huddled in whispers and dazzling glances. Konray caught a glow of blue from one of the purses.

    Her eyes narrowed. She continued to weave through the crowd, people brushing against her. Now that she focused, she saw that same glow in nearly everyone's pockets, or purses—or even in their mouths.

    Konray pulled out her phone and glanced down at Sojour's message, then nodded. She slipped into an alleyway, down a flight of dark, damp stairs, and into a dingy hallway. There was a single, blue light beside a slimy metal door. It flickered like a strobe light.

    Konray sidled up to the door, then knocked three times. Loud.

    There were a series of clicks, a rattle of a chain, and then the metal creaked open. A woman in scuffed overalls appeared; her face was grimy and spattered with oil, and it lit up at the sight of Konray.

    "Konnie," greeted Sojour, smiling.

    Konray smiled, blushing, and pulled Sojour into a hug.

    "I've missed you, dork," said Konray. Sojour tightened her arms around Konray before pulling away.

    "I've missed you too," she said. Konray slipped inside, and she looked around the room with a smile. Everything was still the way Sojour left it—rickety shelves of junk and tools, and that rusty car near the garage. Sojour never did get the thing to work again.

"I've got some curry on the stove if you want some," said Sojour. Past the line of shelves, a pot bubbled in the small kitchen.

"No thanks," said Konray. "As much as I want to stay, I can't be here long."

"Right," said Sojour. "Important things with the big man." She snickered, punching Konray on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm proud of you, though. Someone with your potential shouldn't be in the slums forever."

Konray blushed, and she chuckled, rubbing her arm. "Well?" she muttered. "You 'got the stuff?'"

The two of them giggled.

"You betcha," said Sojour. "Just a sec."

Her body fizzed out of sight—like she was a projection—and then she appeared on the other side of the room behind a line of shelves.. She slid a duffle bag from one of them and teleported in front of Konray. The outline of her body fizzed back into a solid.

"Here," said Sojour. When she unzipped the bag, color bled from it in a stunning glow.

Sojour pulled out three pills. They were individually packaged in a tinted wrapper, but it did nothing to hide the glow of the drug. Konray's brows rose.

"They look radioactive," she chuckled. She grabbed the small bags and stared down at them. "People are seriously buying this stuff?"

Sojour huffed out a laugh, and she tossed the duffle bag onto the floor. Dust clouded around it.

"Have you seen the other stuff people sell?" she hummed, putting her hands on her hips. "This is exactly what people want, especially after that Pink Mania that happened a few years back."

Konray grimaced through a laugh. "Ohhh, yeah," she chuckled. "That was... yeah."

Sojour smiled, staring at Konray for a moment, then clapped her on the shoulder.

"You should get back to Mr. CryBaby," she said. Konray snorted at the nickname. "We'll keep in touch, though."

She winked, and Konray smiled, brushing some hair behind her ear.

"Of course," she said. "Do I owe you anything?"

Sojour rose a brow, then shook her head. "Never, Konnie," she said. Konray couldn't help but smirk.

"You sure?" she said. "I think you might need something to fix that damn light outside. It's been going dead for what—a year now?"

Sojour laughed, and she nudged Konray towards the door.

"Please," she said. "That's my lucky bulb. It'll last forever."

Konray smiled, then budged open the door. She slipped the pills into her pocket and walked out.

"Stay safe," said Sojour. She dipped her head out the door, gazing down the filthy hallway. "It's starting to get roudy out there. This Cherub shit must be more than a power enhancer. It's making bitches go loony."

Konray's hand lingered on her pocket. "Noted," she said. "I'll see you next time."

Sojour smiled and winked. "You too, babes," she said.

Konray nodded, and as she walked down the hall, Sojour made sure she was alright. Once Konray walked up the stairs out of sight, Sojour shut the metal door with a clang.

The light in the hall sputtered, grew bright, then burst into shards.

———

It was all happening so fast.

    Mark sat on the windowsill in Antinstine's room, staring at the cluster of lights that was the City. Unease, dread, and helplessness gnawed at him without mercy.

    Did Cibil know? he thought. Did she know this would happen?

    The closet door opened and shut from across the room, and Mark glanced over his shoulder. Antinstine stood there, smoothing down his trench and turning up the sharp edges of his collar. It felt like Mark was meeting him for the first time all over again.

    Mark, a mere human, hiding under the guise of an Evolved. Cowering at the sight of the High Evolved before him.

    Antinstine looked revitalized—high on energy. His figure consisted of all angles—sharp and jagged lines that jut out like lightning bolts. His mere presence electrified the room, and his eyes sparked with an intensity that had Mark shuddering.

    Mark hadn't had a chance to go back to his rooms. He wanted to report to Dark—had to—needed to—but as far as Antinstine was concerned, he wasn't to be left out of his sight.

    "Now," breathed Antinstine, walking forward. "We wait."

    Mark swallowed, eyeing him. The Evolved sat next to him on the windowsill, hiking up a leg and staring out at the City. There was a smirk on his lips.

    It went quiet.

    Mark wondered what was going on in Antinstine's head. Wondered what he planned to do after the chaos had settled.

    He said he'd kill every Evolved. Let everyone know about his power—that he was in control.

    As powerful as he was, he couldn't destroy the City in one swipe.

    Or could he? thought Mark.

    He gazed at Antinstine's figure, eyes trailing up the veins of his hands, the bulk of his arms and legs... the electricity zipping behind his eyes... he could feel the power radiating off of him, and yet...

    Mark never saw Antinstine use his powers to his full potential. It was always glances and peeks behind the curtain—always just for show. To intimidate.

    His thoughts moved like sludge, but the longer he mulled on the nature of Antinstine's abilities, there seemed to be a spark growing in the back of his head.

An idea. A realization, of sorts.

    Mark thought about his time as a silvertongue—when he commanded Scarlet to do as he pleased with mere words. And then he thought about how his mouth bled when he overused the power. The side effects.

    Side effects... he thought. His breaths caught, and his eyes widened in the slightest.

———

"Side effects," said the Tear Stealer.

Dark stood in front of the others with his hands planted on the table, gaze intense and expression firm. Everyone was silent, focused solely on him. Tension ignited the air, so tight that it was hard to breathe.

"That's how we'll beat him," said Dark. "Antinstine doesn't have the true blood of an Evolved. His abilities are artificial. Flawed."

He gazed at the other Evolveds—his partners, his friends, his family. They stared at him with hardened expressions.

"If we coordinate our attack so that Antinstine has no chance of recovery," he said, "then he'll fall ill to those side effects. That's when we go in for the kill."

Equinox shifted in her seat, carefully raising a hand. Dark nodded at her.

"I've seen him fight before," she said softly. "How can you be certain his powers are limited?"

Dark hummed. "You should have seen what Xilef and I did," he said. "When Mark's mouth bled after overusing his silvertongue, the look on Antinstine's face..." He looked at each of the Evolveds. "You could tell he was unnerved. He knew exactly what was happening."

Equinox nodded, falling silent. Dark glanced back at Xilef and met his eyes; the Aurist stepped forward.

"We're separating into four groups," he said, and though his voice was quiet, it rang throughout the room. "Equinox, Lux, and Ether—you three will accompany Dark." He gazed at Equinox, and she gazed back with intense red eyes. "It's your job to keep Ether safe. She'll heal anyone who needs aid."

He glanced around the table. "Eyes, Voxe, and Ethan—you'll stay here and be our second pair of eyes. When Konray gets back, she'll join you three."

Dark stared at the remaining Evolveds. There were eight of them—the newer additions to the family. They were younger, inexperienced, more on edge... worried.

"The rest of you," said Dark, gazing at the group, "can decide to come with and attack as the first or second waves with Xilef and Emery, or stay here and keep watch with Eyes' team." His eyes glimmered. "Fighting Antinstine will be no easy task. Take your time to decide."

Raine, a grim-looking girl with hair that dripped the water, spoke up.

"I'll fight," she said. "But... when do we attack, sir?"

As she said that, Eyes' pocket buzzed. She jumped and fished out her phone.

Konray.

"Answer it," said Dark.

Eyes obeyed. The call clicked.

Music, shouts, and cars screeched through the speaker.

Then Konray's panting breaths.

"Eyes!" she yelled through the line, voice edging on panic. "Heyyy, hey, Eyes. I got a problem here."

The room bristled with life, and Dark's eyes flashed.

"What is it?" said Eyes.

"The City—fuck!" Tires screeched. "It's going batshit crazy!"

Dark bristled, his heart racing. He knew something was wrong when they left. The streets were busier, and an energy hummed in the air—but they mistook it for the usual city noise.

"Something's fucked up with this Cherub pill, man," said Konray. Dark's brows furrowed at that; he hadn't heard about it, yet. "Power enhancer, my ass. It's turning people into—WOAH—into monsters!"

Sirens blared through the speaker. They echoed outside the mansion. A distant, haunting tune.

"I'll be there soon!" yelled Konray. "But—" She panted. "We don't have time to examine the pill. People are killing each other out here."

Eyes looked up at Dark, and he took a deep, quivering breath. The energy in the room snapped and sparked.

"Tonight," he said, gaze intense. Everyone in the room stood up.

"We attack tonight."

The attack is finally taking place after all this time... how will it go? >:)

I'm seriously so hyped, I've been writing these chapters like wildfire, y'all. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did writing it !!

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day!

Brace yourselves for the next few updates ;)

Love, Kass xoxo