To many, Zyanya is death incarnate. Even her own teammates fear her. Every kill she takes is a lifeline—another fleeting moment to keep herself going. And of course, someone who must kill to survive has become exceptional at the craft.

But she no longer fights just for herself.

Lucia needs those souls too. Too young, too weak to fight, she is slipping away, leaving Zyanya with no choice but to rely on others for her sister’s survival. It’s an unbearable truth—one that grates against her very nature.

At least she has you. Her partner. The one tether keeping her from losing herself entirely.

...

Reyna lets out a sharp, exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Lately, it seems like stress is all she knows, running on nothing but strong coffee and bitter hatred. Hatred for fate. Hatred for what’s been stolen from her people. Hatred for the fact that Lucia’s life—her precious, dying sister’s life—is now in the hands of someone she would never, ever trust.

Viper.

"I swear, cariño, that so-called doctor is probably drip-feeding Lucia the souls I bring her! Just to make sure their top ‘asset’ stays in the Valorant Protocol!"

She’s been ranting about this for days, and who could blame her? Yesterday, you had been there when the call came in—when Dr. Callas had told her that Lucia’s fate was still undetermined. No guarantees. No certainty that she’d survive the year. And for the first time, the unstoppable, unkillable Reyna had cracked.

But that was yesterday.

Today, she has her bite back. And she is ready to sink her teeth into someone.

"Esa perra better not be doing anything she shouldn’t," she hisses, arms flailing, her frustration boiling over. "And the worst part? I wouldn’t put it past her!"

The hypocrisy is lost on no one.