POV: Vesper
"All rise. The Honorable Judge Morrison presiding."
I stand in the courtroom, knees shaking. Three months since that night at the facility. Three months of legal battles, media storms, and sleeping with one eye open.
Dorian's lawyers sit beside me—the best money can buy. Across the aisle, Quillan looks smaller than I remember. His company collapsed after the scandal. His reputation is destroyed. But he still has one card to play.
Taking Ivory from me.
"Ms. Calloway," Judge Morrison begins, studying me over her glasses. "You've had quite the eventful year."
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Exposing illegal experiments. Forming a contract with a digital demon. Starting employment at Vex Industries." She flips through documents. "Some might say you're unstable. Dangerous. Exactly the kind of person who shouldn't raise a child."
My heart stops.
Quillan's lawyer stands. "Your Honor, my client agrees. Ms. Calloway's recent actions prove she's reckless. She put herself and Ivory in danger multiple times. She consorts with demons. She—"
"Saved forty-seven people from torture," Judge Morrison interrupts. "Exposed the Sanctum's darkest secret. Revolutionized spirit-tech in three months. Started a foundation for defective tamers." She looks at Quillan. "While your client faces charges for corporate espionage, illegal experimentation, and child endangerment."
Quillan's face drains.
"Mr. Thorne, you drugged your daughter to suppress her abilities. You stole your wife's research. You participated in experiments that killed people." Judge Morrison's voice hardens. "Why should I give you custody of anything except a prison cell?"
"I... I was trying to protect Ivory—"
"By poisoning her?" The judge slams her gavel. "Custody is awarded to Vesper Calloway. Full and permanent. Mr. Thorne gets supervised visitation once monthly, pending criminal trial. We're done here."
The gavel strikes again.
I can't breathe. Can't process. I won. I actually won.
Quillan lunges across the aisle. "You ruined me! You destroyed everything!"
Security grabs him. He fights, screaming obscenities as they drag him away.
I just stand there, numb with relief.
Dorian's hand touches my shoulder. "Congratulations. You're officially a single mother."
"I need to see her. Where's Ivory?"
"Safe house with Nyx. I'll take you there now."
We leave through a side exit, avoiding reporters. Dorian's car waits—sleek, bulletproof, probably worth more than my old house.
"How are you holding up?" he asks as we drive.
"I don't know. Everything happened so fast. Three months ago I was nobody. Now I'm..." I gesture vaguely. "This."
"A Sovereign-class tamer revolutionizing my company's entire research division?" Dorian smiles. "I'd say you're doing pretty well."
"Your investors hate me."
"My investors hate change. They'll adapt." He glances over. "You've made Vex Industries billions in three months. Your digital necromancy patents alone are worth—"
"I don't care about money." I stare out the window. "I just want Ivory safe. Want to stop looking over my shoulder waiting for the Council to make their move."
"About that." Dorian's expression darkens. "We need to talk about your security. The Council has been quiet too long. My sources say they're planning something."
"Let them plan. I'm ready."
"Are you? They're not like Quillan or your father. They're organized, ancient, and they control the Sanctum from the shadows. If they decide you're a threat—"
"I am a threat. To their secrets. Their power structure. Their experiments." I meet his eyes. "That's exactly why they'll come. And exactly why I can't back down."
He studies me. "You've changed. Three months ago you were terrified of your own shadow."
"Three months ago I was someone else."
We pull up to the safe house—a luxury apartment in Dorian's personal building. Maximum security. Nyx's digital surveillance. The safest place I could ask for.
But when we walk inside, something feels wrong.
Too quiet.
"Nyx?" I call out.
No response.
Ice floods my veins. "Nyx!"
I run through the apartment. Living room—empty. Kitchen—empty. Ivory's bedroom—
The door is open.
Inside, Ivory sits on her bed, perfectly still. Her eyes are open but unfocused. Glowing faintly.
Beside her stands a woman I've never seen. Elegant, ageless, with silver hair and eyes like black holes.
"Hello, Vesper." Her voice sounds like silk and poison. "We need to chat."
I summon Nyx's power immediately. My contract seal flares. But nothing happens.
The woman smiles. "Your demon can't help you. I've placed him in a temporal loop. He's experiencing the same second over and over. Quite maddening, I'm told."
"Who are you?"
"I represent the Council. You've been making waves, little Sovereign. Exposing secrets. Threatening the natural order. We can't allow that to continue."
Dorian appears behind me, his cosmic serpent manifesting. "Remove yourself from this building or—"
The woman waves her hand.
Dorian freezes mid-sentence. His serpent turns to stone.
"Time manipulation is such a useful gift," the woman says conversationally. "Now, where were we? Ah yes. Your compliance."
"If you hurt my daughter—"
"I won't hurt her. I'll remake her." The woman touches Ivory's head. "Your research into digital necromancy is impressive. But imagine applying it to a living Sovereign-class child. Imagine creating the perfect weapon—conscious, controllable, infinitely powerful."
My blood turns to ice. "You want to turn her into an experiment."
"I want to evolve her into something greater. And you're going to help me."
"Never."
"Then I'll do it anyway. And you'll watch." The woman's smile widens. "Or... you could make a deal. Your cooperation in exchange for her freedom. Work for the Council. Use your genius for us. We'll leave Ivory untouched."
"You're insane if you think I'd—"
"You have ten seconds to decide. After that, I begin the conversion process." She pulls out a syringe filled with glowing liquid. The same kind my father tried to use on me. "Ten. Nine. Eight."
My mind races. I can't move. Can't summon Nyx. Can't reach Ivory.
"Seven. Six. Five."
There has to be a way out. Some angle I'm missing.
"Four. Three. Two."
"WAIT!" I scream. "I'll do it. I'll work for you. Just don't touch her."
The woman pauses at "One."
"Smart choice." She lowers the syringe. "Welcome to the Council, Vesper Calloway. You start tomorrow. Midnight. Location will be sent. Come alone. Bring your research. And remember—we'll be watching Ivory every moment. One wrong move and she becomes our masterpiece."
The woman vanishes like smoke.
Time snaps back. Dorian gasps, stumbling. His serpent returns to normal.
Ivory blinks, confused. "Mommy? When did you get here?"
I rush to her, pull her into my arms. She's okay. Whole. Unharmed.
But we're not safe. Not even close.
"What happened?" Dorian demands. "One second you were there, then everything went black—"
"The Council," I whisper. "They were here. They want me to work for them."
"What did you tell them?"
"I said yes."
Dorian's face pales. "Vesper, you can't. They'll use you to hurt people. To create weapons worse than anything your father did."
"I know." I hold Ivory tighter. "That's why I'm going to destroy them from the inside."
"That's suicide—"
"It's the only way. They threatened Ivory. Made it clear they'll never stop until they have what they want." I meet his eyes. "So I'll give it to them. Then I'll burn their entire organization to ash."
Nyx finally manifests, looking disoriented. "What... what happened? I felt the loop but couldn't break free..."
"Time manipulation," I explain. "The Council sent someone. They want me working for them by tomorrow night."
"Then we run. Right now. I can hide us in digital space—"
"They'll find us. And they'll punish Ivory for my refusal." I shake my head. "No more running. I'm going to that meeting. I'm going to learn everything about the Council. And then I'm going to take them apart piece by piece."
"This is insane," Dorian says. "You'll be walking into a trap—"
"I've been walking into traps since this started. Somehow I'm still standing." I look at both of them. "I need you to protect Ivory while I'm gone. Both of you. Don't let her out of your sight."
"And if you don't come back?" Nyx asks quietly.
I hand him a flash drive. "Then you release everything on this. Every file, every secret, every piece of Council information I gather. Expose them to the world like we did with my father."
He takes it reluctantly.
Ivory tugs my sleeve. "Mommy, I'm scared. That lady felt wrong."
"I know, baby. But I promise—she'll never touch you. I'll make sure of it."
Even if it costs me everything.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number. A message: "Tomorrow. Midnight. Old Sanctum archive beneath the city. Come alone with research. Tell no one. Break any rule and the girl becomes ours."
Below the text, a photo.
Ivory, asleep in this very bed, taken from an angle impossible unless someone was inside the room.
They've been watching. Are still watching.
I show Nyx and Dorian.
"They're in the building's security system," Nyx says, eyes glowing as he scans. "Multiple backdoors. They've been monitoring us for weeks."
"Can you remove them?"
"I can try. But they'll know I'm trying."
"Do it anyway." I stand, setting Ivory gently on the bed. "If they're watching, let them see what happens when you threaten my daughter."
I walk to the window. Somewhere in this city, the Council is watching through cameras, through digital eyes, through methods I can't even imagine.
I raise my middle finger to my reflection.
"Tomorrow night, you meet the real me. And you're going to regret every threat you made."
Behind me, Nyx laughs. "Now that's my Sovereign."
But his laugh dies when we hear it.
A child's scream.
From Ivory's room.
We run.
Ivory stands at her mirror, eyes wide with terror.
In the reflection, instead of her face, we see something else.
A countdown.
23:47:32
Twenty-three hours until midnight.
And below the numbers, words written in code I recognize as my own:
"TIME'S TICKING, MOTHER. WILL YOU SACRIFICE YOURSELF TO SAVE HER? OR WILL YOU WATCH HER BECOME WHAT YOU FEAR MOST? CHOOSE WISELY. —THE COUNCIL"
The reflection returns to normal.
Ivory bursts into tears.
I hold her, but my mind is racing.
They're not just watching.
They're inside my daughter's head.
And I have less than twenty-four hours to figure out how to save her without becoming the Council's weapon.
The game just changed.
And I'm running out of moves.