Seolhyun had been expecting a lot of things. Like maybe he wanted Hyejeong to annihilate an entire town or rob a bank for him, but to mutate him? If pain weren’t racking her body, she would’ve laughed at the absurdity.

Dr. Park must’ve sensed her thoughts, because he scowled. “You have no idea what you’re truly capable of. When you never get sick? When no human and no alien life-form can stop you?” His knuckles bleached. “You don’t understand, little girl. Sure, you watched your father succumb to cancer, and I’m sure that was terrible for you, but you still have no idea what it’s like when your body turns against you, when every day is a battle to just survive.”

Seolhyun shuddered.

He pushed off the bars. “Being sick and close to death changes a person, Seolhyun. I will do anything to never be that weak, that helpless again. And I think your father, if he’d been given the chance, would have felt the same way.”

“My father would never... hurt another person...”

Dr. Park smiled. “Your naivety is endearing.”

It wasn’t naivety. Seolhyun knew her dad, what he’d do. Another wave of raw hurt forced her eyes closed. Then, a different sensation appeared.

Hyejeong is here.

Her eyes darted to the doorway, and Dr. Park turned expectantly, even though there hadn’t been a sound. “She’s here, isn’t she? You can sense her.” Relief colored his tone. “All of us suspected her, but we could’ve been wrong. It wasn’t until Jimin took out Minhyuk and nearly Mina, that we could confirm it was Hyejeong.”

Seolhyun said nothing.

He glanced back at her. “Be grateful that the chain of evidence ends with me. When this is done, we all walk away from this okay. If Choa knew what we did, neither of you would be leaving here tonight.” He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s an address you need to remember, in Evensi Field. There, she’ll find what she’s looking for. She has until midnight.”

Seolhyun remembered the address from the slip of paper she’d found, but it was a moot point. She was sure that Hyejeong was going to blast Dr. Park into his next life.

Just then, the double doors opened, slamming off the white cement walls. Hyejeong came through the entrance, head lowered and eyes like glowing orbs. Seolhyun could feel the power radiating off her. Not a Felix power, but a human one, born of desperation and pain.

She looked at Dr. Park and quickly dismissed him. Her gaze found Seolhyun and stayed. A multitude of emotions flickered across Hyejeong’s face. Seolhyun wanted to say something, but her body had wanted to move closer to her. It was an unconscious movement, and it caused the Clio on the handcuffs to come into more contact with her skin. Seolhyun’s mouth opened in a silent scream.

Hyejeong shot forward. Not as fast as she normally would. She gripped the bars and then jerked back with a hiss. “What is this?” Her gaze dropped to Dr. Park’s hands and then back to Seolhyun.

“Clio mixed with ruby and black tourmaline,” Dr. Park answered. “A nice combination that doesn’t sit well with the Felix or Hybrids.”

Hyejeong looked at him. “I will kill you.”

“No, I don’t think you will.” He had moved back, though, showing that he wasn’t entirely confident in his plans. “Clio covers every entrance to this building, so I know you can’t pull in any power or use the light. I also have the keys to that cage and those handcuffs.”

Hyejeong growled low in .

Dr. Park glanced at Seolhyun, arching an eyebrow. “She’s been in there for a while. I think you understand what that means. Shall we move this along?”

Ignoring him, Hyejeong approached the other side of the cage, and her eyes searched every inch of Seolhyun intensely. “I’m going to get you out of there, Seolhyun. I swear to you.” She knelt.

“As sweet as your declaration is, the only way you’ll get her out of there is to do as I say, and we only have...” He checked his wristwatch. “About thirty minutes before the next round of officers arrive, and while I have every intention of letting you both go, they won’t.”

Hyejeong lifted her head, jaw working. “What do you want?”

“I want you to mutate me.”

She stared at Dr. Park a moment, then laughed grimly. “Are you insane?”

“I don’t need to explain everything to you. She knows. She can fill you in. I want you to change me.” He reached over the cage, wrapping his fingers around the bundle of chains. “I want to become what she is.”

“I can’t just twitch my nose and make it happen.”

“I know how it works.” He sneered. “I have to be wounded. You have to heal me, and the rest I can take care of.”

Hyejeong shook her head. “What is the rest?”

Once again, Dr. Park looked at Seolhyun and smiled. “Seolhyun can fill you in on that.”

“You’ll fill me in right now,” she snarled.

“Or not.” He yanked on the chains, and Seolhyun buckled.

Her scream was just a whimper, but Hyejeong shot up. “Stop it!” she roared. “Let the chains go.”

“But you haven’t even heard what I’m offering.” Dr. Park held the damn chains up, and Seolhyun swam in Clio pain.

Seolhyun faded out for several seconds, returning to see Hyejeong at the front of the cage, eyes wide and frantic. “Let the chains go,” Hyejeong said. “Please.”

Her heart cracked. Hyejeong never begged.

Dr. Park released the chains, and Seolhyun slumped against floor. The pain was still there, but it was nothing like it had been seconds ago.

“That’s much better.” Dr. Park stepped closer to the cage Yuna had been in. “This is my deal. Mutate me, and I’ll give you the key to the cage, but I’m not stupid, Hyejeong.”

“You’re not?” Hyejeong snickered.

“I need to make sure you don’t come after me as soon as I leave here, which I know you will once she’s removed from that cage.”

“Am I that predictable?” Hyejeong smiled smugly, and her stance changed, taking on the arrogant swagger she was famous for, but Seolhyun knew she was coiled tight. “I may have to change up my game.”

Dr. Park let out an exasperated breath. “When I leave here, you will not follow me. We have less than twenty minutes to do this, and then you’ll have only thirty minutes, give or take a few, to go to the address I’ve given to Seolhyun.” He slowly approached Hyejeong, pulling out a gun from his back. “You’ll have a choice to make after you let her out of the cage. You can come after me or you can get the one thing you’ve always wanted.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “Your sister.”

All of Hyejeong’s arrogance vanished. She took a step back. “What?”

“I’ve paid a lot of money to get her in a position where she could’ve ’escaped’. Besides, I doubt they’ll really be searching for her.” Dr. Park smiled coldly. “She’s proven to be quite useless. But you, you, on the other hand, are stronger. You’ll succeed where she’s failed time and time again.”

Seolhyun wet her dry lips. “Failed... at what?”

Hyejeong’s head tilted toward her, eyes narrowing at the sound of Seolhyun’s voice, but Dr. Park spoke up. “They’ve been forcing her to mutate humans for months. It hasn’t been working. She’s not as strong as you, Hyejeong. You are different.”

Hyejeong drew in a breath. He was offering Hyejeong everything she’d wanted: her sister. There was no way she’d turn that down. And she was fighting not to show any emotion. To him, Hyejeong was expressionless, but Seolhyun recognized the minute ticking in her jaw, the way her eyes flickered, and the tight line of . She was caught between excitement and the knowledge that she was creating someone who could ultimately destroy the ones she loved. If Hyejeong healed him, their lives would be joined.

“I’d prefer to hunt you down and break every bone in your body for what you’ve done,” Hyejeong said finally. “Rip your flesh off your body slowly and then feed it to you for hurting Seolhyun. But my sister means more than vengeance.”

Visibly shaken by her words, Dr. Park paled. “I was hoping that would be your decision.”

“You know, you have to be hurt for this to work.”

He nodded, aiming the gun at his leg. “I know.”

Hyejeong looked disappointed. “I was so hoping I was going to get to inflict the damage.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

What happened next was truly horrible. Part of Seolhyun wanted to look away, but she didn’t. She watched Dr. Park twist his arm back and then after a minute, he shot himself in the leg. The man didn’t make a sound. Something didn’t seem right about that other than the obvious, but then Hyejeong placed her hand on Dr. Park’s arm. The Clio didn’t block her healing powers. Hyejeong could’ve let him bleed out, but she would never get passed the Clio to get Seolhyun out.

Seolhyun out again, unable to really fight through the pain anymore. Coming to, she saw him unlatching the cage door. He moved over her, healthy and whole, unlocking the chains above her. The manacles slipped off Seolhyun’s wrists, and she almost cried just for that.

His eyes met hers. “I suggest you don’t tell your mother about this. After all, it would kill her.” He smiled, having gotten what he wanted. “Behave, Seolhyun.”

Then he was out of the cage, and out of the room. Seolhyun didn’t know how much time they had left. Couldn’t be more than ten minutes. She tried to sit up, but her arms gave out. “Hyejeong...”

“I’m here.” And she was. Carefully entering the cage and helping Seolhyun out. “I’ve got you, baby. It’s over.”

By the time she placed Seolhyun on her feet outside of the cage, Seolhyun could stand alone. After healing Dr. Park, Seolhyun knew Hyejeong wasn’t at full strength. And there were officers on their way, limited time to reach Youkyung.

Making a deep sound in the back of , Hyejeong clutched Seolhyun’s cheeks and placed her lips on hers. Seolhyun closed her eyes, sinking into her touch. When Hyejeong pulled away, both of them were gasping for air.

“What did you do?” Seolhyun asked, wincing at the sound of her voice.

Hyejeong pressed her forehead against hers, and Seolhyun felt her half grin against her lips. “For the mutation to work, both parties have to be willing. Remember what Jonghyun said? I wasn’t entirely into it, if you get my drift. And not to mention, he needed to be dying or close to it. The mutation probably won’t work. At least not to the extent he thinks.”

Seolhyun laughed in spite of everything, the sound rasping. “Genius.”

“I am,” she replied, her eyes moving over Seolhyun, fingers threading through hers. “You sure you’re okay? Your voice...”

“Yeah,” Seolhyun whispered. “I’ll be okay.”

Hyejeong sighed against , and then Seolhyun felt her lips curve into a real smile. “Now let’s go get my sister.”

***

With no time to waste, Hyejeong scooped Seolhyun up and rushed from the warehouse. Once outside and no longer affected by the Clio, Seolhyun felt the biting wind sting her cheeks as Hyejeong picked up speed. Seconds later, she was buckling her into passenger seat.

“I can do it,” Seolhyun mumbled, willing h