"So what do you want from me?" I ask. "Forgiveness? Because I'm not sure I can give you that. You terrorized students for a year, Liz. Made people afraid of their own essence. Almost got Stellan killed with your fearmongering. And let's not forget who your father is."
The mention of Dmitri makes her flinch harder. "I know what he is. What he's done. I didn't know the full extent until the demonstration, until the hunters confessed, but I knew enough. I knew he was cruel and controlling and that people disappeared when they crossed him." Her voice drops to barely a whisper. "I knew, and I didn't do anything about it. I just tried to stayon his good side so I wouldn't become one of the people who disappeared."
"And now?" I press, watching her carefully for any flicker of deception. "Now that he's been exposed, now that he's lost his Council position and his followers are being hunted down, suddenly you want to change?"
"I wanted to change before." Liz meets my eyes, and I see tears threatening to fall. "I just didn't know how. Didn't think I could. The system was so big and my father was so powerful and I was so scared that I convinced myself going along with it was the only option. But watching Stellan stand up during the demonstration, watching him refuse to be afraid even when the hunters were going to strip his essence anyway..." She takes a shaky breath. "It made me realize that I had a choice all along. I just kept choosing wrong."
Silence stretches between us while I process her words. My demon senses continue reading her, searching for any hint of manipulation or hidden agenda. The surface emotions are consistent with what she's saying. Real remorse. A desire to change. Fear that I'm going to reject her and she'll remain isolated forever.
But underneath that, deeper, there's something I can't quite identify. Not deception exactly. More like... uncertainty. As if part of her still doesn't know what she really wants.
"I don't expect forgiveness," Liz continues when I don't respond. "I just want to do better. I want to help fix what I broke. And I don't know how to start."
My mates are listening. Their various perspectives color my thoughts. Skye's belief in redemption. Stellan's hope that people can change. Harlow's warning about unstable futures. Rumi's divine sense of balance. Ambrose's pragmatic caution.
"You start by listening," I say finally. "By stepping back and letting other people lead instead of trying to control everything.By using whatever influence you have left to protect instead of intimidate."
Liz nods quickly, desperately. "I can do that. I am doing that. I've been helping organize the student council elections, making sure everyone gets a fair chance to run regardless of their essence type. I've been tutoring younger students who are struggling with control, especially the ones I used to target. I've been volunteering for every defensive patrol, every cleanup duty, every task no one else wants."
"Good." I cut her off before she can continue listing her attempts at redemption. "Keep doing that. Consistently. For a long time. And maybe eventually, people will trust you again."
"What about you?" Liz asks quietly. "Will you ever trust me?"
The question sits heavy between us. Stellan's gentle hope brushes against me. Skye's belief in second chances. Harlow's continued wariness about futures he won't fully describe.
"I don't know," I admit honestly. "You're Dmitri's daughter, Liz. And your father is still out there, still dangerous, still planning to destroy everything we've built. For all I know, this whole repentant act is something he planned. A way to get someone inside our defenses."
The hurt that flashes across her face seems genuine. "I'm not working for my father. I hate what he's done. What he made me become."
"Maybe. But I can't take that risk. Not with my mates' safety. Not with the students depending on us." I let my demon form settle slightly, becoming less aggressive but not fully relaxing. "I'm willing to give you a chance to prove yourself. But that's all it is right now. A chance. Don't mistake it for trust."
Liz swallows hard but nods. "That's more than I deserve. Thank you."
She leaves shortly after, and I'm left alone with my churning thoughts. Did I do the right thing? I don't know. Every instinctsays to keep her at arm's length forever, to never let her close enough to hurt us again. But holding onto hatred just poisons me, and if she genuinely wants to change...
I need to talk to my mates.
They're gathered in Skye's quarters when I arrive, clearly waiting. The moment I walk in, five pairs of eyes fix on my face, reading my expression and emotions.
"Well?" Stellan asks, his fire flickering with nervous energy. "How did it go?"
"She seems sincere." I drop onto the bed beside him, and he immediately presses close, his warmth settling my demon nature. "My hunger couldn't detect any obvious deception. But there's something underneath I can't identify. Uncertainty, maybe. Like she hasn't fully decided who she wants to be yet."
"That matches what I'm seeing." Harlow's voice is troubled, his death-touched eyes flickering white as he accesses his sight. "The futures involving Liz are still unstable. Constantly shifting. In some timelines she becomes a genuine ally. In others..." He trails off, shaking his head.
"In others she destroys everything," Skye finishes grimly. "You told us before."
"The destruction futures haven't faded," Harlow confirms. "If anything, they've become more numerous since her apology. Something about reaching out to Jade created new branches where things go very wrong."
Anxiety spikes from all of them.
"So what do we do?" Rumi asks. His golden wings are partially manifested, and I notice the black threads in his aura are more visible than usual, writhing with agitation. "We can't just reject everyone who might be a threat. That's not what Phoenix Sanctuary is supposed to be about."
"But we can't be naive either," Ambrose counters. He looks better than he did a few days ago, but the contract costs are stillvisible in the new lines on his face, the slight tremor in his hands. "Dmitri isn't stupid. Using his daughter to infiltrate us is exactly the kind of move he'd make."
"We watch her," I decide, echoing what Skye said after the ceremony. "Give her the chance to prove herself, but don't trust her with anything sensitive. If she's genuine, time will show it. If she's not, we'll catch her before she can do real damage."
Everyone nods in agreement, though their confidence in the plan varies.
