Chapter 95: Cold Hands, Gentle Hold

The crystalline patterns spread across Rina’s skin like a healing web, each delicate frost line anchoring her chaotic energy into stable channels.

Her violent convulsions slowed, then stopped altogether.

The Shade let out a final, frustrated shriek before dissolving into wisps of shadow that dissipated against Isabelle’s barriers.

Rina’s eyes fluttered open, fully solid for the first time since she’d appeared in the lobby.

She tried to sit up straighter, but her body trembled with exhaustion.

"Don’t move too quickly," Isabelle warned, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the frost patterns slowly fading from Rina’s skin.

"What I’ve done is temporary at best."

Kane knelt beside Rina, relief flooding his features. "But she’s stable now, right?"

"Stabilized, not cured." Isabelle’s voice carried the precision of a scalpel.

"I’ve essentially frozen the chaotic energy at the molecular level, giving her spirit a chance to reassert control. Think of it as putting a fracture in stasis."

Isabelle’s frost patterns completed their intricate web across Rina’s stabilized form before she turned her glacial attention to Kane and Cyrus.

Her ice-blue eyes swept between them, cataloging details most would miss—Kane’s protective stance near Rina, Cyrus’s torn sleeve still smoking from the Shade’s touch, and the way they both moved like a coordinated unit despite the chaos.

"Now then." Isabelle’s voice carried the crisp authority of winter itself.

"Perhaps someone would care to explain who this woman is and why a corrupted spirit fragment just tried to murder my CEO in his own office."

Kane opened his mouth, but Isabelle raised one frost-rimed finger.

"The complete explanation, Ashwood. Starting with why you both knew exactly what to call her manifestations before I arrived."

Cyrus straightened his damaged jacket, crimson eyes meeting Isabelle’s unflinching stare.

"Rina works for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Forensics division."

"Half-spirit," Isabelle observed, studying Rina’s stabilized energy patterns with interest.

"The binding agent destabilized her hybrid nature."

"How did you—" Kane started.

"The energy signature is obvious once you know what to look for." Isabelle’s attention shifted back to Cyrus.

"More importantly, why is a Bureau forensics specialist seeking help from Veyr Corp instead of her own organization?"

Kane’s jaw tightened, choosing his words carefully. "Rina’s my friend. Has been for years."

He gestured toward her stabilized but still fragile form.

"The BSA doesn’t exactly have a great track record with half-spirits who lose control. They’d classify her as a rogue and throw her in containment before asking questions."

Isabelle’s pale eyes narrowed, sensing the careful omissions in Kane’s explanation.

"And she came to you because?"

"Because Kane mentioned Veyr Corp’s expertise with spirit energy research," Cyrus interjected smoothly, stepping forward.

"She hoped we might have resources the Bureau lacks."

His tone carried the weight of absolute authority. "Which, as it happens, we do."

Kane shot Cyrus a grateful look, though something flickered in the dragon’s expression—a calculation Kane couldn’t quite read.

Cyrus studied Rina’s stabilized form.

"Isabelle, I need you to monitor Rina while Kane and I retrieve those samples from her apartment."

Kane nodded eagerly, already reaching for his jacket.

The sooner they found the binding agent, the sooner they could develop a proper cure instead of this temporary ice bandage.

"I don’t think so."

Isabelle’s voice cut through the office like a blade of arctic wind, stopping both men mid-motion.

Her ice-blue eyes fixed on Cyrus with the kind of stare that had frozen entire battlefields during the Spirit Wars.

"With respect, sir, that arrangement is entirely inappropriate. You’re asking me to babysit an unstable half-spirit while you two play field agents."

Frost crystallized around Isabelle’s fingertips as she gestured toward Rina’s fragile form.

"My ice won’t hold indefinitely. If her condition deteriorates while you’re gone, she could fragment again or worse—completely dissolve."

Kane shifted uncomfortably. "But someone needs to—"

"I’ll take her to retrieve the samples myself."

Kane stepped protectively closer to Rina’s still-trembling form.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea. Moving her across the city could shatter whatever stability you’ve managed to create."

His amber eyes flashed with concern as he gestured toward Rina’s exhausted face.

"My abilities can maintain her stability during transport. If complications arise, I can contain them immediately rather than hoping you two arrive in time to clean up the aftermath." Isabelle’s tone brooked no argument.

Cyrus considered this, recognizing the tactical superiority of Isabelle’s proposal.

"Very well. But maintain constant contact."

Rina’s breathing steadied. She pushed herself upright slowly, testing her newly stable form.

"I’m sorry." Her voice came out stronger than before, though still threaded with exhaustion.

"I didn’t mean to bring this disruption to your office."

She turned toward Isabelle, genuine gratitude warming her features.

"Thank you. I know this wasn’t exactly in your job description."

"Don’t worry about it." Isabelle’s response came crisp and professional, her ice-blue eyes already scanning the room’s damaged furniture.

"Containing rogue spirit energy is well within my capabilities."

But Kane noticed how Isabelle’s rigid posture softened when Rina smiled at her.

The frost around Isabelle’s fingertips melted away entirely, and she unconsciously adjusted Rina’s position to ensure better support against the couch cushions.

"Can you stand?" Isabelle asked, her tone maintaining its arctic professionalism even as her hands moved with surprising gentleness to check Rina’s stability.

Rina nodded, accepting Isabelle’s offered arm. "I think so."

"Good. We’ll retrieve those samples and return within two hours." Isabelle’s gaze flicked to Cyrus.

"Take your time," Cyrus said, his tone unusually gentle as he watched Isabelle guide Rina toward the door.

Isabelle paused at the threshold, offering what might have been the ghost of a smile before disappearing into the hallway with Rina.

"I didn’t know Isabelle had it in her," Kane murmured, still staring at the empty doorway. "She’s usually so..."

"Cold?" Cyrus moved to his desk, already reaching for the stack of contracts awaiting his signature.

"Isabelle’s only frozen on the surface. Beneath that ice, she’s fiercely protective of anyone she considers worthy of her loyalty."

Kane grinned, settling into the chair across from Cyrus’s desk.

"Sounds familiar. You’re kind of like that too, you know."

Cyrus’s pen stilled against the contract, crimson eyes lifting to study Kane’s face with unusual intensity.

"I didn’t know you cared so much about a colleague either."

The words carried an edge Kane couldn’t identify—something sharp beneath Cyrus’s typically controlled tone.

Kane blinked, confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

"What do you mean?"