Viktor stepped across the shattered line without hesitation. The remaining witches scattered in every direction, some raising shaking hands to cast, others simply running. Stefan moved with him, silent and focused, the grief in his eyes hardened into something colder.
Davina stayed where she was. Her voice cut through the chaos.
"You don't understand what you're doing. This city runs on balance. The magic of New Orleans isn't just power—it's a living thing. You keep pushing like this and it will push back. Harder than any boundary spell. Harder than any of us. You're upsetting something older than your family, and it won't forgive you for it."
Viktor walked toward her at a steady pace. Witches who tried to stand in his way didn't last long. Stefan handled the ones who fled toward the side streets. The quarter filled with short, sharp sounds of struggle that ended quickly. No one who remained in the open was left standing.
When the last of the immediate resistance fell silent, Viktor stopped a few feet from Davina. The storm still growled overhead, but his voice was quiet and clear.
"You keep talking about balance," he said. "About magic fighting back. About what this city will do. I've heard versions of that speech for a thousand years. From kings. From witches. From things that called themselves gods. They're all gone. I'm still here."
He raised one hand. His eyes shifted, the usual gold-red giving way to a cold, clear blue. The air around him changed. Faint shapes began to rise from the ground—translucent, flickering forms of the witches who had just died. They hovered in place, bound by the spell, unable to leave.
Viktor looked at them without pity.
"You," he said to the spirits. "Your people and mine lived in this city for centuries without this level of hatred. There was tension. There were fights. But it never became this. Your young ones didn't grow up dreaming of killing Originals. So tell me what changed. What filled them with this much poison?"
One of the older spirits flickered harder, its voice thin and distant.
"It started with the deals. Quiet ones at first. Someone offering power, protection, knowledge the ancestors no longer gave freely after the well was capped. She moved through the city like smoke—buying favors, selling artifacts, whispering that the Mikaelsons had grown soft and the old order could be rewritten. The young ones listened. They wanted strength without the cost of waiting. She gave them pieces of it. Enough to feel brave. Enough to believe they could take something from you and survive."
Another spirit added, almost reluctantly, "She never showed her face clearly. Always through others. Always with the promise that the balance could be tipped if someone was willing to strike first."
Viktor's expression didn't change, but the blue in his eyes sharpened.
"A broker," he said. "Someone selling courage and calling it power."
He turned his attention back to Davina. She was still on her feet, but the fight had gone out of her shoulders. The spirits drifted closer, forced to witness.
"You killed two of my blood because someone convinced you the risk was worth it," Viktor said. His voice stayed low, but every word carried weight that settled into the bones. "You stood behind a wall and told yourself it made you strong. It didn't. It only delayed the moment you learned what happens when you take from this family. There is no balance that protects you from that. There is no magic in this city older or stronger than what we are. You wanted a war. You have one. And you will not live to see how it ends."
Davina opened her mouth, but no words came. The blue light in Viktor's eyes flared once more. The remaining witches who had tried to hide or run were found. One by one, the quarter went quiet.
When it was finished, only Davina remained in front of him. The spirits of the others still hovered, forced to watch.
Viktor looked at her for a long moment.
"You should have stayed behind the wall," he said.
The last of the resistance in the witch quarter ended there.
In another part of the town
Seline moved through the upper floors of the building across the street with careful steps. The storm still growled in the distance, but the siren song she had spread earlier kept most of the city calm and unaware. She had watched the woman in the red dress disappear inside this place. Someone who could ignore a full siren call was rare enough to demand answers.
She reached the hallway that led to the private suites and paused, listening. No heartbeat close enough to matter. No movement. She pushed the door open with two fingers.
The room was dark except for the city lights coming through the wide windows. Empty. Seline stepped inside, already annoyed. She had not expected the woman to simply vanish.
"Looking for someone?"
The voice came from behind her.
Seline turned fast, power rising on instinct, but the woman was already there—standing only a few feet away as if she had stepped out of the shadows themselves. The red dress was the same. The smile was the same. Calm. Interested. Completely unaffected by the sudden tension in the air.
Seline's eyes narrowed. "You ignored my song."
"I did." The woman tilted her head slightly. "It was a good song. Strong. Most people would have walked into traffic for it. I simply… chose not to."
"Who are you?"
The woman walked past her toward the window, completely at ease, and looked out at the dark clouds still hanging over the witch quarter. "Someone who pays attention when the sky starts answering a single man's voice. And someone who notices when a siren takes an interest in her."
Seline stayed where she was, studying the woman's back. No fear. No compulsion working. That alone made her dangerous.
"You winked at me," Seline said.
"I did." The woman glanced over her shoulder. "Curiosity goes both ways. You're new to this particular board. I'm not. That makes you interesting."
She turned fully then, still smiling, and met Seline's eyes without flinching.
"You can keep following me if you like. Or you can decide whether you want answers or a fight. Either way, I'm not running."
Seline felt the weight of the moment settle. This was the first time she had stood face to face with anyone connected to the larger game in New Orleans. The woman clearly knew more than she was saying.
And she had caught Seline completely unaware.
A/N
Well I went to get the Patreon account and discovered that I had and account there, and I was also about to post this work there.
So I will do that soon, as soon as I'm done with my exams in two weeks time, and I will also update my FRIENDS And Teenwolf fanfics there and also a new project I will be working on there I will give you all a hint.