Page 110 of Legacy

“What? No, that can’t be—”

“Trust me. Nyx and I investigated the whole situation there years back. They can’t be.Notby vampires, anyway.”

“You’re saying—”

“I’m saying that in order for that hybrid to be a victim of coercion, it had to have come from a Celestial being.”

“That can’t be. Outside of me, the only Celestial beings on this plane are my grandfather, my mom, and my dad. There’s also Cassius, but he came here to help, so he’s not a suspect.”

“ThenPuritashas found a way to access Celestial power. Steal it, siphon it, something along those lines.”

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

“Someone needs to read the magical signature and determine the source.”

I shoved my hand through my hair. “Yeah, okay. I’ll… I’ll make sure it’s seen to.”

“Ari.”

“I’m fine. Fine.”

“It would be perfectly understandable and acceptable if you weren’t.”

“I can’t… I have to focus on what needs to be done. Nothing else.”

“Then you’ll need to let it out when you return home. You can’t allow it to fester. Do you hear me, sweetheart?”

“I do. I know.” I sucked in a breath. “I appreciate you holding there with Vorzyr. It’s too dangerous for him to be up here while Cassius is. No one can find out about his special gifts.”

“Well, knowing you’re well made it easier for me to stand down. Plus, I have research to do into the entire situation to keep me occupied.”

And useful.

Kai always had to be useful. It was a form of control to him.

This happening and nobody foreseeing it… it wasn’t something he’d stand for.

“How did you manage to get Vorzyr to turn back around and talk him out of heading up here and raising hell?”

“I didn’t. You’d only just managed to soothe him after what happened in that vault, what he saw. This coming mere hours later really didn’t land well. There was no room for talking.”

“What did you do, Kai?”

“Only what was necessary to prevent a bloodbathandhim exposing himself.”

“Kai,”I pushed, my anxiety escalating the more he talked around answering my question.

I heard him blow out a breath, before he then revealed, “I sedated him.”

“A sleeping spell, you mean?”

“In essence.”

“But his magical ability should have been able to cut through that within minutes.”

“Hence me needing to slapInhibitorcuffs to his wrists before he woke up.And, for extra insurance, enchanted chains I had in my lab that I acquired when he first came into our lives, before he became an ally, and then… much more. They are specifically designed to restrain dragon kind, something that was created centuries ago when the relations between this realm and the Dracoryn Realm weren’t so… peaceable.”

“Shit,” I grunted. “When he wakes up—”