Page 121 of Mantle

“What is that?” Nyx asked, frantic for me, stroking my hair, doing whatever he could to soothe me. He eyed Ariana. “Is it… you know?”

Celestialwas what he was asking, but keeping the secret about that side of me.

Although, it wouldn’t be secret for that much longer, given that I’d displayed one of those abilities during that battle with Ketheron and dozens of Guardian members had been around when I had. Not to mention, what would spread from the Dracoryn Realm as well.

“No,” Ariana confirmed. “It’s definitely not that.”

“Look,” Kai said, gesturing at my arm. “These draconic symbols… the only ones burning away are those connected to royalty, House Titanus, his parents.”

We locked eyes. “The revolution has begun.”

I failed to suppress a roar as the burning attacked my other arm, part of my chest, becoming absolutely fucking blistering.

All eyes in the class were on me in a second.

The professor came rushing over, but my loves around me refused to move, forming a sort of non-magical shield around me.

She managed to get a look in spite of that. “Head to the Infirmary immediately. It can’t be stopped, but the horrific pain can be muted with a special Light Fae salve we have in stock.”

“Thank you,” Nyx managed to offer for me.

And then the three of them were helping me out, Nyx guarding me, Kai literally ripping the door open with a forceful bolt of his magic, and Ariana supporting my growing dead weight with her angelic strength.

As soon as we got away from the classroom and further down the corridor, I dragged my feet, making them all pull up short. “Not the Infirmary. Take me to Cornelius. He’s Inter-Realm Ambassador. He has the means to see into the situation. I need to know… I need to see it. And my baby brother… I have to see that he’s okay.”

They all exchanged a nod of agreement.

“I’ll get the salve and meet you there,” Nyx told Kai and Ariana.

“I’ll go ahead and prepare Cornelius, get an Inter-Realm Holoscreen up and running,” Kai said.

“Sounds good. Go,” Ariana encouraged them.

In a blink, they both teleported out.

And then Ariana shifted her grip on me to a more comfortable hold for me, worry and distress for my pain clouding her gorgeous face. “It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.” She smiled. “My dragon.”

I managed a weak smile. “Forevermore, goddess.”

And then she was enveloping us in a cloud of teleportation.

That salve had worked wonders.

Nyx had gone a little overkill with it, spreading it places where there weren’t even tattoos, and even over the ones that had nothing to do with House Titanus specifically and thus wouldn’t burn as my parents’ tyrannical rule did.

It had just finally dried and Ariana walked back to me after helping Cornelius to activate a massive holoscreen in his living room, currently replacing a huge flatscreen that Warlow had made him conjure.

Warlow wasn’t here right now. He was working with Ryker and Aegis Watch in the aftermath of the complete takedown of Chimera Circle—accommodating and assisting the hybrids who’d been found in those awful labs. Some were being sheltered and stabilized. Others had run for their lives when certain sites were abandoned after word spread that Chimera Circle had been fully and irreversibly compromised.

They were also analyzing the retrieved research data, trying to understand the extent of the damage done—and to use that knowledge to better grasp each hybrid’s unique physiology.

Once that stage was complete, Crossborn would take the lead.

I pulled from my thoughts as Ariana handed me my shirt and I slipped it back on.

She slid her hand into mine for support as the glowing silver holoscreen came to life, accessing real-time magically-generated footage of the Dracoryn Realm—the specific site where the revolution was taking place.

Nyx was perched on the arm of an ornate gold-threaded couch, while Kai was next to him, sitting forward in a rigid state.

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