Page 142 of Mantle

She hastily called her magic and dressed herself in her go-to black tank and jeans combo, with her brown suede jacket over the top.

“Grandfather,” she choked. “What are you doing here?”

Her gaze flicked to the three of us—Vorzyr was fully dressed, but Kai and I were shirtless. Kai had his pants on, but I was only in my boxers. Noticing how uncomfortable she was at her grandfather catching us like this, I swept a wave of magic over myself and Kai, dressing us fully—Kai even ending up in his hard leather coat.

Cornelius barely blinked at the scene before him. As usual, his focus was razor-sharp and urgent, concern etched deep into every refined line of his face. “Forgive the intrusion,” he said briskly, eyes locking onto Ariana’s. “But we need to have a conversation, my supremely powerful granddaughter.”

He had Ariana jolting and all of us shooting to our feet alongside her as he suddenly conjured the Wrath of Hades.

“About this.”

A shudder rolled through me at the sight of that awful damn dagger.

“I’m sorry I kept the truth from you about it being in my possession. I kept it from everyone. All except Warlow.” A wry smile played on his lips. “Nothing can be kept from my highly-astute husband. Nothing happens in our home without him being well aware of it.”

“Huh,” Kai uttered. “That fucks all over your natural inclination for secrecy.” He wasn’t roasting him, he was actually bonding in his way with Cornelius, because Kai had been that way for a long time, until the four of us had grown so close and he’d opened up a lot where that was concerned.

“It’s probably for the best. Secrecy is a burden—a heavy one.” He stared down at the dagger in his hand, then looked at Ariana again. “But this… it’s caused our family a depth of grief I can’t even begin to quantify. Your mother was killed by it. They were all there, watching her die. The Celestial Plane used that moment to trap her—kept her imprisoned for months while she was pregnant with you. It nearly destroyed your parents’relationship. And it nearly cost usyou.” He exhaled. “I didn’t trust it to be returned to the Celestial Plane for obvious reasons. That’s why I didn’t tell the rest of the family. But Ishouldhave told you. You weren’t there. You didn’t witness what happened firsthand. And you stand apart in another way—you’re the only True Celestial not tethered to the Celestial Plane. They tried to force that duty on you, but they can’t enforce it. There’s no tether to manipulate.” His eyes brightened. “Which also means something else.” He stepped toward the porch. “Death circles you. But it can’t be allowed to come to pass. The world needs your Light. Without it, darkness comes for us all.That was the full warning Sylas Morgrave gave. Between Ryker, Jaxon, Mia, Gabriel, Calla, and Cassius, we’ve pieced together its meaning.”

We all braced ourselves.

“‘Death circles you’refers to both the Wrath of Hadesandthe True Celestials. Sylas sensed that the moment you begin the Severance, they will descend upon this plane. They’ll come for the Wrath of Hades—and they’ll sacrifice one of their own to use it, to extinguishyou. You are the greatest threat to their control over this world.‘Darkness comes for us all’means what happensifthey succeed. If you fall, they’ll run wild. Everything we’ve already suffered from their interference will be nothing compared to what would come next.” He held the dagger out to her. “That’s why you must use this during the Severance spell. Embed it into the consecrated ground in Meforian Forest. When you break the link, it will also sever the ‘life for a life’ curse tied to the Wrath of Hades. From that moment forward, it will be just a dagger. Nothing more.”

Ariana took the dagger. Her fingers curled around the hilt, steady. Then her steadfast gaze locked on Cornelius. “We end this.”

“Indeed,” Cornelius rumbled.

As she stowed the dagger away with her magic, she told him, “Thank you for doing this, for trusting me with this.”

“Ah, my incredible granddaughter, you have earned it. Several times over at this point. You are what they could never hope to control.”

Before anything more could be said, Cassius materialized in a flash of his white light.

He was breathless as he rushed up to us, quickly taking in the scene before him. Breathless not from exertion, but urgency.

“We’ve found Corvin Morvain.”

A shudder went through me. That fucker being there in my memories of my time in that lab… it was still a lot to absorb. As soon as things calmed down, I’d need to see the Healer, Brandise again. Several times a week, in all likelihood.

I swallowed it down for now and focused on Cassius as he reported, “The blood-binding enchantment pulsed a few minutes ago. The necromantic resistance shielding him is gone.” His gaze sharpened. “We’ve located him. He’s been hiding in a place calledSanctuaire du Silence—a secret subterranean crypt complex built into the cliffs near a forgotten battlefield. Some of his allies were apprehended nearby, and we discovered they’d been helping him stay hidden. Black magic users.” He stepped forward. “The Guardian Movement is moving in now. If you want to be a part of the operation, we have to goimmediately.”

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to be there.”

Cassius blinked. “You’re sure?”

She nodded, firm. “I already told the others. I’ve taken back everything that matters. I don’t need to see him fall. I need to focus on what comes next. What only I can do.”

Cassius’s expression flickered with something between respect and sorrow. “Understood. You plan to retrieve Ketheron then? I will meet you at the necessary spot within Meforian Forest. Your family will be there as well.”

“I’ll have the Wrath of Hades with me.” Her gaze flicked to Cornelius briefly. “They’ll need to be warned.”

I could see Cassius’ concern. “Unfortunately, in order to de-power that accursed dagger, that is very much necessary.” He looked at Cornelius. “As we’ve discussed to great length.”

Cornelius nodded. “It must be this way without a doubt.” He eyed Kai then. “I also came here to inform you that the re-engineering of theInhibitorspell has been completed. Gabriel configured it to your liking, something Ryker is not exactly over the moon about. It is his responsibility as Head of the Guardian Movement to protect the supernatural world first and foremost, and this reconfiguration means that only Ketheron can choose to activate the Encompassing Inhibitor—a working title that may have to remain, I’m afraid, given the time restrictions we are facing.”

He meant the warning from Ketheron that the Celestial Plane knew what Cassius had done regarding the Soul Brand with Velra Nox, training Ariana not to their liking but to help her, working on the Severance spell, and, as such, he could Fall at any time. And to complete the Severance spell, he had to access the Celestial Plane, something that couldn’t be done as a Fallen.

“The Encompassing Inhibitor will alert Ketheron with time to spare if Corvin attempts to infect him with his magic in order to re-establish that leash over him, and Ketheron will choose whether he activates it to prevent that from happening. If he does, Corvin’s magic and influence will be immediately repelled, but Ketheron will also be without his magic. And even his dragon fire, actually, because we’ve determined that it is not pure like other dragons, it’s magically manufactured.”

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