Page 42 of Mantle

“I mean, with everything that’s going on, I’ve put that on hold.”

“I see.” He folded his arms in his lap. “That would be a mistake. That’s actually why we’ve been enquiring about your future plans. All of you. When we are embroiled in difficulty and crises, putting our lives on hold only worsens the weight of it all. It can invite hopelessness and lead us to making decisions borne from bad places. It can even compromise our judgment. Instead, we need things to look forward to, and we must continue engaging with what makes us happy, and who makes us happy. Things cannot come to a standstill.”

His words hung there with a whole lot of heaviness as Mom, Dad, and Pops nodded in silent agreement.

“I hear you,” I told him. “I’ll take it to heart.”

“That’s all we want,” Mom said. “Despite the current threat, things aren’t all doom and gloom. There is hope, there is a future for you to carve out.” She smiled out at my boys. “There is this special relationship you’re building with one another. And there’s love and support in your family as well.”

I smiled out at her. “Thank you, Mom. All of you.”

The room reverberated, startling us.

Mom eyed the door. “Somebody has breached the wards—mineandthe Underveil Shield.”

Pops rose to his feet right along with Dad.

Vorzyr and Kai were about to do the same when Papa reported, obviously using his insanely perceptive vampiric senses, “It’s Cassius.”

Despite knowing that, as Pops took a seat with Papa, Dad remained standing.

In the next moment, Cassius swept into the room, that usual determined look in his eyes, all business. He was even clad in his full Celestial battle garb—still so on edge because of the Ketheron threat.

It shifted the atmosphere in an instant, tension and alertness taking over.

I saw Cassius take in that we were all having breakfast.

His gaze flicked to mine. “Ariana,” he greeted politely and respectfully.

“Morning.”

He smiled, but then his expression hardened as he focused on Dad. “Ready, Descendant of Draco?”

Dad bristled. “That’s the first and only time you refer to me that way.”

“It much more adequately describes your vast capabilities and power than merely terming youAlpha.”

“It’s the Draco aspect,” Mom told him.

Cassius pulled up short and stared at them in thought for a few moments.

And then he showed empathy, telling them, “Yes, you all suffered greatly when he rose. My apologies.”

It left everyone utterly stumped.

Cassius registered our reactions. “You wish to survive this, you wish to break the link to the Celestial Plane also, then we all must work together. To do that requires cooperation as well as respect and understanding.”

Dad rounded the table and held out his hand. “I couldn’t agree more.” As Cassius took it and they shook, Dad said, “Let’sget started on figuring out how the fuck we break the Celestial link.”

Cassius nodded, then eased away and walked to me. I rose from my seat at his approach and watched as, with a flare of his magic, he conjured a thick dusty book forth. “While I am immersed in conveying my knowledge to Jaxon, begin reading and absorbing this. Practice the sections noted as Tier Two Practicalities. The Tiers beyond that we will only do together due to the potential of magical fallout if a competent anchor isn’t present when you perform them.”

“Is this your grimoire?” I asked, running my hand over the raised Celestial text that I couldn’t actually read—yet.

“In a sense. Last night, I consolidated information and lore regarding the Celestial Plane, lost magic, history, and everything from my memory, and magically fused it into this volume for you. Time is of the essence. I can no longer reveal information over time and in pieces. It is also what the True Celestials wished, so let’s refrain from following their instructions in any way going forward.”

“Absolutely on board for that,” Mom said, coming over and staring at the book. “This is a major show of trust. Thank you,” she told Cassius.

“I’ll offer another. It’s my understanding that you prefer being in an administrative, hands-off role after the trauma you endured years ago. However, I am aware that you researched the bargain you were bound by and the Celestial Plane extensively in order to try to break it. That knowledge will be useful to combine with mine and Jaxon’s in our quest to break the link. I invite you to join us and return to your role as the most revered and knowledgeable sorceress alive.”

---