Page 49 of Mantle

I stepped back and scrubbed my hand over my face. “How did you get invited to this prestigious group?”

He chuckled at my obvious attempt to shift the subject matter.

Then he thumbed himself. “Unique magical prodigy, Kai. Of course I was invited.”

He held out his hand then, surprising me. “Bullshit and posturing aside, I’ve actually been following your activities, and I’m honestly impressed. You’ve come a long way. As soon as you stopped doing things your parents’ way, therein you accessed your true power and potential. And you managed to do it without going to extremes like I did.”

I frowned at his words and his offered hand.

“I’m serious. We’re gonna be working together closely with the Order, I’d like us to be able to do that without hindering things, or any of the other members, due to our personal issues.”

“If you can keep it in the past, so can I. Other things matter more.”

His smile slipped, that sparkle in his eyes dimming. “Yeah, they do. There’s a lot at stake.”

I studied him as I actually took his hand and we shook.

He seemed to be talking about something more personal to him than the current threat, something that had the ability to impact him emotionally.

“Let’s begin,” Cornelius’ voice sounded from the entrance.

Sylas and I turned and made our way over.

As we stepped across the threshold and moved deeper into the building, I scanned the surroundings.

The high-vaulted interior was lined with stone inlaid with silver glyphs that glowed faintly with magic. Floating lanterns lit the space, each flame suspended in a glass orb. There was an array of magical stations, including an alchemical bench with hovering ingredients, and a divination pool sealed beneath enchanted glass. A vast spiral archive of knowledge curved upward along the wall, with tomes, scrolls, and magical artifactsheld in suspended containment fields. A round table carved from stone veined in gold sat at the chamber’s heart, surrounded by twelve chairs—the ideal number of members that Cornelius was working toward, I gathered. Above it spun magical projections of Celestial symbols, Rift anomalies, spectral data, and details of theInhibitorspell.

It was really something.

I couldn’t wait to get started.

10

~Nyx~

So many incisions.

All over my body.

Clinical yet unnecessary.

Brutality masquerading as supernatural medical research.

Pain and humiliation in the name of advancement.

Forced on me.

Free will stolen in a blink and warped into… this.

The never-ending time here.

Always ending up on this cold, metal table.

Restraints that were so familiar, it felt like my body conformed to them now.

Dazedly, I watched the rivulets of blood from the deep slices all over my upper body trickling over my skin.

They stained the white towel hanging low across my waist.

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