Page 79 of Mantle

“Ariana?”

“She told me what?”

He looked away. “Nothing. Sorry, I assumed with the way you’ve been tonight that—”

“Sylas,” I ground out. “What is it?”

He grimaced. “I gave her a warning.”

I started, a chill running down my spine. “One of your—”

“Yes. One of those.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“What was it?”

“Death circles her, Kai. It was so potent.” He frowned in thought. “And it didn’t make logical sense to me because of what she is—essentially unkillable. But it was there. Powerfully so.”

I swallowed hard. “And you’re never wrong.”

“No. I’m not.”

I sank back against the alcove wall as I tried to reconcile what he was telling me.

Adrenaline thrummed through me like painfully sparking livewires.

Death.

Death coming for Ariana.

She didn’t tell me.

Did she not believe it?

Had she simply discounted it?

Or did she believe it too much?

Fuck.

No. No. No!

I stopped myself before emotion escalated and cost me—or her. Or all four of us.

I couldn’t allow that to happen.

This subject matter was far too volatile to just go in hot and confront her with. Especially at this stage of things when she was focused on her training with Cassius and working so hard to reach her full potential and to be ready, and while they were searching for Ketheron at the same time. It was a lot.

And the four of us supported one another. We shared the load. Welessenedthe burden. Me teleporting to her right now in the middle of one of her sessions with Cassius would be the opposite of doing that.

And I wouldn’t have it.

Especially when all I could go to her with was me knowing about the warning.

I needed to know more than that.

I needed answers.

And now that it was on the table, there were things coming to mind—things I needed to investigate and rule out.

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