Page 93 of Mantle

His gaze darted straight to Nyx, taking in the sight of him pale and shaking.

“What has happened?”

“Nyx has discovered that Corvin Morvain was one of the scientists who experimented on Ketheron.”

“The only one left alive—he killed the other two,” Vorzyr added.

“This timing is beneficial,” Cassius said.

“How?” I asked.

“The spell Ariana and I cast to track Ketheron has just identified another site. It flared with intense burial magic—and another magical signature that hasn’t been felt in years. That triggered an alarm in the Guardian Movement. Ryker Morgan confirmed the signature belongs to Corvin Morvain.”

Vorzyr stepped up to Cassius. “Wait. Why are you coming touswith this? Why not Ariana?”

“I couldn’t reach her.”

Vorzyr swung his head toward me. “She didn’t respond to my mind-link attempt either.”

“She was tired after our session and distressed because the site we visited today was Silverwood Wolf Pack lands. She talked abouttaking a beat.”

“She could only have meant for a few minutes because we had class,” Nyx pointed out. “A class I was intending to head to before those memories slammed into me and knocked me out.”

“I will head to the site in question,” Cassius said. “This cannot wait.” He looked at Vorzyr. “Scent-track Ariana. You’ll need Jaxon—he’s linked to her by blood.” He eyed me next. “Do the same magically.”

“No. I’m coming with you. Tracking her magically will not work. With the mind-link compromised, it likely means she’s incapacitated. And if she’s being held, cloaking will automatically be in play. Vorzyr’s dragon-scenting can work around that, magic can’t. Besides, if this is Corvin we’re headed to—the one controlling Ketheron—you’ll need me there. He’shighly manipulative. You need somebody just as calculated to back you up.”

“What about me?” Nyx asked.

“Rest. You hurt yourself. Donottry to reopen any memories. Your mind needs recovery time.”

He grumbled, but didn’t argue.

Vorzyr wrapped his arm around him. “I’ll get you to bed, then I’ll commence the tracking.”

“Corvin coming up now, Kai… he could be the reason we can’t reach out to Ariana,” Nyx murmured, unable to hide his distress.

“If he’s left this site by the time we get there, or if he’s even holding her somewhere else—and V and Jaxon can’t track Ari—I can use his own magic to break the cloaking.”

“If he has her. We don’t know that for certain,” Cassius spoke.

There were too many uncertainties.

I didn’t like that.

Especially not when Ari was caught up in it.

Time to start knocking them down.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Cassius grasped my arm, then enveloped us in a cloud of teleportation.

What the fuckwas going on?

As soon as we rematerialized, I recognized the tiny log home nestled deep in a valley hundreds of miles away from civilization.

And it certainly didn’t belong to Corvin.

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