Page 143 of Rose and Shadows
Ambrose made a show of adjusting his robes, although it wasn’t actually necessary, but earned a grunt from Remnant.
I turned from Remnant and walked to Kai’s side. “Let’s begin.”
Kai gave a nod, then clasped my hand and I called my power, my white magic enveloping him like a film. It flared brightly, before then fusing into him, disappearing from sight, the only sign of the Celestial shield I’d imbued him with being the glimmering white sparks over his skin and clothing.
“Thanks,” Kai told me.
I stepped off to the side, keeping my power live in preparation.
Remnant moved back so he was just a few feet behind Kai, prepared to withstand a possible detonation from Sylas once Kai completed the spell and teleported out of the way.
And Ambrose stood just to the side of Remnant, conjuring a ball of swirling black tendrils that he levitated before him, growing it as he turned it with his palms streaming into it from either side.
“If the worst comes to the worst and you do release Risen Reckoning, while Remnant provides me time for my magic to interact and fuse with yours, I will be able to warp it. As with Morien enabling Undead Domination to be used on beings who were not death-touched, I can use black magic to do something similar—have Risen Reckoning impact the environment instead of people.” He added pointedly. “For a time, Sylas.”
“Understood,” Sylas said, straightening and then moving to shrug off his hooded leather coat.
“Nah, no need to strip,” Kai told him.
“What?”
“I’m well aware just how much you live to titillate. But keep your fucking clothes on.”
I swung my head as I heard a possessive hiss from Lazriel. “Yeah… fucking do.”
Velra rolled her eyes and I heard her tell him, “Every procedure he’s had has been him stripped down, cut into in some way.”
“I know,” Lazriel murmured.
They looked out at me sadly and I gave what I hoped was a reassuring chin lift, before turning my focus to the spell about to start, needing to be at the ready.
“No cutting, no incision at all,” Kai told him. “In fact, this is gonna feel really fucking good.That’swhere the power expulsion concern plays into it.”
Kai levitated the black metal box between them.
Sylas asked, “Are you certain you were able to isolate the thread that—”
“Yes.”
“What about fusing Corvin’s magic into the core to ensure the infection he afflicted me with will also be decimated the moment the core—”
“Again, yes.” Kai gave him a look. “Backseat spellcaster.”
Sylas sucked in a breath. “Right. We’ve been researching this in great depth for months, you know the ins and outs of it.” His lips quirked. “Almost as well as I do.”
“You really want to take a hit at my ego when I’m about to do this?”
“Please. You’d never hurt me, brother.”
I heard Lazriel chuckling, saw Velra shaking her head in amused dismay.
I gave a roll of my eyes. “Kai, resume.”
He called his rose-gold power to both palms, levitating the contents of the box out, raising it to chest-level between him and Sylas.
Sylas started, his power sparking on his palms again, as he took in the sight of the dark-red rectangular gem surrounded by vibrant-blue vines.
The portion of his necromantic core that Corvin had torn from him.
