Page 55 of Rose and Shadows
“It was a calculated risk—isn’t that how you justify the reckless things you do?”
“Thosereckless thingshave never and will never include the use of black magic.”
“It was gonna be a one-time thing.”
He shook his head sadly. “It’s never just once.”
I shoved a hand through my hair. “Sylas, I’m not… it’s not the same as—”
“You’re not him, not my father? Not Morien?” He kicked at the ashes in the circle. “It always starts with that“just-a-one-time-thing”mentality. If you have to justify it, especially at that stage, it’s already done, Velra.”
I went to speak, but then he was there cupping my face. “Little Wraith, I know this was for Lazriel, that you risked this for somebody else, not yourself. And, yeah, my father would have never done that. His usage was always in service of himself. So, no, you’re not him. But you could still become corrupted. If not corrupted, hurt. Mentally and physically. That’s the toll that black magic usage can take. It just… it never ends well. All it does is destroy. Can you imagine Lazriel finding that he’s lost you when he returns to us? Cassius would absolutely lose his mind as well.”
“And you?” I asked, tentatively.
“Me? I’d be absolutely fucking devastated. After how far you’ve come, how hard you’ve fought, you keeping that beautiful compassion of yours in spite of being hunted, shamed, and rejected… it’s miraculous. So to then throw all of that away, especially when you now have a new family in Cassius, Lazriel, and me… it would be a true tragedy. I wouldn’t do well with it. At all.”
I clasped his hands on my face, stroking his fingers. “Thank you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “For getting in the way of your mission that you were so hellbent on?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sylas.”
“Well?” he challenged.
“Look, you were right. It was… the danger was extreme. And I guess, I didn’t want to allow that to resonate. So I shoved itdown, even Lazriel’s own warning to me about going down that road.”
“Concerning taking Sorin’s life.”
“How do you—ah, Cassius told you?”
“He did, yes. He wanted me to be aware and he didn’t want you to have to be the one to inform me, or even speak about it. And while I agree with his approach of allowing you time to process that, there needs to be a limit. To be clear, I won’t let you fall into the same trap I did with compartmentalizing things like that. For you especially with what you’ve endured over the years, it could have you falling back into the way you used to operate before—closed off and existing only in survival mode. You’ve come too far to allow that to happen.” He smiled. “You are better than that, Velra. So much better than all of this fucking madness.”
“I won’t do it again… won’t venture down that road. I promise. I promise the three of you that.” I sucked in a breath and blinked harshly as emotion threatened to take me. “Just… Lazriel… he…”
“I know,” he breathed. “I know.”
He dropped his hands and wrapped his arms around me.
I sank into him for several moments, and I felt him do the same, needing the comfort just as much as I did.
I tilted my head up after a while. “How are you here right now?”
“I need to perform a spell for Remnant, one that can’t be done in the Shadow Tunnels, so we emerged above ground earlier.”
“We? Remnant is with you?”
“At my place. With the hefty ward that Cassius erected after the Victor-Sorin-Puritas attack, he’ll remain off the radar there. Rhyza Thaine is also on her way.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, according to Remnant, she has a lot to say about Lazriel being taken on Remnant’s watch when agents of The Shadowed were running protection detail on him.”
“There’s no way those agents could have followed Lazriel to where he was kidnapped from, though. He was transported there through Cassius’ teleportation. Very few beings in the entire supernatural world can track through that.”
“I’m sure she knows that—in her head. But her heart… her son being in danger… it’s another matter. As you, me, and Cassius well know.” He sucked in a breath. “So, while the spell is cooking, I left him time alone with her, and I accessed Wraeven Academy through the magical passage I’d first put in place months ago. Given that it was already in place when they enhanced the wards and protection around campus, I was still able to use it and bypass it.”
“Always a step ahead, aren’t you?”
