Page 128 of Rose and Shadows
Yeah, I was, wasn’t I? That had been a major feat.
And as Nyx smiled between us knowingly, I could see that he’d had words with Kai about it, and it was very likely why Kai was bringing it up, because coming from somebody like him, the reminder of what I could achieve was a great comfort with everything else going on.
“Always looking out for me, huh?” I said to Nyx.
He winked. “Absolutely always.” His gaze dropped to my belly. “That includes this little girl or boy now too.”
A sudden explosion of silver power cut through the immediate area, and then I startled as Cornelius teleported in.
It had Nyx and I tensing, and Kai spinning around to face him.
Cornelius’ gaze went to me for a moment and he registered my hand stroking my belly—subconsciously now apparently—then gave me one of his sweet smiles. “All will be well, my dear.”
Kai frowned at him. “I’m not a fan of that look on your face. That hard-edged determination with a flare of dark intensity.”
“You’ve come here with a plan,” I realized aloud.
Kai was right about that look.
“No more struggling to seek out the enemy,” Cornelius announced.
“You want to bring the fight to us?” Nyx asked. “Draw them out?”
“Coax them out,” I breathed as the realization hit me. My gut twisted. “With what they want most. Hybrid targets served up on a platter.” I eyed Cornelius. “You’re thinking of a massive illusion with scent and magical signatures baked into it to enable it to fly as being real?”
“Not exactly. That won’t fool Morien or even the likes of Gregor—he is a centuries-old defected Light Fae who has been runningPuritasfor years, oftentimes utterly concealed. He even managed to keep himself and his role as leader unknown to us all for too long.”
With a whoosh of vampire speed, Lucian burst into the fray from Kai’s lab. “What you’re about to suggest, Ryker will not sanction,” he warned Cornelius.
“Ryker will see that it is the most optimal solution to our current predicament.”
“The most optimal solution isn’t always the right one. You’ve learned that painfully over the years. At least I thought you had—we all did.”
“I have,” Cornelius gritted, Lucian’s words clearly poking at old wounds. “We need a large group of hybrids in order to draw out Morien andPuritas. A group out in the open beyond wards and protections. Warlow and I have been seeing to just that. In case it came to something like this.”
“Warlow agrees with this madness?” Lucian questioned.
“He’s been sidelined because ofPuritas. Crossborn has essentially ceased to function because of it. The CRS facilities have all been evacuated. Fifty seeking sanctuary were murdered when Crossborn was supposed to represent safety. So, yes, he’s on board. We’ve been gathering many within the clandestine sanctuary zones who wish to fight back. There are many like Velra, here, and Nyx, Lazriel, who haven’t retreated into the sanctuary zones. Many within the Academies and Covens who have refused and continue on with their lives, partly as a form of protest against whatPuritashas been trying to take from them. We have over two thousand hybrids who wish to stand and fight.”
“Holy hell,” I breathed.
Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, slipping into quiet assessment of Cornelius’ plan.
And Nyx looked out at me, a knowing look passing between us as fellow hybrid beings.
“If this happens and things go south… they’re not just signing up to fight… they might not survive it,” I warned.
“They are well aware of that fact, I assure you,” Cornelius told me.
Lucian blew out a breath. “That would be for Ryker to determine to his satisfaction.”
“And I am well aware ofthatfact, Lucian. No move will be made without his command.”
“We’d need to spin the narrative really fucking carefully,” Kai spoke up. “It needs to be seen to the enemy that there is a time limit on the hybrids being out in the open—perhaps them all gathering to be transferred somewhere else—so that Morien has to act immediately. Otherwise, he could wait, which would not only keep his focus on taking Sylas’ power and his very fucking life, but speed up that process so he can see to the hybrid decimation. Immediate. Fucking immediate action to be required. Do you hear me?”
My gut twisted and I started literally doing that with my hands from the fear of how perfectly it needed to be timed to spare Sylas. And even then…fuck.It was too close… to fucking close to Sylas not being able to make it through this.
No… stop!
