Page 22 of Rose and Shadows
My gut twisted knowing that I was actually veering away from doing that myself.
After all my efforts to ease unilateral actions from the three of them, and now I was about to do that myself.
But with the circumstances… I had to.
Velra:You’re sure you’re stabilized now? Promise us.
Lazriel:Are you in bed now as you’re texting us?
Cassius:Do you and Remnant’s scientists require another core? A dose of Celestial magic, perhaps, to assist with the stabilization?
Sylas:It’s all good. I’m up and about again. The intense concern from you all is touching, though. Got me choking up for real now. I’m all good. I swear it.
Lazriel:Thank fuck.
Sylas:Right there with you on that.
Yeah, Sylas had been through so much with his sickness, and it had been one thing after the other for him, something that had taken a massive physical toll.
I wished the transplant had been the permanent solution, not only a holdover until the true cure was acquired
But it was just a matter of time.
That’s all it was… time.
Emotion clogged my throat and threatened to get the best of me. I couldn’t allow it.
Velra:I need to get to my session. See you all soon. Sylas, you don’t be a stranger.
Sylas:Never. And believe me, that’s not an option anymore thanks to you three motherfuckers burrowing deep into my fucking bones. You’re stuck with me forever now.
Cassius:The fear is real.
Lazriel:Damn, you’re getting better with the banter, Cas. Love it.
I exited out and stowed my phone away.
I’d known with what I was about to do that it would test me emotionally, so I’d performed a spell on myself earlier that could temporarily mute my emotions outwardly. It should be just enough to prevent Cassius from feeling any surges from me through the Soul Brand so he didn’t cotton on to what I was up to.
Hell.From me encouraging and then convincing him to reopen the Soul Brand to me… and now…this.I mean, I wasn’t totally shutting it down. I wasn’t actually shutting it down at all. Especially not in the way that he had. But Iwasmuting what he could feel from me, what anyone could feel from me.
It was a special kind of Dark Fae illusionary magic.
Back when Sorin had actually been my brother and we’d played hide-and-seek around the Dark Fae palace with the kids of other Royal Fae Court members during our parents’ long meetings, he’d taught it to me as a trick to hide effectively. Everyone had been using amplifier spells tofeelothers in order to penetrate physical illusions being used to hide. But this trick had enabled the two of us to have a major advantage and, as a result, we’d always won.
As I turned back toward the campus gates, a flash of indigo magic erupted, and Kelsana materialized, her striking wavy green hair brushing the shoulders of her gold romper.
Despite everything, I smiled at the sight of the gold and pink bracelet encircling her wrist that matched with her twisty earrings. I’d made them for her, indulging in my jewelry making hobby during the moments of downtime when I’d been staying at Cassius and Ketheron’s apartment. We’d talked about it during our hangout atVantiqe,her wanting to change up her look and I’d mentioned that I made jewelry. I’d left them outside her dorm room the night I’d returned to campus, and she’d been so touched that she’d come by to thank me. It was as sweet as it was upsetting—her reaction made it clear that she wasn’t used to people being kind to her.
I wished we could have left it in the innocence of that, but the night she’d come by and I’d been alone because Cassius had been at Solumira checking on Ketheron while he was in Ariana’s care, and Lazriel had been catching up on a whole lot of reading, I’d been looking into something. And she’d seen it all.
Something that had been nagging at me ever since Victor Halrow’s attack on Sylas and Lazriel at his home. It had been the tail end that had caught my attention—that Dark FaePuritascontingent that had arrived amongst all the rest.
The Light Fae, vampire, wolf, and other magic-wielder contingent hadn’t been a surprise. But Dark Fae beings didn’t like working with others. It was really rare for them to strike an alliance. The Dark Fae Realm was more cut off from the rest of the supernatural world than any other realm. While there was the younger generation like me and Kelsana who didn’t see things that way, those older and in positions of power still held to that mentality.
But then yet again, Dark Fae had allied with others in the form of Morien Morgrave during that battle with the corrupt necromancer at the CRS facility. Dozens of them.
Sorin was an exception to Dark Fae beings not allying with outsiders, or anyone. And because he was specifically one suchexception, it had caused major suspicion to spark. Especially given his connection toPuritasand his high-ranking position within their despicable organization.
