Page 97 of Rose and Shadows
He scrubbed his hand over his face, then explained, “I’ve been communicating with Remnant about it. At first we’d come to the conclusion that we’d split the Commander role between us. The only viable compromise available at the time. Until Ryker’s communication through that scroll.” His lips lifted. “Well, his proposal. I haven’t run all the details, numbers, or any of that yet, because I’ve had my priority set on the immediate issue of finding Morien, the core, and Corvin’s magic. But the gist of it is that Ryker is offering a bridge between above ground and The Shadowed, something that would take the load offRemnant in a major way without weakening the organization—actually, it would enhance it. And it’s something Ry wants me to head in conjunction with being his conduit to The Shadowed—at a much deeper level than Cornelius’ mysterious support to them currently is.”
I smiled.
He’d done it.
He’d chosen us.
His lone wolf disposition and previous unilateral action approach was no longer leading the way. He’d just proven that because this whole thing, being offered such a vital role in The Shadowed… it was major, especially to him.
But he hadn’t succumbed to it.
He hadn’t pulled away.
He was here withus.
Here to stay.
I saw Lazriel relax.
“Well done,” Cassius spoke, coming to Sylas and grasping his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Lazriel breathed. “Good. Thank fuck.”
Sylas grinned out at us. “Told you I’d never leave you.Nowcan you finally trust in that?”
I answered by throwing my arms around him.
He chuckled and held me tightly to him as Cassius and Lazriel gathered right up close as well.
Everything was headed in the right direction. A positive, happy, and loving direction.
I had no worries there. We’d all be okay. We were ready to be with each other in every way, to build our lives together, far beyond the confines of even Wraeven Academy.
Now all we had to do was get through this last hurdle with all this external shit, and then we could be free to do that.
I couldn’t wait.
And it was such a powerful thing to hold onto through what was coming.
17
~Sylas~
I stood back observing as Remnant embraced Lazriel, stroking his hair, the scars on his face, and generally offering him the fatherly tenderness that Lazriel had long desired.
Remnant had insisted on coming here to a concealed area of campus glamored by his magic-wielders to check in on his son before we saw to Victor Halrow once and for all.
Initially, Remnant had promised Lazriel that the two of them would end Victor together.
But that had been before he’d gotten to know his son properly. He’d come to see just like Velra, Cassius and I did, that Lazriel didn’t find comfort or closure in punishment and death. He found it in peace.
And he was already well on the way to doing that where Victor was concerned.
Cassius had told Velra and me about the breakthrough Lazriel had experienced when Cassius had urged him to unleash on him, where Lazriel had been so brave and claimed who he was, stuck to his wants and needs sexually, despite what Victor had tried to warp for him. Last night he’d also been his usual sexually voracious and fierce self, so that had been a fantasticsign. And most importantly, he was looking to his future—and doing that based off what he’d learned, how incredibly he’d evolved and grown lately. He was meeting with his mom today to set out on a path to change the nature of the systematic setup for hybrid shifters across the supernatural world. This would be beyond his work with Crossborn—a whole other level.
I smiled. He was a true force of nature. I’d known it the moment I’d encountered him.
He just hadn’t recognized that in himself back then.
