“It means it’s time for me to take over. Fully. And to be able to do that, I need to take command of that fear I have when it comes to my necromantic magic.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You’re asking me to train you?”
I nodded. “No more holding off from me. No more delays. Things are different now. Recent events have made that clear. So, yes, I need you to train me. All the way. Nothing off the table anymore just because of my apprehension.”
He exchanged a look with Mom and Ketheron.
Mom pushed off the oven and came to me, telling me gently, “What you just experienced—the violation of it, being taken like that—needs processing time, Winter, and time to recover.”
“This isn’t a reaction to that. It’s not fear-based,” I assured her. “It’s a necessity.”
Ketheron eyed me curiously. “You are certain, tiny god?”
I sighed and pushed my bowl of oatmeal away. “Ruxnoth didn’t harm me, all right?”
They all looked more than a little skeptical.
Dad scrubbed his hand over his face. “He abducted you and held you against your will. Even if nothing else was piled onto that, those are violations already.Harm,son.”
They didn’t understand.
But they would.
I pushed off the stool. “Gather everyone. I’ll explain what happened, so you can rest assured everything is okay with me.”
The three of them looked equal parts stunned, worried, and beyond curious.
But it would all be okay.
BecauseIwas okay.
Absolutely fine.
Actually, better than I had been, because now I had clarity.
Evira hadmy right arm locked in a steadfast grip as she sat on the living room couch with me, her long gray furry coat on and done up all the way, a sign she was tense.
Zayn was dressed his usual bold way, in a pair of neon-pink cargo pants and a zebra-print long-sleeved tee, but he was underneath my other arm, and I was holding him tightly because he’d definitely needed the grounding with the burst of intensity coming off him.
Vax was perched on the arm of the sofa beside Zayn and sitting very rigidly. Although he wasn’t decked out in his Basilisk leather battle gear, he was in prim-and-proper mode with dress pants and a tailored black blazer that had embellished Basilisk markings all over it. His crown was on and when I’d asked about it, he’d told me it was fully charged even though the magical charger was in his dorm room. Father had used his Celestial abilities to see to it for him.
I’d seen a sadness in Evira’s eyes that had seemed to run deeper than me being kidnapped—considering I was obviously fine and here safe and well now. It had to be something to do with her visit to the Dracoryn Realm. I wanted to ask what had happened, but I couldn’t bring up something that heavy running up to this talk. I had to wait until we were back at Loxley Academy, just the four of us again.
Dad was leaning against the wall beside the opposite couch, the forest-green one that Pops liked. And speaking of him, he was there all tense in his black tactical gear and leaning forwardon the cushion, tapping his fingers on his pants. Mom was beside him stroking his hair, trying to calm him somewhat. And Father was beside her, his arm over her shoulder in his all-black dress shirt and pants, along with a sleek blazer—his Academy lecturer attire.
Ketheron was leaning back on the purple chaise across from the couch.
Grandpa Remnant and Grandma Rhyza weren’t here. Apparently, when Grandpa had told her about my kidnapping she’d flown into a wolf rage and he’d had to see to that. Then she’d insisted that he immediately work on increased protection strategies for me, no waiting. The opposite of what I wanted put into place.
Ambrose wasn’t here either. Dad had told me it was because he was working on a way to locate the entry point into Ruxnoth’s magical construct.Hmm.Ketheron had actually come home just to sleep briefly, and then he was going to head back out to work with Ambrose on that task. Father always insisted that Ketheron slept even when he didn’t feel physically tired, in order to keep his mind clear and stable. And Ketheron respected that advice and took it to heart. Another reason for me to hurry this whole exposition along, so Ketheron could get to sleep. Father needed to get to his lecture soon as well.
And Zayn was on edge. He kept shooting loaded glances my way, which for now everyone who noticed was taking as expected concern due to my abduction.
But it was about me feeding on him, me begging him for it, how desperate I’d been. How unstable. And the fact I’d put him back to bed in secret.
“Sanctusis what he calls it,” I spoke when the small talk had reached a natural end and the easy conversation had worn down.
“His magical realm thing?” Pops spoke.
