Yes, the grimoire which had also revealed his lab work into the‘living warmth’that Ruxnoth had been infusing him with, and all that it had done to Winter’s system, made him addicted essentially at a physiological level. To reveal that, he’d also had to reveal finally to his family that he’d been feeding from beings to feel alive.
“I’m not upset with his withholding. We all do that to a certain extent when safeguarding each other. And he was also under immense pressure… cracking in places. It pains me that he endured that distress alone.”
“He didn’t, though,” Zayn pointed out. “He leaned on us where he could, found a way around the constraints to still do that to an extent and take comfort in us.” He smiled. “Don’t you see? It kept him going. And long enough to push through. Ruxnoth just… took him before it got to that point.”
Evira started nodding, and she told me, “As for you not being able to find a solution using your contacts to the destabilizationto his system, it’s a problem that’s never existed before. You did all you could—more than that.”
“And you also got your hands on fucking Celestial magic, and worked a spell with the likes of Kai Hunter and Sylas Morgrave,” Zayn said, rolling his eyes at me.
“I—”
They both nuzzled against me. “You miss him,” Evira said. “That’s a lot of what this is.”
“And you being down for days. You’re not exactly good with… inaction,” Zayn added.
I looked between them, eyes wide. “And there it is. I have become predictable. Possibly worse—readable.”
“Aww,” Evira crooned. “Only to us, mighty lord.”
“That’s right,” Zayn said with a kiss to my cheek. “Only to us.”
The door opened and Velra strode on in covered in head-to-toe black leather, which was considered herbattle gear. Just like Lazriel being in his tactical gear currently. Outward signs of how deeply stressed they were. Not the case with Cassius who was in dark jeans and a teal T-shirt, however he rarely showed stress outwardly.
“Sorry,” Velra said, nodding at Ketheron and Ambrose as she walked by their side of the table, then brushed her knuckles over Cassius’ cheek, before then guiding Lazriel to sit down, so she was between him and Cassius. “That call with King Darethor and Ryker ran longer than I’d figured it would.”
I saw Remnant’s eyes smiling. It was all that could be discerned because he was wearing his metal mask and an overhanging hood, which given the company and what we already knew, the room being filled with Winter’s family and loves, he was doing from a battle-mode perspective also.
Just as Remnant took a seat at the head of the table, a flare of crimson magic had the door bursting open again, and then Sylas swept on in. He was clutching the gemstone tightly.
“All right, so here’s the deal,” he spoke, striding up to the head of the table and perching on its surface right beside Remnant.
Lazriel grinned at his father, knowing it was simply… not done, however Sylas was in a laser-focused state and evidently all manners, protocols and courtesies didn’t compute.
“So, the message itself was:Collective death-tether. Along with additional intel on the necromancers.”
“He wants you to pull all the necromancers into the Veil temporarily to knock out their magic, so Sanctus is unprotected for a window of time,” Velra mused.
“Yes.”
“And you’re willing to do that?” Cassius asked. “Rather than what we’ve been terming yournuclear optionof siphoning them and taking their lives to permanently remove their threat.”
“He’s asked me to spare them. He needs me to.”
“And what about those who are loyal to Ruxnoth?” Remnant questioned. “Do we know who those among them are?”
“In the message, Win provided those details. I’m now fully aware. Once we pull them out and Sanctus falls, I’ll send the hostile ones to Ryker and the Guardian Movement. With Temperance’s assistance that they’ve agreed to grant me, we can hold them withNihilumbra.”
“Good,” Cassius said, his relief clear. “A much more favored option, Sylas.”
“Definitely,” Velra agreed.
“Thank fuck,” Lazriel said, before gulping down more blood from his glass.
“I was delayed coming back in here because Mia Snow returned my call. She’s seen to the spellwork evaluation of my proposal.” He caught the looks from me, Evira, and Zayn, and told us. “Concerning Winter’s baseline destabilization due tothe disgusting interference from that motherfucker, Ruxnoth, to Win’s death-cold state.”
“Deeply violating,” Ketheron murmured, distressed at the mention of it. No wonder with his history of experiencing similar violations himself. Ambrose clasped his hand on the tabletop and whispered something to him that I did them the dignity of not listening to.
Velra grimaced and looked away.
