Rex held up his hand. “It’s nothing to do with me dicking down Tate—”
“Youdickinghimdown?” Felix questioned. “Come on, man.”
Rex ground his jaw. “Fine.” With a heavy sigh, he said, “For your information, when Sylas found out about it, he laughed. Laughed his fucking head off.”
Wesley spoke, not raising his voice, yet it carrying powerfully over to them, “Shortly thereafter you met your lovely wife. So, as they say, the rest became history, hmm?”
“Yeah… then I met Genevieve.” His eyes shone at Wesley. “Thanks, Wes.”
“Of course. So long as it helps. We can’t lose focus now. Moreover, Sylas won’t forsake you due to therealreason you believe the two of you weren’t on good terms—nothing to do with overlapping… fornication. What you believe was your aggressive rivalry with him for several years. He didn’t see it as a rivalry on his end, Rex. Maybe a mild agitation, nothing more.” Wesley grinned at me, then told Rex, “Besides, as I understand it, he made a promise to his son. Those are cherished dearly in their family. He will see to it for you.”
I saw Rex taking all of that in.
The room fell quiet, everyone understanding the heaviness of it.
Then Rex looked out at me. “When he breaks the death-tether on all of us, when you’re back up there too, make him put me in stasis. Please, Winter? Will you do that for me? I don’t want to feel that... being fractured like that again. If I’m put under until your dad finds that cure, I won’t have to. It will… it will be okay.” He winced. “And if he can’t determine a cure, tell him to let me go. No Valley, or I’ll go in shattered like that… butwiped from existence and nothingness instead. Like he did to Morien to ensure that psycho could never resurrect again.”
“If that’s what you want, of course.” But my dad would find the cure. It wasn’t even a question to me. “Things do work out, though. Okay?”
He smiled, but I could see he didn’t really believe it. “Thanks, kiddo.”
It was okay, he would believe it. He’d see it and live it for himself.
I saw the others gazing at me in some sort of wonder.
Ah,it was that look people got when they saw a gentleness in me, a supposed innocence, which was shocking to them, given both what I was and, yeah, who two of my dads were—Cassius and Sylas. Not Pops, because he was sweet in a sort of rambunctious way. And mom was fierce, sure, but only vicious with it when those she loved were threatened. Otherwise she was deeply attuned to others, just like me.
I drew in a breath. “We’re done with recounting past… exploits?” I asked them all. “If any of the rest of you had a sexual run-in with my dad, let’s save it.” For never.
They started frowning at one another. I even saw Wesley looking surprised.
“What?” I asked.
Wesley laid a hand on my shoulder. “We thought you knew. Sylas didn’t engage in dalliances with other necromancers.”
“Yeah,” Felix said. “I mean, even Trixie tried to get in there, and she couldn’t. He shut it down. Hard.” Off my look, he told me, “One of the necromancers murdered by Morien.”
Oh, fuck.
I swallowed thickly. “Why not?”
“His colossal power, Winter,” Wesley told me. “He was concerned he would lose control if he connected physically with another necromancer.”
“Connected physically,” Felix laughed. “Oh, Wes.” He shook his head, then explained to me, “Fucking is a loss of control, right? Really letting go? With his power set, that kind of connecting with the exact same‘type’—pure Necromancy—in a sexual partner… he thought it was a risk.”
“That was before he proved to himself and everyone just how controlled he is in all things when he dealt with Morien. He reached new heights of power and didn’t falter,” Fiona said. “Like you,” she added, with a smile.
“Like you’re about to do once again tonight,” Philip added.
“Some never fall victim to corruption, no matter what,” Rex told me. “And it’s not about some predestined bullshit or being born that way, because we all know that’s just fakery.” He slammed his fist to his chest, over his heart. “It’s what’s in here. That being steady. And it is in you, Winter.”
“We’re not just with you for this mission because of what you can do when it comes to the Fuel Core of it all,” Aliya said. “We’re here for you. We trust in you.”
Philip held up a finger. “And, rest assured, not in a cultish way.”
“Yeah, been there, done that,” Felix muttered. “Hades, what a shitshow.”
“I appreciate the trust,” I told them.
