Similar to the last time she’d drank from him, his magic tingled through her limbs, sparkling and bubbly and heady. As intoxicating as champagne.
He drew his wings back and Cassandra stepped out of the shadows and into the awaiting group of obliviates.
“Okay,” she nodded to Borea and Hella. “Let’s get started.”
* * *
The work was draining,and took nearly the entire night to complete.
But every one of the fifteen obliviates that had been brought to the basement of the Fang and Claw that night had been restored to clear consciousness.
Cassandra had never felt such a complete sense of pride in all her life.
Nearly every family member that had been brought along for the journey—a necessary part of the restoration, since they needed to focus on a memory they shared with the obliviate in order to complete the reversal—had burst into grateful tears upon getting their loved one back.
Many had thrown their arms around Cassandra, calling her the Savior Sister—she wondered if Borea had something to do with that title—and offering to pay her for the service. She waved every one of them off. She’d seen their memories, seen their modest dwellings and well-worn garments, felt the hunger in their bellies, and knew she’d never take a singledrachafrom any of them.
Once the work was complete, Borea accompanied the group back down into the sewers to return to the Temple.
As Cassandra watched the last of them disappear down the sewer grate, a ripple of uncertainty gripped her. She suspected she’d see many of them again. With the Emperor’s demand for ten memories per week, there was no way that at least a handful of them wouldn’t be re-obliviated.
The enormity of the task weighed upon her, but she’d do everything in her power to keep this up, keep mortal families from being separated.
Hella approached, settling a hand onto Cassandra’s shoulder. “Time go, tiny human. Need rest.”
Cassandra glanced to the side of the room, where Tristan was snoring softly, nestled onto his wings on top of a fabric-covered couch. She’d told him that he was welcome to leave at any time, but he’d refused. Said he’d be staying all night, every night, while she was doing this work. She’d argued that he’d need to stay sharp for what his brother had tasked him with, but he’d merely crossed his arms and refused to budge. Said Cassandra’s own work was equally as important. Her chest had glowed at the compliment.
She crept over to him and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead.
He stirred, his eyelids fluttering open. “Is it dawn?”
“Almost,” she smiled. “We’re finished for the night.”
He rose from the couch, stretching and spreading his glorious, iridescent wings. She never failed to feel awestruck at the sight of them.
She almost reached out to hug him, then thought better of it. “Thank you for doing this, Tristan.”
He nodded, his lips pressed together in a tight line. “I…I’ve been meaning to tell you something all night. Figured I should wait until your work was finished.”
The concern furrowing his brow had Cassandra bracing herself for the worst. “What?”
He placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s about Xenia.”
That burdensome weight crashed back down onto her, crushing her more thoroughly than her bone-weary exhaustion. She brought her hand to her mouth, her vision clouding. “She’s dead.”
Tristan bent down and cupped her cheeks. “Oh High Gods, Cass. No.No. It’s not that. It’s… I was misinformed earlier this week. Arran Zephyrus didn’t rescue her. He took Cael and left her there with Maksym.”
A sob broke loose as fury and anguish collided in Cassandra’s chest. “Why?”
He held her steady. “I don’t know. But Cael is on his way back for her.”
She gripped Tristan’s arms, fighting the urge to fall to her knees as sweat slicked her palms. “We need to leave. Now. We need to go help them.”
“We can’t,” he shook his head, looking as distraught as she felt. “Even if we could get to her before Cael, which is unlikely, my brother can’t know about this. No one can. Cael is defying his father to return to her. And if Arran finds out, he’ll kill her. We have to wait. We have to trust him.” Tristan dipped his head. “I didn’t want to tell you…didn’t want you to worry.”
“No,” she whispered, her face and limbs going numb. “No, I’m glad you did.”
Tristan lifted her chin with a finger. “Cassandra, Iswearto you, Cael will find her. He’d tear himself apart before he’d let anyone harm her.”
