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“Orme,”Nyx interjected, coming over to Kai’s other side and glaring at him.

Kai blinked and stared between them, trying to comprehend the stark emotion coming off them both, struggling to.

“I did what needed to be done,” he spoke, his voice strained.

“That’s not good enough,” Ariana bit at him, pushing at his chest again.

“So, you really do care?” He pressed his hand to where she’d pushed him. “I’m deeply touched, sweetheart.”

I shook my head to myself as he used humor to divert and try to transcend the emotional impact of everything.

“Kai,” Nyx protested.

Kai sighed and reached out and stroked his cheek. “I’m okay now. Really.”

“You almost died,” Ariana told him. “Do you get that? You weresecondsaway from the Celestial Light infection reaching your heart.”

“I’m well aware.” He drew in a breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, all indications of him actually being impacted by what had happened.

I stepped forward. “You said that magic was calling out for Ariana?”

He looked so grateful for me shifting things to business. “It was. I don’t know why or how, but that Celestial Light… it shouldn’t have been a safeguard in there, over that scroll. The Unity Council doesn’t have access to Celestial magic. You know that I researched the wards before coming here, and there was no indication ofthatbeing present. This has been employed without the knowledge of the Unity Council.” He glanced at Ariana. “There’s Celestial inference here, without a doubt. There’s something much bigger going on, something in that test that the True Celestials are hellbent on not being known.”

“For real,” Nyx said. “It almost killedyou, Kai. That means anyone who touched it would have suffered the same fate. Like, they’ll kill anyone from knowing what’s contained within it.”

Kai nodded. “And any Celestial content is beyond the knowledge of the Unity Council. The members aren’t privy to that level of things. Even at the Guardian Compound, theArchives are sealed off where anything of a Celestial nature is concerned.”

“Do you know what it is?” I asked Ariana.

“I know as much about it as you do about that ability that you used to save Kai tonight.”

So nothing then.

“But I can find out,” she told us. She held out her hand to Kai. “Hand over the trace magical properties you obtained and I’ll take it from here.”

“Ariana,” Kai protested.

“No,” she said firmly. “You’ve done enough. You helped me. The mission is complete.”

“It sure as fuck isn’t.”

“I’ll take it from here.”

“I’m not just going to—”

She grasped his hand urgently. “You almost perished. It’s too dangerous. And I’m so sorry I brought you in on this and put you in danger. I didn’t know this extra… safeguard… would be there. I never would have asked this of you if I had.”

“Sweetheart, I know. We all know that. But this is bigger than just a test now.”

“And it’smyproblem, soI’llsee to it.”

“You’ll need help,” he insisted.

“Kai, hand it over.”

He cursed under his breath, but then twirled his right hand, his magic sparking, a moment before the trace magical properties floated in the air between them.

Ariana snatched them up with her magic and locked them away from view in the next second. “Thank you.” She looked out at me. “And thank you for saving him.”