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He stared at me, not sure what to make of my words, perhaps even of my observations of him.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my jacket.

I pulled it out to see a text had just come in.

Kai:Cassius is not the threat. The Rift Mark test rejected his blood.

I swallowed hard and pocketed my phone.

“Kai has determined some answers from my blood already?”

I jolted at the question. “What?”

“He made me bleed. He went to a lot of effort, invoking ancient magics, and taking a great risk in challenging me. It did not escape my attention that it wasn’t merely to show me that he wasn’t to be trifled with, despite being a lesser being.He is extremely calculative, his actions often possessing several layers.”

Son of a bitch.“Before you came down from the Celestial Plane, I kept drawing a particular symbol with my shadow weaving that I couldn’t place. We discovered it was a Rift Mark and that it was warning of a threat. Kai needed your blood to confirm that you weren’t said threat.”

He took a step forward, urgency bleeding from him. “You drew a Rift Mark sigil?”

“Yes.”

“And you can perform shadow weaving?”

“Sometimes. It’s not always a conscious effort.”

“That’s because you haven’t been taught how to wield itandlikely the bargain that has been struck in your name between you and the Celestial Plane was hindering your ability to do so freely. There is a way to rise beyond that, to exert free will over it, and I can teach it to you.” He grunted. “So many violations of free will continue to be perpetrated by them.”

“That,” I uttered. “That’s how you stand apart. You don’t follow blindly. You care about what is right.”

“And doing so has put me in ill favor with them.”

The Soul Brand would do a lot worse than that.

I realized aloud. “You’re trapped now.”

“Mighty similar to you.” He smiled. “Aberration.”

I shifted my weight. “Look, I’m sorry about how Kai approached—”

“Do not apologize for another’s actions. Moreover, you can inform him and your loves that I will not attempt to retrieve the blood that they took. Allow them to use it to grant the dragon the answers that he seeks regarding his corrupted bloodline. I am curious to know myself.”

I choked. “Excuse me?”

He gave me a withering look. “He shouldn’t have been able to break through my power that night when I sent him spinning out off that mountaintop. I’d intended to return to break him from it once I had you situated and contained. I’d heard rumors of his grandfather’s plans with Draco, yet it was believed they failed in their efforts, that Malrik met his demise before anything could come of it. That was clearly not the case.”

Holy shit.

No. No. No.

“That’s one hell of an assumption you’re making with—”

He laid his hand on my shoulder. “Ariana, the reason that I am curious to know myself is because his ability to clearly break through True Celestial power could be the key to much—for you and I.”

“Oh, I—what—”

“Like you stated, we both find ourselves trapped. Wouldn’t it provide a great deal of relief if we happened upon a way to remedy that?”

Something hit me as his words sank in. “You can’t look into it yourself, can you? Your connection to the Celestial Plane would alert them to you doing so?”