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It sealed right after he was home free.

Cornelius stared at him intently as Kai held the feather in his hand. “You are more than they know. To understand those ancient magics, let alone being able to wield them, is an extreme rarity.”

“Knowledge is power.”

“It certainly is,” Cornelius said, gazing at him and looking mighty impressed.

Kai went to hand him back the feather, but Cornelius shook his head. “Keep it.”

“Excuse me?”

“You earned it. Moreover, it may prove useful down the road. I am also certain that you will keep it safe.”

Kai looked utterly stunned. “I will.”

In the next moment, he sealed it away from view with his magic, locking it up somewhere out of sight.

Cornelius smiled, then snapped his fingers at the top shelf to Kai’s left.

Something enveloped in his magic levitated down.

He kept it hidden in his swirling silver as it hovered a few inches from his hand, while he told us, “This will provide you with some answers concerning Malrik Titanus. As I’m sure hasbeen conveyed to you by now, it is not I who was responsible for his death. However, he was, indeed, murdered at the will of the Celestial Plane.”

“And Cassius?” I asked.

“He wasn’t involved either.”

“Do you know the name of the True Celestial who was?”

“Yes, but it won’t do you any good.”

“And why is that?” I bit back.

“Because he’s dead. Eradicated actually. By Draco. Once he found out that Malrik had been murdered by said True Celestial, Draco hunted him down, tortured him for days, then finally ended his life.”

“Draco?” Kai spoke up. “Why would Malrik’s death concernhim?”

“Largely because Malrik was murdered because of him.”

“What? I don’t understand,” I pushed.

“This object that I recovered from Draco on his deathbed contains preserved memories regarding what happened to your grandfather.”

He swept his hand over it, then it landed on his palm, no longer concealed.

It was a pear-shaped stone that was the size of his palm. Partially translucent, it had a black tint to it with crimson flecks.

“A Stone of Recollection,” Kai uttered, staring at it in awe, his reaction indicating both that he’d never seen one before in person, and that it held significant power.

“Yes,” Cornelius said. “Each one possesses this same shape, but the coloring and tints differ depending on the magical signatures of those who came together to create the memories imbued within it.” He looked out at me curiously. “Do you feel it yet?”

I stared at the stone.

I was trying to keep my emotions locked down as much as possible, but I guess it was impacting my senses as well, if he was indicating that I should be picking up on something, yet I wasn’t.

I took a moment and opened myself up a little.

And that was when I felt it.