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But when she met with allies, she was entirely different. A balance of commanding yet amiable. Watching her learn it was okay to drop her mask a little and show softer sides to the world was something I would never tire of. Maybe I was depraved, but it made me hard just to witness.

It was a challenge to not sate that need now, but I stifled it. I knew the face she wanted to present to the Mindshapers and wouldn’t interfere.

“We’re honored to help your cause. My name is Ricordan, by the way. Ric to my friends.” He held his hand out to her.

“I’m Ophelia Alabath. This is Cypherion Kastroff and Tolek Vincienzo.” She pointed to each of us in turn, and we greeted him.

“Yes, my son has filled me in on everything that happened since you’ve arrived.” Ric perched on the edge of his cot. “Please, make yourselves comfortable. I know you’ve had a rough few days, Revered.”

So had he, if the worn lines in his face and bags beneath his eyes were anything to go by. Ophelia took the chair at his desk, and I perched on the edge. Cyph leaned against the wall beside me.

“First of all,” Ophelia began. “Thank you. There’s a good chance all of my friends would have died without your help back there.”

“As I said, we’re happy to, but I assume there’s more of a reason you wanted to speak so urgently?” Ric didn’t say it unkindly, but he didn’t waste time.

“Your son mentioned the Labyrinth was excavated during the time of the Angels.” Ophelia scratched at her scar again. “We were wondering, how exactly is it tied to Thorn?”

She’d been buzzing with anticipation since Trev mentioned the Mindshaper Prime Warrior last night. The name of the Angel had tension bubbling beneath my skin, though. I rolled my neck to alleviate the pressure, pulling out my ledger and pen, focusing on recording whatever Ric shared. Cyph’s focused stare told me he was ready, too.

“How much have you studied Thorn?” Ric asked.

“Mainly his powers and how they work for your clan presently,” Ophelia answered.

“I’ve looked into his life a bit,” Cypherion added, “but all I’ve found aligns with the rest of the Angels’ lore. About how they split off from one another when their powers began creating rifts.”

“I’ve studied the corrupted side a bit,” I confessed, ignoring Ophelia’s and Cyph’s fleeting glances.

Ricordan nodded, releasing a heavy breath. He propped a hand on one knee, extending the other with a crack. “Most do not dig too deeply into Angels other than their own. It’s typical of our ways, to research the ability rather than the being.” That thought nagged at my mind as he continued. “It’s why our clan has been able to keep secrets for millennia.”

“Secrets?” Ophelia leaned forward.

“The truth about our Angel is that Thorn was mad. When the power created a divide, each Angel was driven to bouts of delirium in their isolation, but most were temporary. Hallucinations or dreams.”

“Thorn’s wasn’t?” Cypherion guessed.

“Given the nature of our magic, Thorn’s turned on him, eating away his sanity from the inside out. He took many lovers during the slow progression, and from what our scholars have deduced, the mental ailment has been passed down through his offspring. Nowadays, with how many years have passed and how intertwined family lines have become, it’s spread far across the clan.

“Our Angel was sick.” He said it so sadly my pen stilled. I looked up, meeting his sullen expression. “And those who have it strongest in them are those whom the queen is able to use her power against.”

“But how does that make sense?” Ophelia’s voice was low. “Why is Kakias able to manipulate the minds of warriors outside her own clan? Her power should be linked to the Engrossians.”

“Her power is unlike anything we’ve seen,” Cypherion said. “She’s gone to lengths we didn’t imagine. Perhaps it extends farther because of that.”

“Perhaps,” Ric echoed, considering Cyph. Mystlight flickered behind him, deepening the shadows on his face. “Or perhaps there’s more to it. To her crimes. Either way, she’s taking advantage of our innocent.”

“And that can’t continue,” Ophelia confirmed.

“It did not even begin until recent years when our chancellor partnered with that woman.”

My hand tightened around my pen, remembering all Aird did to me. Screams echoed through my mind, and blood splattered my vision. Those memories…a knife…her…marble stairs.

Not real, I reminded myself.

Taking a breath, I closed my journal. “That man is dead, and soon Kakias will be, too.” My voice was harsher than usual. Ophelia and Cypherion shot me wary looks.

“Yes,” Ric confirmed. “She will be.”

“The tunnels were created by Thorn, then?” Ophelia tried to redirect the conversation, but her stare kept inquiring if I was okay.