Page 9

Chapter 9

Cyrus

C yrus tilted his head back, his eyes falling closed, trying to avoid inhaling too deeply.

The godsdamn sea.

Nowhere to escape from the smell of salt water, the sound of gulls crying, even in the night.

No way to escape the memories.

Merrick and Thia. Thia and Merrick. It was nonstop these days. No matter what he did to keep busy. No matter what pressing issues they had to deal with or endless meetings and strategizing sessions they had, as soon as it was over, the memories surged, dragging him back under.

They had been on this godsdamn ship for weeks. How much longer could it possibly take to get to Avonleya? Fuck, it didn’t even need to be Avonleya at this point. Just somewhere, anywhere , away from the godsdamn sea.

Calling ?ames to his ?ngertips, he pushed out a hard sigh, opening his eyes. The star-?lled night sky stared back at him as he sat against the mast on the foredeck. He’d taken on the night watch. Again. He could never sleep at night these days. It was too quiet, and the quiet is where his nightmares liked to lurk.

They were all struggling. They were all barely keeping it together.

Briar. Azrael. The mortals. His king and queen. He was in good company at this point, he supposed. What was that saying? Misery loves company? That wasn’t true though. Company usually lessened the misery. Misery was more like a spirit luring you away from those who could keep you sane. Misery didn’t love company. Misery loved solitude. There it could grow and ?ourish and infest every thought.

A shadow fell over him, the ?ames he was toying with ?ickering at the movement. They illuminated a smirk on a face surrounded by brown hair that had grown back out since he’d cut it while healing from all his injuries. He didn’t have a patch on his eye tonight, his other chocolate-brown eye taking him in on the deck of the ship.

“No alcohol tonight?” Cassius asked, a brow arching.

“Eliza would kick my ass if I drank while on watch,” Cyrus said with a grin. He would never drink while on watch anyway, but a pissy Eliza was something no one wanted to deal with. Ever.

“That’s always entertaining to watch,” he replied with a shrug.

“You are a prick,” Cyrus grumbled, thinking of how Eliza had kicked his ass while sparring earlier that day. This whole lack of sleep thing was messing with him in more ways than one.

Cassius chuckled, lowering down to sit beside him. He stretched out the leg that still gave him trouble at the end of the day, massaging the sore spot.

“You still using compresses on that?” Cyrus asked with a pointed look at his leg.

“Sparingly,” Cassius replied. “Since we don’t know exactly how long we’ll be on this ship, I try to only use them when it’s really bad.”

Made sense.

Cyrus rolled the ?ames along his knuckles again, tilting his face back to the sky.

“How’s Scarlett?”

“She’s... doing her usual thing,” Cassius said. “Trying to keep herself busy to avoid dealing with everything that’s happened these last weeks.”

Cyrus made a noise of acknowledgement. “You’d think she’d have learned by now.”

“Oh, she has,” Cassius countered. “She used to repress and stab things. Now she keeps busy until she figures out how to verbalize her thoughts without daggers.” He paused before adding, “For the most part.”

Cyrus snorted a laugh.

“How’s Sorin?” Cassius asked.

“Worried about... everything. His wife. His Court. All of us. He’s always been responsible for the well-being of others. I sometimes wonder if he forgot how to make sure he’s taking care of himself as well,” Cyrus answered.

When silence stretched between them, he glanced at Cassius from the corner of his eye. The commander was watching him toy with his ?re. Cyrus sent a ?ame leaping at him, and he jerked back with a curse. Cyrus laughed, commanding the ?ame to expand, winding it around Cassius’s wrist.

“And you say I’m a prick,” Cassius muttered, watching the ?ames dance along his skin.

“It’s been well-established that I am indeed an asshole,” Cyrus said with a shrug. “You’ve seen Scarlett use her magic. This is no different.”

“I was not expecting ?ames to be thrown at me,” he deadpanned.

“No sign of your own magic emerging again?”

Cassius shook his head, lifting a hand, and Cyrus directed the ?ames to move into his palm, pooling there and glowing bright. “Maybe when we get to Avonleya,” Cassius mused. “Maybe being in that land will make it stir again.”

“Maybe,” Cyrus mused, but he didn’t think so. The only time Cassius’s magic had surfaced was when Scarlett had been in danger. Sure he’d Traveled a few times, but from what he’d been told about the events of that throne room, Cassius had produced some type of ?ames of his own. In the chaos, no one had paid much attention, and since they had more pressing matters to deal with these days, it hadn’t been discussed much. But Cyrus had thought on it during these night watches, wondering what kind of magic would produce black ?ames. Not the ?ames Scarlett would sometimes create when she combined her shadows and ?re. These were pure black ?ames. He was guessing it had more to do with the fact that he had been continuously fueling Scarlett’s power while Sorin was healing. Scarlett was still refusing to draw from Sorin unless absolutely necessary, much to Sorin’s dismay. Cyrus had lost count of how many standoffs the two had had over this. He had bets daily with Eliza and Rayner about who would win that day.

But since Scarlett had stopped needing to draw from Cassius, Cyrus had been hoping that power might manifest again. Although, maybe the commander being unable to produce black ?ames that he very likely couldn’t control on a ship was for the best. Maybe the Fates really were helping them out on this one thing.

“What do you know about Sargon?” Cassius asked.

“Not as much as I know about some of the other gods,” Cyrus admitted. “But I did look into him more after Ranvir showed up at the Black Halls and the High Witch all but con?rmed you are a descendant of him.”

“And?” Cassius pressed.

Cyrus shrugged. “He’s the god of war, courage, and bravery. Ranvir is his spirit animal, and the dragon has a brother, Edjer, who is bonded to Arius.”

“That is all common knowledge,” Cassius sighed in resignation.

“It is,” Cyrus agreed. “What is not as well known is that Sargon was Arius’s Second.”

“Why would the god of death need a Second-in-Command?”

“I don’t know if that was an actual title,” Cyrus said. “From what I could gather, they worked closely together. I couldn’t ?nd much on it, but it explained why their spirit animals were dragon siblings.”

“Interesting,” Cassius murmured, his gaze moving towards the sea.

“It is something I hope they have books on in Avonleya,” Cyrus added.

“Ranvir showing up to save me and Scarlett kind of solidi?ed the fact that I will be meeting my father when we get to Avonleya.”

Cyrus slowly turned his head to look at him at the randomness of that statement. Cassius was staring straight ahead, his hand still massaging his thigh. They hadn’t talked about this since that night they’d smoked the mugweed at the Black Halls.

“Yeah,” Cyrus agreed. “It would appear he plans to meet you if he’s putting forth effort to keep you alive.”

“I don’t... ” Cassius trailed off before he tried again. “I don’t know how I feel about it. About meeting him.”

“Do you feel the same way about him as you do the High Witch?”

“No,” he said. “She knowingly abandoned me. He had no idea I existed, according to her.”

“Why would she lie about that?”

“There wouldn’t be a reason, which is why I’m inclined to believe her.”

“The High Witch is many things, but a liar is not one of them,” Cyrus said. “She is painfully blunt.”

“I am well aware,” Cassius said grimly, still studying the ?ames in his hand as if they held the answers to all his questions.

“Did you ever want to meet your parents?”

“Of course I wanted to know about them.”

“Knowing of them and actually meeting them are two very different things,” Cyrus replied.

“I think... ” Cassius sighed. “I think I had these versions of them built up in my mind, of what I hoped they were like. I know it’s childish. I was an orphan, for fuck’s sake. It was far more likely they didn’t want me. But as a kid, I liked to pretend otherwise. And I’ve just held on to that idealistic image, you know? I was forced to grow up far faster than other children, but on the nights when I was by myself, I’d let myself imagine what it would have been like to have even one parent who cared. It was nice to pretend. If only for a little while.”

“You don’t have to explain this to me, Cass,” Cyrus said. “You do not need to justify your feelings and thoughts about this to me or anyone else for that matter.”

Cassius nodded, tipping his head back against the mast behind them. Cyrus pulled the ?ames from his palm, moving the ?re to hover above them and casting a soft light in the night.

“It’s just the High Witch is... who she is. And maybe I’d be more inclined to give her a chance if I didn’t have these versions of them in my mind.”

“You are worried your father will be a disappointment like you have found your mother to be?”

Cassius huffed out a humorless laugh. “Maybe he has the same fear, huh? That I will be a disappointment. One would think I would be more worried about that than him being a disappointment to me.”

Ah. So this was the real issue ?nally coming to light.

“Anyone who ?nds you to be a disappointment is a fucking idiot,” Cyrus retorted. “You are a lethally trained assassin—”

“Exactly what every father hopes their child grows up to be,” Cassius said grimly.

“If anything, he’s going to be disappointed in your lack of man ners. It’s rude to interrupt. Is that a Black Syndicate thing? Scarlett has the same issue.”

“Fucking prick,” Cassius muttered under his breath.

“Anyway,” Cyrus drawled. “Aside from the apparently unwanted assassin thing, you were a commander of the king’s armies at a very young age. You took on a Guardian role as a ten-year-old, and you are the Hand to one of the most powerful queens in the realm.” Cassius started to say something else, but Cyrus shot him a look, and Cass shut his mouth with a glare. “If those accomplishments aren’t enough, your loyalty knows no bounds. You rarely let your emotions cloud your judgment or get the better of you. You know how to both calm an irate and irrational bratty assassin and offer a queen sound advice. You willingly sacri?ced your life for hers and innocent children. Those are not the attributes of an assassin but the characteristics of a noble Hand, Guardian, and friend. If someone is disappointed in you for that, then they can fuck all the way off. Just because you share blood with someone does not mean you are required to claim them as your father or mother. I would know.”

Cyrus suddenly realized the sky was beginning to lighten. It was nearly dawn, the night almost over, and another realization washed over him. “On top of all that,” he said, “you are incredibly adept at reading people and knowing when they need a distraction without drawing attention to it.”

Cassius shrugged like it was nothing. “I needed to talk about my father. You needed a distraction. Seemed like a good trade-off.”

But it wasn’t nothing. Ever since his shadow had fallen over him, Cyrus hadn’t once thought of the sea. He hadn’t been plagued by memories of Merrick or Thia. He hadn’t found himself wishing for Solembra.

And for the second time, it was because of the male sitting next to him.

“You’re tensing before each hit,” Eliza chastised Callan.

“Probably because a Fae warrior is swinging a godsdamn sword at me,” Callan bit back.

“How else would you train?” Eliza retorted. “You need to stay loose. You react faster that way. This is basic stuff, princeling. Were you coddled in your training as well?”

Cyrus huffed a laugh from where he was seated on a step as Callan cursed the general under his breath. She was making him spar with Rayner, which was probably the right move. Rayner wouldn’t necessarily go easy on the mortal prince, but he would certainly be nicer than he would. Or Eliza. Or Sorin.

Rayner was de?nitely the best choice.

“Didn’t they warn you she was an ass when training?” Scarlett asked, sheathing her long knife at her side and moving to get a drink of water.

They had been training for the last hour, the sun trying its hardest to peek out of the clouds overhead on another dreary morning. They’d taken to sparring in rotation. There simply wasn’t enough room for all of them to spar at the same time. Scarlett had just ?nished facing off with Sawyer, who was making his way to his brother. Briar was speaking quietly with Sorin and Luan off to the side now. They’d go into meetings this afternoon, strategizing and planning. Or trying to plan. The fact of the matter was no one knew what to expect when they ?nally reached Avonleya.

He glanced over at Cassius, who was speaking with the Tyndell siblings. That was another thing Cyrus had spent time contemplating during those night watches. For the life of him, he could not ?gure out why the Lord had claimed them as his children. There had to be a reason. Nothing these Maraan bastards did was without a reason. All of their movements were carefully orchestrated like a chess match, each move calculated and with purpose. He had spent hours going back and forth on strategy with Scarlett, trying to understand the Maraans and how they thought. More than once he’d had to take a break when Scarlett would elaborate on methods used to train her or the motives of Alaric. He understood now how she was this broken girl Sorin had brought back from the mortal lands. He understood to an extent how thoroughly Alaric had made sure he was rooted in her psyche. It was brilliant if Cyrus was being honest. Completely demented but psychotically brilliant in making sure he retained as much control over her as possible.

But that brilliance was rooted in desperation, and if Cyrus could ?gure out what exactly was driving him, they could exploit that to no end. Scarlett didn’t know though. All they knew was that Alaric was running out of time before he faced the wrath of Achaz. The master had a Master, and his Master was getting pissed. They wanted whatever was being kept hidden in Avonleya, and if that was the motivation, then they would make damn sure they got there ?rst.

The last three nights, though, he hadn’t needed to keep his mind as busy. Cassius had taken to joining him for the night watch. It had become an unspoken thing between them, and he would appear at the foredeck shortly after Cyrus had changed out with whoever had been on watch before him. And that extra presence kept him grounded and the memories at bay. He would sleep later this evening for the few hours that were required of a Fae not using much magic.

“You sparring, Darling?” Scarlett asked, plopping down beside him. He shrugged.

“I need to ask you something,” she said after she took another drink of water.

“What’s that?”

“It will be a hard question.”

He turned to look at her then, unable to read her expression. “Color me intrigued, Darling.”

“And I need this conversation to stay between you and me,” she added, her eyes ?icking to Sorin.

“Scarlett,” he started, his tone full of warning. “I will not be a part of keeping something from your twin ?ame and my prince and king.”

“I understand,” she replied. “Can you just hear me out ?rst? Then if you still think the same, I will tell him myself. He kind of already knows anyway.”

“Kind of?” he asked skeptically.

She pushed out a harsh sigh. “If Thia had lived—”

She paused when Cyrus sucked in a sharp breath. This was not at all where he thought this conversation was going to go.

“If she had lived, would you have still sought revenge against those who had tried to take her life?”

“I would not have stopped burning every last one of them until even the ashes were nothing,” Cyrus said, his voice low and lethal. “Simply threatening her would have been enough of a reason for me to end their lives, let alone nearly succeeding in doing so.”

“What if Thia had asked you to spare them?”

“What?” He balked at the mere idea of that. The deaths he had bestowed upon the Night Children who had taken Thia from him had not been quick nor painless. It had been hours of slow burning, torturous and precise dagger placement, and making sure those fuckers had felt every last bit of it.

“If Thia had asked you not to seek that revenge on her behalf, would you have still gone through with it?”

“Why would she—” He stopped speaking when he realized why she had to be asking this. “Sorin has asked you not to kill Talwyn.”

Scarlett’s lips were pursed, her features tight, and she nodded once in con?rmation.

Cyrus pushed out a long breath. “That is... a hard thing to ask of you.”

“It is. And you are the only one who could possibly understand.”

“If someone hurt you, Sorin would burn them from the inside out without question, let alone if they nearly succeeded in killing you.”

“That was my argument as well. He says we need to consider the fact that she is a queen. I assured him she would not be a queen at the end of this.” Her voice was as dark and lethal as his own had been moments ago. “It is unfair of him to ask this of you, Scarlett,” Cyrus said. “But at the same time, he helped raise her. He may not get along with her anymore, but he still cares for her on some level.”

“I can’t not kill her, Cyrus,” Scarlett said softly. “She nearly took him from me. If I had not been able to bring him back, I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t know what I would have become. I don’t know that I would still be breathing.”

“I know, Scarlett. I understand.”

“I knew you would,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to ask you. Why you are the only one I can talk about this with. Cass will try to convince me to let this go, to not give in to the rage. Eliza will encourage me to go after her. And Sorin... ”

“Has asked you not to go after her.”

“He has said he understands my need for this, but he would like to continue to discuss it. But, Cyrus, the idea of not doing anything... ” She trailed off, staring out over the sea that so often called to her.

Cyrus wasn’t sure how to reply, and before he could formulate a response, Scarlett was bumping his leg with her knee. She jerked her chin, and Cyrus followed her gaze to see Sorin heading their way.

“Why do you two look thick as thieves?” Sorin asked when he came to a stop before them.

Scarlett gave him a small smile as she pushed back to her feet. “We sparring?”

He studied her for a moment before his eyes ?icked to Cyrus. “What were you two discussing?”

Scarlett opened her mouth, but before she could respond, Cyrus said, “Thia.”

“Thia?” Sorin repeated, his eyes widening slightly.

“Yep,” Cyrus said, getting to his feet. He clapped Sorin on the shoulder. He caught Scarlett’s gaze. “We’ll talk more later.”

She nodded, her smile tightening. He’d let her decide how much of that conversation she wanted to share with Sorin. He needed time to process. He couldn’t imagine what he would do in her situation. Because she was right. Not doing anything was hardly an option. It went against every instinct of the twin ?ame bond. It was in her blood to protect her mate, just as it was in Sorin’s. And gods, for Sorin to even ask that of her?

“You look like you need to stab something.”

Cyrus found himself standing next to Cassius, unknowingly having made his way to him.

“Or burn things to the ground, but considering we’re on a boat... ” Cyrus shrugged.

“The rest of us appreciate that,” Cassius replied. His good eye raked over him. “You have a weapon?”

Cyrus smirked, and a moment later, ?ames ?ared. He pulled his sword from the ?re, twirling the hilt in his grasp.

“Neat trick,” Cassius said.

“If we could get that magic of yours to sing a little, you could do the same,” Cyrus replied, falling into step beside the commander as they made their way to one of the make-shift sparring rings.

“If you have any ideas on how to make that happen, let me know,” Cassius joked, getting into a ready stance.

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas,” Cyrus retorted. “None that you would likely ?nd acceptable.”

The brow above his patch arched. “Do tell.”

Cyrus lunged, Cassius blocking with ease, and they leapt apart. “The only time it has ever manifested is when Scarlett was in danger.”

He caught Cassius’s feint left as the commander said, “Are you suggesting we put her in danger to see if my magic will manifest?”

“I said you likely wouldn’t ?nd it acceptable.” Cassius barked a laugh as they leapt apart again.

“But we can talk about it tonight,” Cyrus said, studying the commander’s movements to try to ?nd a weakness. He really didn’t have any. He was as impeccably trained as any of them, and considering he had trained Scarlett, their matches usually ended in a draw unless Cyrus used his magic.

Fifteen minutes later, this match was no different. They were both breathing hard when they ?nally called it a draw, and Eliza had ?nally released Callan from her torment. They were gulping down water when Cyrus’s gaze fell on Sawyer, who was still with Briar, talking to Eliza and Rayner now.

“You should really practice those Traveling skills,” he said to Cassius. Cassius slowly lowered his waterskin. “And go where?”

“You can Travel. You can go anywhere, but you should practice with it until mastered. You never know when you will need it,” Cyrus replied, replacing the cap on the waterskin. “And you should practice Traveling with others.” He reached over, clasping a hand onto the commander’s forearm. “Try Traveling to Briar’s ship.”

“Now?”

“Scarlett hasn’t drawn from you in days. Your reserves should be fully replenished. Maybe tapping into this power will call your other gifts forward.”

“I don’t think that’s how this works,” Cassius started.

“Just try,” Cyrus urged.

It took a few moments, and Cyrus could see the concentration and focus settle over Cassius. His brows scrunched together, the one dipping below his eye patch slightly, and then Cyrus felt the pull in his navel. A second later, they were standing on the deck of Briar’s personal ship.

“Perfect,” Cyrus said, dropping Cassius’s forearm and looking around. “This way.”

“What? Where are we going?” Cassius asked, falling into step beside him as Cyrus led him towards the back of the ship.

“You’ll see.”

“As much as Scarlett teases Sorin about this, I have to admit, Briar’s ship is grander than his,” Cassius said, taking in the ship as they moved.

Cyrus snorted. “Be sure and let Sorin know that.” He pushed open a door and found two more behind it on either side of a short corridor. “You’re up, Witch-Child. You feel those wards?”

“What?”

“The wards,” Cyrus hissed in impatience. “You feel them?”

“Of course I can feel them. The people who put them in place can feel them as well. They are meant to keep people out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cyrus said, waving a dismissive hand. “That’s where you come in. They’re meant to keep Fae out, but you are not Fae. I need to get in that room,” he added, pointing to the door on the right.

“Why?”

“We don’t have much time. Can you get me in or not?” “Cyrus...”

“It’s nothing nefarious, you pious prick. I promise I’ll explain. But seriously, can you get me in or not?” Cyrus said, shoving down his impatience. Or trying to. Sawyer was still on the other ship, but it was only a matter of time before he came back here to get ready for his round of watching over the children. Nakoa and Neve were there now, and their watch would be ending soon.

Cassius sighed, stepping forward. He raised his hands as if he were feeling for physical barriers.

After a few minutes of silence, Cyrus hissed, “Can you do it or not?”

“Can you shut up long enough to stop breaking my concentration?” Cassius bit back. “I almost have them undone.”

Cyrus smirked to himself. It had been years since he’d been able to pull this off. Sawyer wasn’t going to ?gure it out for just as long. Finally, Cyrus felt the wards falling away, and another minute later, Cassius was pushing the door open.

Inside was a small cabin with the usual amenities bolted to the ?oor— bed, desk, armoire. Various papers, clothes, and other objects were scattered throughout. Cyrus moved about, lifting up pants and parchment.

“Who’s room is this?” Cassius asked, still standing in the doorway.

“Sawyer’s.”

“And why did we break into Sawyer’s room?”

“Help me look for a mirror.”

“A mirror?” Cassius repeated. “You had me disable wards and break into a room for a mirror?”

“Don’t worry. He has plenty more.” Cyrus moved to the desk, opening drawers and ri?ing through contents.

“Oh good,” Cassius said. “I was worried we were taking his last one.” Cyrus turned and smirked at the commander’s snark. Cassius sighed. “What exactly does this mirror look like?”

“It’s small. Will ?t in your palm. Round. Set into glass as blue as the sea.”

“And why do you want this mirror?”

“It’s super special to him,” Cyrus replied. “He wouldn’t have left it behind.”

“Great, but that didn’t answer my question.”

“The ?rst time I met Sawyer he was a gods-awful prick. He was already Briar’s Second at that time. So I watched him. Figured out what he prized most, and he loves this fucking mirror,” Cyrus said.

“Are you telling me you’ve been waiting decades to steal this mirror? To get back at him for something that happened just as long ago?” Cassius asked incredulously, turning from ri?ing through the armoire to look at him over his shoulder.

“No,” Cyrus countered. “I’m looking to steal it back . It took me several years, but I ?nally managed to nick it from him one night while we were celebrating something or other at the House of Water. The others had gotten drunk, but I’d only pretended, knowing it was the perfect opportunity.”

“And what is so special about this mirror?”

“It’s imbued with his super special Water Gazing power,” Cyrus answered.

“He’s a Water Gazer? Like Briar?”

Cyrus nodded. It was a rare gift—like Wind Walking and Ash Riding—but Briar had it, and apparently it ran in the family. It allowed them to turn any body of water into a two-way mirror. But this particular mirror had somehow been imbued with Sawyer’s gift, much like the Water Fae could imbue weapons.

“I don’t know when he ?nally ?gured out I’d taken it, but it took him nearly three decades to get it back from me. Now it’s become a game of sorts,” Cyrus said, lifting the mattress and feeling along the bedding.

“How long has he had it back?”

“Six years.”

“And before that?”

“I’d had it for nine,” Cyrus answered. “I’ve lost count of how many times it’s gone back and forth.”

“This is ridiculous,” Cassius muttered, turning back to the armoire. “Well, get used to it, Commander. You’re an accomplice now. Sawyer will have it out for you too.”

“I’m not technically a commander anymore,” Cassius said, stooping down to dig through the bottom of the armoire.

“No,” Cyrus agreed. “You’re Hand-to-the-Queen. Shall I start calling you Lord Hand?”

“Do you ever stop being a sarcastic bastard?”

“Not if I can help it, my Lord Hand,” Cyrus answered.

Cassius sighed loudly. “Here you go, you ass.”

Cyrus straightened just in time to catch the object Cassius tossed his direction. His hand closed around smooth sea glass, and Cyrus held the small mirror up before him, a wide grin forming. “Nicely done, Lord Hand.”

“Shut up,” Cassius muttered. “Let’s get out of here before we’re caught.”

Cyrus slid the mirror into his pocket. “Of course, my Lord Hand. Whatever you say.”

“Stop calling me that, or I’m leaving you here,” Cassius replied, stepping through the door and back out into the daylight.

“Does it bother you to not be a commander anymore?” Cyrus asked, Cassius reaching over and gripping his arm.

“No. It bothers me that you’re calling me Lord Hand,” he retorted dryly.

Cyrus snickered as he felt the pull of Traveling. Cassius had taken them to the front of their own ship.

“You really don’t mind the commander thing?” Cyrus asked again.

“Why would I?”

He slipped his hands in his pockets, ?ddling with the mirror. “It was your title. Part of your identity. You were fairly high ranking.”

“As you said, I am now Hand to one of the most powerful queens on the continent. I’d say that’s a little higher ranking,” Cassius replied with a half-grin.

“I suppose it is.”

“The company is a little better too. I really only cared for Drake and Tava, and they’re here with us. So I guess it’s a win-win.”

“You didn’t have anyone in the Black Syndicate?”

“Aside from the Wraiths? No. Nuri and Juliette had their own personal guards, but they were killed as punishment for letting them get caught the night Juliette died,” Cassius said. “They were never as close as Scarlett and I were. Probably the only two in the Fellowship Nuri and Juliette didn’t fuck aside from me.”

Cyrus huffed a laugh. After a moment of content silence, he asked, “Want to practice Traveling some more?”

“You have more shit to steal?” Cassius asked, turning and arching a brow.

“No. I was more so hoping if you started using your magic, the rest of it might manifest. Unless you want to try out my ?rst idea... ”

Cassius shook his head. “Scarlett gets into enough trouble without us putting her in danger on purpose. Give her a day or two, and she’ll do that herself.”