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And then he was hastily fixing his shirt back into proper place, which hid the mark from view. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

“Was that the Celestial Plane expressing anger with you? I’ve heard of them burning marks into their emissaries before when they’d been displeased with them. It happened to Draco and my grandfather.”

“If they were angry with me, one such reason would be your mammoth expulsions of power on this mortal plane. Both when you worked to get control of your full power recently, and through what occurred today.”

I frowned. “Isn’t that something that will be occurring a great deal during our sessions?”

“While I’m present, right beside you to manage it, to ensure it does not impact the mortal plane in undue ways, or send out a ripple effect that could impact the balance.”

“I see, so you’re saying that I can no longer wield my own magic without your supervision.”

“I am referring to significant expulsions of power.” He held out his hand. “Conjure the Echo Coin.”

“What?”

“Conjure it, aberration.”

I gritted my teeth. “Calling me that again is not going to smooth out this situation, or facilitate deeper cooperation.”

“Because you are misinterpreting the meaning behind it.”

I arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

He stepped up close to me. With a flick of his fingers, a white, shimmering dome encompassed us. “We are able to speak freely. No one will overhear now.”

I tensed. “No one will overhear what?”

In a blink, he had me gasping as he pulled up the right side of my white wrap top to reveal my Celestial Binding mark. I slammed my hand over his, but he didn’t relent. “Shh, I do not intend to hurt you,” he spoke, his eyes blazing with his power at me.

He held his gaze steady and I felt it—the truth to his words, the unbreakable promise.

It had me dropping my hand and he smiled, then traced his fingers over the mark I’d been afflicted with since birth.

“This is not what your family believes. It is both more and less. It is a mark of the bargain that was struck, making you a servant of the Celestial Plane. However, it is not a binding mark in the sense that it would be to me, or Cornelius, Jaxon, and Mia. All of us are directly connected to the Celestial Plane. Our power is rooted there. It can also be taken away at their will. Yours cannot. That is why I call you aberration . You stand above it. You have more agency than any of us. Yet, you’ve led your life believing otherwise.

Your family didn’t know the truth. This bargain you are bound by can also be broken—but only by you.

” He removed his hand and fixed my shirt, then stepped back.

“However, you are far from being ready to accomplish that. There is much you must learn first.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you tell me this? You’re here to ensure I’m prepared to do my duty to fight whatever the hell kind of threat comes down the line, so that the True Celestials have a champion to do their dirty work. Yet, you’re also informing me that there’s a way out?”

What the fuck was his play here?

I wasn’t exactly uninitiated to the whole concept of mind games. I’d dealt with Kai Hunter for years, for fuck’s sakes.

But this… it didn’t seem along the lines of that.

“The answer to that I will only reveal after an exchange of trust.”

I folded my arms across my chest and regarded him. “And how do you suggest we do that, considering our opposing roles in this less than ideal situation?”

“I will allow you to see into me, but you must also allow me to see into you.”

I started. “And what would you see if I let that happen?”

“Everything.”

I swallowed hard and shifted my weight.

“Your reaction is slight, but speaks volumes. You are not ready. You wish to protect those you love, and you do not trust me with it. Not yet.” He held out his hand. “Summon the Echo Coin.”

With a flick of my magic, I did, and the moment it appeared on my palm, he pressed his hand to it, his magic emanating with a white glow.

It took mere moments before he finished, and stepped back out of my personal space again.

“Keep it on you at all times and should you unleash your power like you did tonight, the Celestial Plane will believe it was under my watch, that I was there beside you. With what is happening here, there could very well be instances like earlier where there isn’t time to call me in, where you may have to act alone, at least at first. This remedies that. ”

“You’re manipulating the narrative to your own people?”

“My own people,” he muttered. “That’s an incredibly weighty statement.”

He disintegrated the dome, and before I could ask more, a familiar growl sounded, and I spun to see Dad half shifted and storming toward us with Mom just behind him, her palms raised and at the ready, but her magic not yet live. It was a precaution. Or more like a warning to Cassius.

Hearing about the attack tonight had clearly impacted them. Knowing I’d been here, and that Pops had, too, had terrified them, knowing we’d been in so much danger. And rational thought was now taking a backseat. Mom, who usually served to reel Dad in, was right there with him this time.

I moved quickly and stepped in front of Cassius.

Not protecting him, but shielding them.

“Dad, stop,” I spoke. “He’s not here to hurt. He’s here to help.”

“He’s manipulating you,” he bit back, still coming in hot.

“So you think I’m so weak-willed and painfully na?ve to not be able to recognize or counter manipulation.

Is that it?” I questioned, extremely pointedly.

“After you and the family finally agreed to see me as capable, as not merely something to be protected and continue to be made inconsequential? After you claimed you’d finally embraced my own ability to rise above that, to wield my own power competently and responsibly? ”

That pulled him up short.

He actually stilled, albeit still growling and glaring hard at Cassius.

Mom walked to him and stroked his chest, his face, his hair. “She’s right, Jaxon.”

He groaned down at Mom. “Princess, I can’t just—”

“Your daughter has a role to play,” Cassius’ voice boomed.

“That cannot be undone. This conflict and aggression borne from resistance will not serve you well.” He stepped out from around me, facing my irate father head-on.

But instead of laying down the law or enforcing his dominance, he spoke calmly instead.

“It will not serve her. The bargain you struck in her name has already given her a weighty battle to fight. Do not give her more, especially not from the familial unit that should be a source of support. It is not my intent to harm her. I am here merely to empower her and to teach.”

I saw Dad begin to calm a little, his partial shift retracting, his dangerously glowing eyes dimming. And Mom also dropped her palms.

A burst of silver light erupted just behind them, and then Grandfather was there, laying his hand on Dad’s shoulder and stroking Mom’s hair in a sweet way with the other.

“The debriefing has begun. Ryker requires your presence,” he spoke calmly, but his eyes were drilling into Cassius.

It took a couple of moments, but Dad did ease back.

And then him and Mom were throwing their arms around me and holding me tightly.

“We’re proud of you,” Mom told me.

“I trust you, okay, Ari?” Dad spoke. “Just… be careful. I know you don’t need to be protected in the way we had been employing before, but it’s going to take some time to—”

“I get it, Dad. It’s okay.” As we eased back, I smiled out at them both. “It will all be fine, I promise.”

I could see the worry all over them, but they smiled back at me, then with some additional urging from Grandfather, they headed back inside the Compound.

Before I could take a breath after all of that, Grandfather was standing toe-to-toe with Cassius.

“Fallen,” Cassius uttered.

Usually that sort of thing expressed distaste, but this time as Cassius uttered the word, it was different. Like, the judgment was missing, or something. I wasn’t exactly sure, but it definitely wasn’t confrontational this time.

“Hellfire still exists on this plane as we discovered tonight. Include the proper spell to counter it with Celestial Light during your training sessions with my granddaughter. The method I had to employ was too time-consuming and caused her unnecessary exertion.”

Color me surprised.

Grandfather wasn’t coming at him, not reprimanding him, or challenging him.

He was actually offering helpful advice.

“That has been factored in and I will see to it,” Cassius responded.

Grandfather nodded. Then he scanned the immediate area and shifted his weight, looking between Cassius and I, as he said, “The attacker has been bound and contained. The coercion he was subjected to has dissipated now that he fulfilled what he was commanded to. However, I was able to extract a magical signature from it.” With a sweep of his hand, a ball of shimmering white, silver, and gold sparks levitated in the air between us.

“It is Celestial power. Unfortunately, I was not able to discern the signature to identify who it belonged to. The power is beyond mine, meaning it belongs to a True Celestial.”

Oh no.

Cassius narrowed his eyes. “It would serve no purpose to my mission to have done this.”

“I’m not accusing you. I’m asking for your assistance.

You have a direct connection to the Celestial Plane that I no longer possess.

You are the only one who can identify this.

There could be a rogue Celestial being on this plane.

There could be interference that we’re not aware of.

Or it could be stolen power that no one is aware of from a brief visit by a True Celestial.

Either way, Celestial power has been used by Puritas.

Those fanatics have found a way to use that power to their liking. ”

The weight of what he was saying bore down on all three of us.

Cassius stepped up to the sphere, hovering both hands over it.

His white power sparked and then I watched in awe as threads spread out from it, delving into the sphere and melding with the magic there.

Cassius jolted.

His eyes flicked to mine briefly.

And then he pulled his power back and disintegrated the sphere, destroying it.

“What on earth?” Grandfather cried. “That was evidence.”

“Evidence that was no longer needed now I have a read on it. I don’t recognize the magical signature off hand, but I can certainly investigate.”

“You must,” Grandfather told him.

“Yes, I understand the implications better than you, Cornelius.”

It was a biting response, but he’d also softened it by actually addressing my grandfather by his name this time, instead of the usual “Fallen” .

My grandfather accepted that, then he turned to me. “Give me five minutes to ensure everyone is calm and prepared for Cassius to join us for the debriefing, then follow after me.”

“I’m on it.”

With that, he teleported out.

Cassius was there in my space in the next moment. “I was able to identify the magical signature.”

“What? Why didn’t you—”

“It was yours.”

I started. “Excuse me?”

“Yours and fused with something… artificial Celestial. That last part is why Cornelius was not able to make the connection to you. His power is limited in that respect and with this interference running through it, it masked your signature in the process to him.”

“What does that even mean? How could that be possible?”

“I don’t know. But I will. In the meantime, we must keep this between us.”

“I can’t do that. My family—”

“Your family sits at the head of the table of the supernatural world. If this is revealed to them, word will spread like wildfire. They have many to answer to, they can’t afford to knowingly keep this quiet, for fear of what would happen if it got out, The populace would lose faith in the Guardian Movement like it did shortly before your birth.

” He grasped my wrist, urgency that was astounding to witness from him radiating off him.

“Consider this also. How would the world react to knowing that a being intent on eradicating the Crossborn team created to help hybrids, an attack that almost murdered a good portion of the Guardians that they trust their safety and wellbeing to, was perpetrated by somebody coerced by your magic?”

I choked at his words. “They’ve already feared me for so long. I made strides today, coming up here, then erecting that ward… I can’t….”

“Exactly. You see how this must remain between us. I’ll investigate the other aspect.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

He released me. “It would assist me with my investigation if you gave me a list of those you have used Celestial coercion upon.”

“I don’t like doing it, nor do I condone it. It’s a violation of free will.”

His eyes lit up. “It is indeed. With that being your stance, why employ it?”

“It was once. The being was dangerous and only becoming more so. I had to diffuse him and the situation that transpired because of his actions.”

He took my words in and gave a nod of understanding.

I shifted my weight and revealed, “His name is Sorin Tenebris. He was a Dark Fae fourth year at Maven Academy. He’s since been removed.”

He jolted, eyes widening. “Sorin? A Dark Fae?”

“Yes. Is that name familiar to you?”

He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I’ll investigate. Leave it with me.” That same disturbing urgency came over him again as he told me, “Stay far away from this.”

“It’s my power in play.”

“And something else altogether. Stay far away from it. Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” I forced out.

“Good. Now, I believe it is time to attend the debriefing.”

“Sure,” was all I managed.

All of this had been… a lot.

And I hadn’t even had a chance to reconcile even a little bit of it yet.