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“Use the Echo Coin. I will come to you and transport us to the place in question.” He gestured at me, Nyx, and Vorzyr. “The location will be known only to us. It is not safe for others to be aware.”

“We’re not just others,” V snapped at him.

Cassius waved his hand dismissively. “You are, as far as I’m concerned. Who Ariana fornicates with is not my business, but interference in Celestial matters between her and I will not be tolerated.”

V went to start forward, but Ariana shook her head at him.

“I’ve already made that clear,” she assured Cassius. “Stand down where that’s concerned.”

“So long as they continue to do so, I will do the same.”

“Thank you,” Ari told him.

Thank you yet again?

I reached out with my mind and connected with Nyx and V separately but at the same time. Nyx jolted and V blinked, swinging his head my way.

“Quiet strategizing session to deal with that fucker right here and now?”

“No. Stand down, V.”

“Then what—”

“Don’t intervene in what’s about to happen. No matter what.”

I was going to have enough with Ariana doing that.

I saw Nyx shaking his head at me.

V grasped my hand, then spoke via our mind-link.

“How do you expect me to promise that? It sounds like you’re about to do something brash and fucking dangerous. And yet you want me not to back you up?”

“You’ll promise me because you trust me.”

“Motherfucker, Kai.”

“Love you, too, V.”

I was just about to ready myself, when Nyx’s voice came through.

“Don’t do this, Kai. Ariana is forming a friendship with Cassius, something that will aid her and make this training and duty much easier on her. She’s growing more comfortable with him, I can feel it right now.”

“It needs to be done.”

Within moments, Ariana noticed Nyx looking uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong, cutie pie?” she asked, and it had Cassius frowning and focusing on him as well.

Perfect.

I called my power and thrust the full force of my rose-gold magic at Cassius.

It slammed into his chest and blasted him into a nearby tree at the edge of the surrounding forest.

With a burst of teleportation, I was right there in front of him, holding my arm to his throat with my magic flaming wildly.

“Kai!” Ariana cried. “What the hell are you doing?”

What was I doing?

Getting us answers that we desperately needed.

Cassius hissed at me, completely insulted that a supposed lesser being had come at him.

That pride and haughtiness that was synonymous with his species—aside from our Ariana—was part of what I’d been counting on, and he reacted the way I’d anticipated, and hoped for, ripping my hand from his neck, then slamming me into an age-old oak tree.

“Foolish, sorcerer. You dare to challenge a True Celestial being?”

“Yeah, I really fucking do.”

That just ramped up his indignation and I saw actual anger spark.

In the next moment, he was wrapping his hand around my throat and hauling me off the ground.

“Stop!” Ariana cried, teleporting over.

I saw Nyx move to do the same, but thankfully Vorzyr held his trust in me and grasped hold of him, keeping him back, looking on worriedly, yet also highly curiously.

“I warned you,” Cassius spoke over his shoulder to Ariana. “Do not worsen the situation by intervening on his behalf,” he cautioned her.

And then he snapped my right wrist, making me grunt at the shooting pain.

No matter. It would heal.

And, as V had found out last night, I didn’t need my hands to do magic. I was beyond that.

I’d made sure of that.

“You’re hurting him!” Ariana cried.

“Dammit, stop this!” Nyx screamed.

V just looked on, his eyes flaming with the primal need to react. But he still held off, still didn’t rush headlong into the situation. He stayed his hand.

Because I’d asked it of him.

“I am merely delivering a punishment he clearly needs,” Cassius spoke. “He will recover. And he will learn.”

As he went to strike me, I uttered words I’d made fucking sure I’d learned by heart.

“Zheiren val’kara. Nuriel thaz’en.” Let shadow precede the light.

A blast tore from me, my power radiating out from my whole body, and forcing Cassius to stagger back.

“How are—”

His words caught in his throat as I uttered next, “Kael’shara ven’torii. Zhurai ek’tol kai’neth.” Remove the chains of heaven. I am older still.

I swept my good left hand at him, inflicting a nasty gash across his torso.

He choked and staggered back again, his eyes wide with absolute disbelief.

While he was distracted by that, while they were all distracted and focused on the fact that I’d just made a True Celestial bleed, I enacted another spell, cloaking it so that none of them could see.

Cassius started forward, but I thrust my fucked-up right hand up, wincing at the action. But it worked and a shimmering dome of a shield erected around me, as I spoke, “Thalos’ren zhura. Kenek vahl’kar.” Touch me not, construct.

It held him off.

Just a little while longer until I completed the spell.

Seconds passed, and then I felt the cloaked spell complete.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of me.

He raised his fist, clearly intending to decimate my shield under his might.

But then he winced. I saw something glowing beneath his shirt, near his heart, and then he was clutching at it and stumbling backward.

He cursed, then eyed Ariana. “Use the Echo Coin. Come to me. Do not anger me further than your sorcerer already has.”

With that, he disappeared in a cloud of teleportation.

I dropped my shield, and the moment I did, Ari slapped at my chest. “What the hell was that, Kai?”

V and Nyx ran into the fray then, all three of them gathering around me.

“That was me doing what needed to be done, sweetheart.”

“What are you talking about? Do you realize what you just did?”

“All too well.”

I called the results of the secret spell I’d enacted forth, and then a vial of blood materialized, hovering in front of me.

V choked. “Motherfucker, is that his? You actually took his blood?”

I nodded. “The rest was just a distraction. Well, also a deterrent. I just demonstrated that he’s not above being impacted by the magic of lesser beings. It will have him thinking twice about daring to threaten any of us again, or to use us against Ari in a bid to control her.”

Ari gazed out at me, not sure what to make of it for several moments.

“Kai,” she breathed finally, reaching out and taking my broken wrist carefully in her hand. “You were hurt and it could have been so much worse.”

“It was worth it.” I gestured at the vial of blood. “We need this to test against the Rift Mark, to rule him out as the threat that it warned of, and to also determine if there exists another True Celestial actually walking the mortal plane instead.”

“Wow,” Nyx uttered. “That’s a hell of a strategy you just put into place there.”

A groan escaped me as Ari’s power surged through my wrist, as she healed me.

When she was done, I smirked out at her. “Time to take back control, sweetheart.” I eyed the vial. “And it starts with this.”