Page 15 of Mantle (IMMORTAL FLAME #3)
~Kai~
I stood staring at the Bastion Gauntlet levitating in Cornelius’ vault.
He’d managed to complete it, and it was really something.
A masterpiece in magical craftmanship, an ornate right-hand gauntlet forged from bronze with intricate latticework swirling across its surface in elegant, symmetrical patterns.
The knuckles were reinforced, the plates honed to precision, each joint moving with fluidity that belied it solid structure.
It was imbued with the ability to wield extraordinary power that would prove harmful to all Celestial beings outside of Ariana.
It was our defense against them.
But with the rise of Ketheron and our shifting goals, even that was no longer enough.
The tables had turned.
The high-stakes game had changed.
And in order to survive, we needed to adapt accordingly.
And fucking quickly.
“Impressive,” I said, eyeing Cornelius as he examined it opposite me. “Although, we’re going to need to replicate it, produce several more, with our intention now being to break the link to the Celestial Plane. We have to anticipate that they’ll try to come for us, try to stop it at all costs.”
“I’ve taken that into account. We must prepare for an army.”
“Exactly. But for us to accomplish that as a twosome, it will be time-consuming. And we still need to work with Arcanum Order to figure out a way to reengineer the Inhibitor spell as a means to neutralize Ketheron’s magical abilities.”
He smiled. “I didn’t just bring you here to review the Bastion Gauntlet. I will induct you into Arcanum Order today.”
“That’s… wow.”
He chuckled. “I’m looking forward to you becoming a member. You will make a powerful addition. You’ll also be able to see exactly the sorts of profound things that we can all accomplish together when working as a unit. What you can achieve when you don’t limit yourself to working alone.”
“I’ve already seen the value in that with Ari, Nyx, and Vorzyr. As well as working with you on this.”
“Those are positive steps in the right direction, however, you do still possess lone-wolf tendencies.”
I tensed. His comment was pointed.
“Where are you getting that from?”
He folded his arms across his broad chest, biceps bulging.
“Where did you teleport off to?”
“When?” I responded, already knowing full well what he was talking about.
“In all the chaos of Ketheron’s rise and the Celestial Plane marking Ariana and Cassius for death, we never got around to where you ran off to that night after leaving my vault.”
“I had business to attend to.”
“ Business that was so urgent you took your leave immediately.”
“It was personal business.”
“So you were helping someone?”
“Something like that.”
“Something exactly like that,” he countered.
Fuck. “You know.”
“I am Inter-Realm Ambassador , Kai. Unlike the Guardian Movement’s emissaries, I’ve taken extra precautions to ensure the sanctity and safety of both realm interactions and inter-realm travel.
I have alerts in place.” He unfolded his arms and walked to me.
“So, yes, when immense force was used to blow a hole through the protective wards surrounding the Dracoryn Realm, I was made aware. And I was also privy to the fact that an outlawed perversion of Dracoryn magic was wielded unnaturally by a non-draconic being.” His gaze snapped to mine. “You.”
Fuck me.
“Upon further investigation via an asset of mine within said realm, I discovered that you also actively and aggressively interfered in House Titanus business, downed ten top dragon enforcers, then even threatened the rulers themselves?”
“If you know that, then you’ll also know why I did it.”
“I am aware, yes. And sparing Vorzyr such a brutal fate is undeniably admirable. Courageous and even heroic. However, unfortunately for you, it doesn’t absolve the actions that you took.
Being raised as heir to the Maven Coven, you are more aware than most your age of the complicated diplomatic relations between the many factions and realms that make up the supernatural world.
You knew you were violating several laws by taking such action without any sort of approval or permission.
You being there even risked implicating the Maven Coven as a whole, because your magical signature ties back to that institution. ”
“Waiting for approval was not an option.”
“There was another way. You could have come to me and I would have granted you temporary immunity in your actions on the grounds of the outlawed practice of Ashbinding being used against not just a dragon, but the heir to the Dracoryn kingdom.” He shook his head at me.
“You’re fortunate I put that in place… retroactively, shall we say—with the help of my contact.
But you must never act so recklessly going forward.
Just because you can, does not mean you should.
Those with that attitude who possess great power and knowledge risk corruption and becoming the very megalomaniacal threats they initially wish to fight. ”
“I understand. And I appreciate what you did.”
“You are most welcome. You have proven yourself worthy of me taking such actions on your behalf. But you must manage that urge to act alone going forward.”
“I will. It’s been a work in progress.”
“Until then I will be keeping an eye on you.”
“Seems fair,” I deadpanned.
“Now, with that out of the way, tell me why Vorzyr hasn’t reported what transpired to the Guardian Movement.”
“He’s reeling. He’s not only refusing to report it, he’s not currently able to deal with it even on an emotional level.”
“I see. It is understandable from several standpoints. However, it’s not something that can be left or pushed to the wayside.
This was torture, the use of an illicit practice with the Ashbinding, and attempted murder of a Dracoryn Realm heir.
It is also proof that I have long been searching for that Zepharion and Serapha have become unstable in their rule. Unhinged to the extreme.”
“You’ve been working toward trying to oust them?”
“Yes. Reports have come to my attention over the last few years of other illicit actions they have taken against their own people, but I wasn’t able to substantiate them.
Either they covered them up, or those involved were too afraid to speak out against their tyranny.
What they did to their own son changes things, and it has become the key to removing them from power. ”
“I’m all for that. I obviously want that justice for Vorzyr.
But I’m not going to act against his wishes.
It’s political to you, but to him it is deeply personal.
He’s traumatized by what he endured and also the fact that he’s been unceremoniously stripped of his birthright and his blood family all in one shot.
This is all rooted in the Celestial abilities that he has, which extend beyond the Primal Celestial Resonance that you witnessed when he healed Ari.
He displayed another—Command of Beasts—in front of them all.
The way I left it, I’ve leveraged their silence.
But any further action will jeopardize that. ”
“He is not alone. The four of you are not alone. You will be protected.”
“You can’t promise that. People don’t like what’s different—what’s powerful and different. Beings they can’t control. Hence the hybrid crisis, and groups like Puritas existing.”
“Those fools don’t speak for the entire supernatural world, not by a long shot.
And I am well-versed in protecting those who are different.
Warlow was feared and persecuted because of his hybrid nature.
The existence of hybrids was hidden deeply twenty years ago, but things have come a long way since.
If we revert to hiding in the shadows, concealing who we are, that progress will not continue.
It will be stifled, and those very fools will win by default. ”
I shoved a hand through my hair. “What do you suggest?”
“We will walk the line between what needs to be done and Vorzyr’s reluctance rooted in his regrettable traumatic experience. I will send my contact to him, keeping the choice in his hands.”
“All right,” I agreed. “But if anything comes of this, any risk to him that—”
“Yes, you’ll raise hell.” He smiled. “And I’ll be right there alongside you. I have no doubt that my granddaughter will be also. You see? Even those fanatical fools won’t fail to recognize what a grave mistake it would be to target Vorzyr for what he is, should his parents expose him.”
“I see what you did there.” He was really something else.
And I respected the hell out of that.
He winked at me, then told me, “Come now. Time to bring you into Arcanum Order. The members are looking forward to meeting you.”
He went to call his power to teleport us to wherever the mysterious site of the meeting place was, but a sudden and violent reverberation through the floors and even the walls of the vault pulled us both up short.
“Someone of great power has breached the property line. And they weren’t careful about it either.” He gritted his teeth. “This unsettlement is the result of the wards being torn through with a brutal burst of power.”
In the next moment, he was teleporting us to the foyer.
To one hell of a sight.
There Cassius was in his full Celestial battle garb like an angel of vengeance, tossing an unconscious and badly beaten body across the floor.
As the being rolled and smacked into the wall on his back, I identified him as Sorin Tenebris.
That piece of shit Puritas acolyte. The one who V and I had punished for coming at Nyx, who Ariana had coerced. That coercion had then been reengineered and used to force a hybrid to unleash a Hellfire device in a bid to take out Crossborn and make a statement to the Guardian Movement as a whole.