Page 33 of Mantle (IMMORTAL FLAME #3)

~Vorzyr~

“You’re doing impressively well.”

I eyed Jaxon. “What?”

“Maintaining control and focus, while not actually shutting out the animal—all as you’re strained emotionally through your worry for Ari.”

“Well, I had a great teacher in you, didn’t I?”

“You were raised as a weapon. I merely demonstrated how to function as both man and animal, rather than as a means to conquer for others. This is you now, not them.”

I stared at him as we strode toward Polaris , the latest place where we’d both scented Ariana, via his familial blood tracking and my dragon-scenting of my love.

“You know? About my parents?”

“Cornelius has filled us in. With the revolution on the brink, he wanted to prepare key figures, while ensuring he kept it quiet to the rest of the supernatural world so that House Titanus isn’t tipped off before Vortimer strikes.

” He laid his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“You did all the right things. Giving up that key and ensuring your baby brother’s safety were noble acts.

I understand what all of this has cost you.

But it’s also given you a great deal. You’ve found your own family who accepts you the way you are, who facilitates your growth.

You’ve found the real you, something that being connected to your parents would never have allowed you to do.

” He smiled. “And, just so we’re clear, you also have an extended family at your back in me, Ryker, Lucian, and Mia. All three of you do.”

“Even Kai?” I asked, trying to lighten the heaviness a little. I couldn’t get too emotional when we were tracking or it could disrupt my focus.

“Yes. Even that antagonistic bastard.”

“He just comes off that way. That surface attitude is rooted in protection.” And other things, but largely that.

“I know,” he admitted.

“Lucian’s still watching us, huh?”

“Cornelius is. Just Kai now.”

“That choice worked out well. Kai is loving it.”

“The two of them are a lot alike. Magical powerhouses who strive for knowledge and need to be the smartest one in the room to establish their power and feel like they have control. That control? It comes from knowing so much , so deeply… that they understand how impossible it is to ever truly have control. And that knowledge hits them harder than anyone. So they strive harder. Kai’s obsessive about it, which can push him toward dangerous choices.

Cornelius used to be like that too. But these days?

He’s steadier. Calmer. Which makes him the perfect one to understand Kai—and to guide him. ”

“Why not Gabriel?”

“I know you’re going to tell him this, so we’ll all brace ourselves for the ego trip, but… we’ve determined that Kai has now surpassed Gabriel Morgan’s power levels. He’s very close to that of Cornelius.”

“What? He’s not of Celestial blood.”

“His workarounds put him on that level.”

“Holy shit… he’s basically achieved what he always wanted… being able to stand against those of insurmountable power through pursuit of knowledge to bridge that gap.”

“Yes,” Jaxon admitted.

He drew his hand away as we reached the entrance doors to Polaris .

But then he pulled up short and pressed his hand to his temple.

“Mind-linking?” I asked.

He gave a nod and concentrated for several moments.

When he blinked out of it, he was tense, his brow furrowing.

“That was Ry. All the protections concealing Chimera Circle labs have collapsed. He’s just had it verified beyond a shadow of a doubt, and checked the source to ensure it wasn’t a trap or some misdirection. And those protections were decimated by Ariana’s power.”

“What? She’s… how?”

“I don’t know. She’s been unreachable—which, especially with what we know about Corvin, suggests she’s been taken. But her power being used… He must have forced it. Stolen some of it. She wouldn’t have even known about that network, let alone how to access it. We didn’t. Not until now.”

“So taking her and using her power for good? We now know he was one of the scientists who made Ketheron. He killed the other two.” I clenched my fists, a snarl escaping me. “And he was there while Nyx was being experimented on too. He wouldn’t do something altruistic.”

“I agree. There’s a greater and darker purpose behind it, and—” He froze, his breath catching.

Then he stumbled and doubled over with a grunt.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something’s wrong… something.” His gaze snapped to mine. “Draco’s sword has been fully activated.”

“You can feel that?”

“I was connected to him, imbued with his knowledge. I was actually surprised that I didn’t feel the Hellfire being used and repurposed from it, or it being removed from the Celestial Plane.”

“The connection must just be weak then, needing a full-blown activation like this for it to be felt.”

“I know where it is,” he revealed, staring off into the distance, a grave look on his face.

“Then we call in the Guardian Movement? This has got to have something to do with Ariana and Corvin.”

“I can’t call in Ry. Or Mia, for that matter, despite the help that it would be.

” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Mia was brutally stabbed by that thing and suffered a Celestial wound that almost killed her. And Draco used its Hellfire to set Ry on fire. It burned through his body until his limbs were a charred mess. He only survived because Mia was imbued by the power of the Celestial Plane at the time and was able to heal him. There’s too much trauma there.

And even if they could focus through it, it’ll still compromise them. ”

“Motherfucker. Let’s go then. Now.”

He grasped my hand to teleport us. “Follow my lead. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

And then he was enveloping us in a cloud of teleportation.

We rematerialized at a familiar location.

The Unity Council.

Its striking, once-impressive structure was now a shadow of itself—torn apart, utterly ravaged.

Its glass facade was shattered as Hellfire tore through it, that former luminous blue unearthly glow now snuffed out.

The statues that flanked the entrance were melted down to nothing but molten stumps.

The double doors of black steel were thrown open, people screaming and rushing through them, others teleporting out frantically.

And there the cause of the destruction was, wielding Draco’s sword, and now breathing dragon fire over the rest of the building and the surrounding area.

Ketheron.

The one Ariana had called a victim, the one she’d wanted to save, the one she’d claimed had desired to be good, the one who deserved redemption.

And here he was doing this?

Jaxon cursed from beside me as he rapidly assessed the situation.

“I’ve reached out to Cornelius. He’s with Cassius. They’re on their way.”

“I can hold off the monster’s dragon fire with my own. I’ll transform, using my dragon hide to protect myself against the Hellfire if he uses the sword again.”

“All right. But employ your Primal Celestial Resonance as well. It will further guard against a Celestial-made element like Hellfire and should he use his Celestial power to attack. Distract and push back his destructive dragon fire and I’ll confiscate the sword.”

Before I could move to do that, a familiar scent drew my attention, one that had been attached to Ariana’s. One we hadn’t been able to identify, because neither Jaxon nor I had encountered the owner of it before to be able to make the link.

I watched as a cloaking veil lifted and then there Corvin Morvain was, the guy Kai had shown me pictures of after Ariana had first mentioned being with him and I’d been… curious.

He was levitating just above Ketheron, his carefully coiffed blond hair whipping about with all the magic and fire in the air, as he spoke, “They believe a powerful being like you will only be the problem for the upper echelons and powerhouses of the supernatural world. But today they learn that none of them are safe, not even civilians. Fear will spread, the Guardian Movement will strain, the supernatural populace will lose faith like it did with Cornelius when Draco rose and ravaged so much. And then we will fill the seats of power. They will beg us to spare them, trade their freedom for our protections. And we will rule them all. We will reign, my good boy. Now decimate!”

With that he teleported out in a blink. Motherfucker.

“Go,” Jaxon urged me.

I let the magic of the shift roll over me, calling my red magical flame, power surging until it encompassed me, turning my flesh to hard, black scales, red shimmering runes and gold patterns etched into them.

My eyes becoming reptilian and fiery gold, my hair turning to razor-sharp thorns forming a crown.

My wings sprung forth, their one-hundred-foot span filling the area, their black webbing covered in blood-red patterns.

I swished my serpentine tail with the jagged spikes, then let out a guttural rumble as the full shift reached completion.

I focused on calling my Primal Celestial Resonance forth, pulling it from deep within me until that coolness permeated my being.

It wasn’t unsettling like cold usually was to me. It was more… soothing. Like I was calling on a part of me meant to be activated.

As soon as it was stable and constant, I soared up into the air, the smooth and powerful movements of my wings slicing the air in a furious gust, as I flew toward Ketheron.