Page 44 of Mantle (IMMORTAL FLAME #3)

~Kai~

Lack of knowledge and understanding had almost fucked everybody over yet again.

As a rule, that got under my skin like nothing else.

But in this case it was far worse because it had involved Ariana’s life.

The way that Cassius, Mia, and Jaxon had been prepared to carry out the Severance—breaking the link between the Celestial Plane and the mortal world—would not only have failed, but also very likely drained and killed Ariana as well.

All because Celestial knowledge was so limited.

Even Cassius being a True Celestial who’d only recently been sent down to the mortal plane had limited knowledge—just specifically what they’d wanted him to know to be able to do his specific job with training Ariana.

And when it came to something blasphemous like breaking the connection to those fuckers and cutting them off permanently, it was buried far deeper than anything else.

Thank fuck Ketheron stood apart from that.

The fact that he’d been infused with the aspects of several different True Celestials afforded him knowledge that no other being alone possessed.

And it had saved us all.

He had saved us all.

The brutal irony of that wasn’t lost on any of us.

Not even the Guardian Movement—or even the Unity Council who’d been calling for his death up until Nyx had informed Ryker Morgan of every little detail of his dreamwalking interaction with Ketheron.

Not only had the Unity Council calmed down, but Ryker had also agreed to have the Inhibitor spell that us at Arcanum Order were so close to re-engineering to activate only if Corvin’s magic came near Ketheron in a bid to leash him once more.

Meanwhile, Cassius and Ariana’s spell that infused ancient magics to search burial grounds in a bid to find that motherfucker, Corvin’s, base, was in full effect again.

And right now, here we were—our foursome—at Sylas Morgrave’s modest cabin.

Right on the cusp of upturning the Maven Coven forevermore.

Nyx was clinging to me, holding onto my left arm and nuzzling against me, concerned about what was about to happen, what it could do to me. And that was in spite of my repeated assurances. It had been just the two of us for so long and I knew the idea of losing me was devastating to him.

But we had Vorzyr and Ariana now.

We were a unit.

Speaking of that, I looked out at Vorzyr sitting on the couch, his legs spread and his head bowed as he prepared himself for his role in this, ensuring he had his animal side under control.

It wouldn’t be long now.

We were almost there.

The spell would begin.

And then everything would change for me forever.

Marlise had been over the moon when I’d told her the plan that involved making her Head of Maven Coven in my place.

Except for the aspect that required necromantic magic.

She was a bit of a purist. It was actually something that would be highly beneficial and veer the Maven Coven back in the right direction after my parents had corrupted it with this legacy enchantment and all the brutality attached to it, the free will violation included.

Sylas and Ariana emerged from the kitchen with him thanking her profusely.

She’d used her power to infuse his serum-making spell so that it could continuously produce it without him wearing down himself or his power in order to make it so. It was a major relief for him.

And soon he’d have more.

Because I wouldn’t stop until he and I found a solution to his infection. A permanent one that would cure him completely.

Ariana came to me and kissed my cheek. “How are you feeling?” she asked, looking me over.

“All good to go,” I assured her.

“Kai, this is no small thing and—”

I cupped her cheek as Nyx tightened his hold on my arm.

I looked between him and her. “I’m seriously fine. And ready. I’m actually looking forward to it… in a perverse sort of way.”

“Sticking it to your parents isn’t perverse. It’s justice for what they’ve done to you,” Vorzyr spoke, rising from the couch and coming over.

A flare of magic had me looking to see Sylas levitating his hooded coat over, then shrugging it on.

“Does Marlise understand what she needs to do?” he asked, double-checking with me, because we’d already been over this.

I nodded. “She’ll be there inside the main building of the Maven Coven when we arrive. Then you’ll take her blood and she’ll remain on Coven grounds so she can be bound to it—her new role consecrated with her blood woven into the enchantment.”

“Perfect. Once I have her fresh blood, we’ll move to the secret chamber I told you about. It holds the physical core of the legacy enchantment. I’ll unlock the seals using necromantic magic. At that point, we begin.”

I looked at Ariana. “Remember, no matter what happens, you can’t use your Celestial power offensively against my parents or any Coven member there. The political fallout would be horrific.”

“I know. I understand. Vorzyr and Nyx will see to defense.”

“Motherfucking right we will. Nothing will interrupt this spell.”

Sylas told me, “Ariana will be there both as a precaution if complications arise and I can’t restart your heart should the limitations of my sickness rise up during the spell.

But she’ll also be there to flush out your system with Celestial Light.

I’m using death magic to stop your heart.

I’m not using a balance to do that, nor to bring you back, because we’d have to tie your life to somebody else’s and they’d die in your place—something none of us will allow.

As such, this is dark magic. Given your obsessive nature and…

other things… it invites the possibility of magical corruption getting its claws into you if that dark magic remains in your system.

So Ariana will see to it that it does not. ”

I took a moment to absorb the weight of everything.

It wasn’t the first time I was hearing these same details of the forthcoming spell from him, but now that we were right on the verge, it did feel different. Weightier.

Nothing was going to stop this from happening, though.

I wanted this.

I needed this.

And I was as ready as I’d ever be.

“Let’s do it. Let’s move,” I spoke.

Here goes nothing.

The Maven Coven main estate loomed as it always had—grand, cold, and immovable.

The stone facade was a smooth gray-white that always made it look colder than it already was.

The heavy oak doors groaned on their hinges as we all passed through into the building, Sylas and I leading the way, with V, Ari, and Nyx right at our backs.

I resisted the instinct to reach for the latest branding mark my parents had afflicted me with—earlier this morning—still burned into my chest. Soon, it would be gone.

All of it would.

We made our way through the Main Hall, which was empty at this time of night.

Well, almost empty.

Because there stood Marlise over on the far end.

She stepped from the shadows, carrying herself in her usual commanding way, an air of precision and charm emanating from her.

Her auburn hair was pulled into a bun with a few loose strands framing her face in a way that softened her sharper edges. She was wearing her wire-framed glasses, and she was clad in a jewel-toned blouse and a tailored coat.

“Kai,” she greeted, as I reached her. She looked to Sylas.

“Necromancer.” She extended her greeting to Ariana, Nyx, and Vorzyr.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, dragon.” She grinned at Nyx.

“Long time.” And then she gazed at Ariana.

“You’ve certainly grown into yourself. I’ve been hearing a great deal about you. Good for you. You deserve it.”

“As much as I’d love to extend this social interaction, especially with you being so accommodating, time is limited,” Sylas told her.

She straightened. “Yes, it is. Thomas and Louise would have felt your arrival. Especially their son’s.”

In the next moment she was holding out her palm to Sylas.

He pulled a black and gold ceremonial knife from his coat and slid it from its sheath. One of many ceremonial blades. He had a ton of them, which I’d seen during my visits to his home lately.

He carefully cut Marlise’s palm and caught the drops of blood in a small crystal vial.

Once it was full, he replaced the cork, then told her, “Thank you. That’s all we need. Ensure you remain on Maven Coven grounds during the spell.”

“Understood,” she said, while healing her palm with a spark of her magic. Then she took my hand and told me earnestly, “Thank you for choosing me for this, Kai. It means a great deal.”

“I didn’t choose you. We both know you’ve earned it. And, on the flip side, thank you for doing this for me.”

“You deserve to be happy and carve out your own destiny. We all do.”

I gave her hand a squeeze, she smiled, then teleported out to the Coven grounds.

I sucked in a breath, then turned to Sylas. “Lead the way to this secret room that was even kept off my radar all these fucking years.”

“Don’t worry, my friend,” he said, as he led the way down another corridor beyond the Main Hall. “Soon that bitterness will be replaced with relief and a beautiful sense of freedom.”

He wasn’t wrong there.

I looked behind me and grinned out at Ariana, Nyx, and V, and they all smiled back at me supportively.

We moved quickly then, as Sylas took a sharp turn near the east study, approaching an unremarkable stretch of wall between two long-forgotten portraits.

He stopped, bringing all of us to a halt.

Then he raised his hand and pressed three fingers to the wall in a precise triangular pattern.

The wall pulsed with necromantic energy—black veins of magic writhing outward—before folding in on itself with a hiss.

A narrow staircase spiraled downward into darkness.

“Catacombs,” Sylas said. “The legacy enchantment is housed in the original ritual chamber below the foundation. They laid it directly into the bones of the place.”

No torches. No lights. Just a cold, humming power that vibrated through the stone as we descended.