Page 8 of Obsidian and Frost

“It very well could have reached that point if Warlow hadn’t checked him.”

Warlow nodded. “He was also wracked with guilt about taking off when you rejected his interest, that it happened to be just before the Guardian Compound attack byPuritas, so that ramped things up for him. I had to shut it down. I mean, unless you feel different where he’s concerned now? Ready to reciprocate his interest, perhaps?”

Before I could get a word out, Cornelius warned, “But if you do,youtake control and keep the power in your hands. Given how he is, it will need to be that way or he could very well overwhelm you.”

Wow.This discussion was… a lot.

I hadn’t exactly handled the Lazriel Thaine situation well before. He was on the Crossborn team with me and he’d made his interest known, flirting heavily and then even asking me out.And I’d turned him down, not ready, and also concerned that his vampire side was drawn to my Wraith side—that he was drawn to me just for that. It had been a thing with vampires—especially younger ones—in the past.

But Ihadbeen curious. He had a real forthright attitude about him that I liked. He was hot as hell, funny… there was a lot there to like. I just… I hadn’t been ready at the time.

“I don’t know,” I told them. “My focus is on classes and acclimating. The rest… I’m not sure.”

“And you don’t need to be,” Warlow assured me.

Right. Ididn’tneed to be.

“Thank you,” I told them. “For this… for everything you’ve done for me.”

“No gratitude needed,” Cornelius told me with a smile.

Warlow beamed out at me. “It’s really been our pleasure, Velra. And we’re going to miss you being here.”

“I’m going to miss the both of you too.”

We fell into light conversation then, talking more about the subjects at Wraeven Academy, Warlow’s day ahead at Crossborn, Cornelius’ day as Inter-Realm Ambassador and some secret work he was doing with some clandestine magic-wielder group I didn’t know the details of. And then Warlow’s other job at Polaris,an erotic supernatural nightclub owned by his friend, Lucian Black. Lucian was also one of the three loves of Cornelius’ daughter, Mia Snow.

I savored the moment, the breakfast, the conversation, being around them as a guest in their home for the last time.

And even though this part of my life was changing, coming to an end, I was actually really excited about what lay ahead.

I couldn’t wait to begin.

2

~Sylas~

Leaving for college.

Wraeven Academy, here I come.

Motherfucker.

I, Sylas Morgrave—twenty-four-year-old, renowned and revered necromancer, elite magic-wielder, and highly accomplished in my field with supreme control over my power and abilities—was being forced to attend a fucking academy.

Unfortunately, it had been made clear to me, after suffering several arrests for my vigilante activities and unsanctioned use of necromantic dominance, that it was either this or time inThe Void, a supernatural prison devoid of magic.

It had gone along the lines of this:

“I did what was necessary!”I boomed at the Guardians surrounding me, the fuckers having me bound by Inhibitor cuffs that were meant to nullify magic usage. They didn’t know that they didn’t work on me. Only one person did.

And I saw that person round the corner and take in what was happening.

Ryker Morgan. Head of the Guardian Movement.

He looked as smoking as ever with his overgrown brown crew cut, those striking green eyes, and that silky white shirt over a pair of tight leather pants that did his ass a hell of a lot of justice.

Mmm. Too bad he was taken.