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Chapter Thirty-One

Cohen

R ogue and I sense it the second Calyx is injured. We stumble down the stairs, keeping each other upright. The only things that give me hope are that I’m still alive and the bond isn’t completely broken… It’s definitely damaged, but not to the point it would be at if he was truly beyond repair.

Although I’ve already told Rogue as much, her anxiety and pain still radiate in what’s left of the bond. It’s to be expected, but I can’t fathom what could have harmed Calyx here in the sithen.

Nothing makes any sense.

My chest throbs with a painful pulse, and I fall into the wall as Rogue and I come around the corner and into the living room.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Gemma says, raising her bloody palms.

An awkward laugh bubbles out of my lips. “Really? Because it looks like you damaged Calyx’s vessel enough that he’ll regenerate next to his phylactery.”

“Oh, okay, I guess it is what it looks like,” the nightmare says with her head bobbing up and down.

“You killed my mate?” Rogue hisses. Her head swivels to Owen. “And you stood by and watched it happen?”

“Hey!” Gemma jabs a finger at her sister. “He told me to.”

Owen nods. “He was very serious about getting the process of regeneration started quickly.”

“Calyx will be fine. He does this at least once every five years,” I tell Rogue, pulling her to my chest.

Shit.

I forgot she can sense mistruths.

“Okay, at least every ten or fifteen years.” I run my hand down her spine in an attempt to offer her comfort.

Her nose wrinkles as she peers up at me. “That was more accurate. You’re sure he’ll be fine?”

The ward makes me a little nervous. To my knowledge, he’s never regenerated through one, but I also know Calyx well enough to understand he doesn’t take needless risks.

That was before he had Rogue in his life. With her in the mix, he’s not going to take a chance on not being able to reanimate.

“Calyx has had a millennium to learn the limits of his magic. He’s not going to take any risks when you’re involved.” Well, if nothing else, I fully believe those words to be true.

We land outside the storage unit, and Gemma goes back for Owen. With as massive as that berserker is, I’m betting toting me and Rogue is on par with siphoning him.

Rogue leans into my chest for support, shaking her head. “Gods, Cohen, I’m so stressed.”

“Don’t worry.” I soothe my hand up and down her spine. “We’ve got this.”

“It would be easier to believe if my chest wasn’t radiating with pain and emptiness where Calyx was,” she whispers.

“Give it some time,” I murmur, kissing her temple. “It won’t take too much longer.”

I just pray my words are true.

Gemma pops in with Owen. She frowns at her sister’s back and gives a tight smile that only I catch. “I’m going to ensure Delta isn’t able to complete the sale. I’ll be back.”

And with that, she disappears in a smoky mass of shadows.

Now all we can do is wait.

Time passes excruciatingly slowly.

When Calyx’s physical body is damaged beyond repair, he simply resurrects next to his soul jar. If that process was to be interrupted, it would have catastrophic repercussions.

He’s essentially immortal whenever his phylactery is in a safe place. However, while he reanimates, if someone were to manage to destroy his phylactery and his new body, they would ensure he was never able to rise again.

Our job is to prevent anything from getting inside that storage unit while he’s at his most vulnerable, but I’ve kept that to myself to avoid alarming Rogue any more than she already is.

The reason we couldn’t do this weeks ago was because we didn’t know if it was a trap. If Anders, Lorcan, or I had killed Calyx to start the regeneration process and someone was guarding his phylactery, waiting for exactly that to happen… It would have been game over for the lich.

Knowing Delta and her warlock aren’t here is what allows taking this course of action to be relatively safe.

Rogue paces the hallway in front of the door that leads to Delta’s storage unit, grumbling under her breath.

Owen leans against the wall with his brow furrowed and his concern for Rogue evident. When his phone rings loudly, he pulls it from his pocket, answering the call, and walking the opposite direction from Rogue.

My head swivels as I glance between them.

Rogue is a mess in the bond, but based on what she’s projecting, I’m not sure approaching her would be the right call. She’s furious—at Calyx and the situation. Not that I don’t understand where she’s coming from, but I don’t want to accidentally end up on the wrong side of her ire.

Owen stomps back, shoving his phone into his back pocket.

“Well, it’s not much, but I have some good news.

The two shifters Delta was using to keep eyes on the heist crew are in custody.

They were in the process of trying to collect the cash and jewels from the revenants when they were apprehended.

” His face twists into a frown once more as he studies Rogue.

“The only downside is, they know for a fact that it was a lich’s magic that reanimated the humans being forced to enact the heists.

All we can hope is that the shifters crack when they’re interrogated.

If they name Delta, that would be even better. ”

Rogue stomps closer, and I stumble back a step when I spot her eyes. They’re normally a brilliant gray, but a void-like black sheen has taken over even the whites of her eyes. Black smoky magic spills from her skin, which is bizarre because it usually has a pastel teal color.

“Are you okay?” I ask, clearing my throat.

She’s looking a little intimidating, but we’re bonded. Her magic would never be able to harm me.

“I’m tired of waiting.” Though the words come from Rogue’s mouth, they’re laced with her magic. Even the energy in the hallway has changed. It has almost a primordial feeling, which is kinda unsettling and also intriguing.

She steps to the door of the storage unit and raises her hands. I’ve never seen anything like it. Her magic pulls the energy that fuels the ward straight from the air. Delta’s magic is a transparent red, but as soon as it touches Rogue’s shadows, it disintegrates.

Rogue is significantly more powerful than I realized.

A loud popping sound fills the air as the ward buckles completely.

She continues sucking up the leftover magic, and once none remains, she waves a hand. The storage unit door flies up as the lock cracks in half, falling to the ground with an awkward thud .

Calyx’s new shell lies next to a metal set of shelves on the left wall of the storage unit. The right side of the room has a similar setup and quite the variety of relics.

His new body isn’t fully formed, and it’s a gruesome sight as veins and muscle coil around his bones. No wonder he’s so serious about no one witnessing the process.

“Jesus,” Owen mutters, following Rogue inside the room. “She’s got a fuck of a lot more than Calyx’s phylactery.”

“We’re going to speed this along,” Rogue says in the same voice that isn’t her own. She kneels at Calyx’s side, raising her hands and levitating them a few feet above his still-forming body.

“Did you know she had that kind of magic?” I whisper to Owen.

He shakes his head, grimacing. “Not until she told me. That’s the magic she inherited from Aline—her mother.”

“It’s something primordial,” I whisper, hoping it doesn’t offend the dark magic now pulsing through Rogue. “Like ancient.”

“Yeah,” Owen agrees with wide eyes.

By the time I glance back at Calyx, his body is nearly completely formed.

My jaw falls.

I’ve never seen magic that could speed up his regeneration. Then again, I’m not sure I’ve felt power as ancient as whatever is wafting off Rogue. Most people lose their breath when they feel what Calyx’s power can do, and Rogue is more powerful than even the lich.

“All of that power in not even a twenty-year-old body…” I frown, pushing up my glasses. “That’s kind of terrifying.”

“Yep.” Owen nods dramatically, shoving his hands into his front pockets. “Just a little, but luckily, she’s our mate.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “And she is magnificent.”

“Thank you,” Rogue says in the voice that echoes with her power.

I am really grateful that she’s on our side.