Page 10 of Third Offense

Fascinating,I deadpanned.Can we get to the point?

Because I hated words.

I much preferred actions.

“A Noir Court.” Auric seemed to be tasting the phrase. Because apparently he found this fascinating.

I supposed it couldn’t hurt to learn additional details, but I suspected that this whole historical lecture wasn’t the purpose of this walk. Vasilios was just warming us up. And I really wasn’t one for belaboring the point.

Just get to it.

“The Nora were protectors,” Ketos reiterated with an easy smile, obviously not hearing my request. “But we’ve established that already.”

No shit,I thought.

“What I mean to say is,” he continued, “they held an important role, one that the Noir cherished and valued.”

Vasilios tilted his head in agreement. “Yes. They served the Noir Court in many ways, similar to the servant class, but with far less restrictions.”

Auric frowned. “Define less restrictions.”

“From what I understand, Sefid has strict rules in place that keep lower-level Nora out of his personal palaces. Correct?”

“Yes,” Auric confirmed.

“Hmm, well, it wasn’t like that when the Noir ruled. We allowed the Nora free rein. It provided a harmonious atmosphere. Or so we thought.” Vasilios’s inky irises flickered with power, his expression one that suggested the memories he was recalling now weren’t fond ones.

Vasilios stopped at the peak of the cliff and overlooked the glittering water for a moment.

“The change was subtle at first. We only knew that Noir were dying. But we didn’t understand how or why.” His jaw flexed with the words. “Death for a Noir or Nora is quite rare.”

Not in my world, I nearly said.

But the king wasn’t done.

“It started with the wings. They molted down to the bones,” he said ominously as the breeze died. “Then the angelic bodies began to deteriorate as well.”

Darkness weighed over him like an aura, one that choked the oxygen from the air.

Which suggested that what he was saying was real.

Or he was a very, very good liar.

“The portals saved our lives,” he continued grimly. “But they took time to build as we’d never attempted to leave before.”

I studied him, my interest finally piqued.

Because this plague hadn’t just ended the Noir. It’d served as a gruesome punishment, one that had drawn out the suffering before it’d claimed their immortal lives.

I enjoyed violence.

However, this… this was devastation. Cruel. A twisted dark game that I would never have encouraged, even in my most lethal hours.

Some angels deserved to pay for their sins. To be tortured. To die brutally. Sefid being chiefly among them.

But an entire race?

No.