Page 8 of Third Offense

If what Kyril had told us was accurate, then everything my noble commander had been doing for the last several centuries had been on the side of evil, not good.

And Auric was an honorable Nora, an angel who believed in right over wrong.

It would be a difficult reality for him to believe, similar to how he’d struggled to understand Layla’s black feathers. He claimed to accept the latter now, but I suspected he still struggled with her situation.

Withoursituation.

Vasilios considered Auric for a moment before saying, “We’re the children of Gods. And Nora were created to serve us.” The last part was said with a slight sneer as he looked over my commander.

“To protect us,” Ketos added with a softness I didn’t trust.

There was something different about him. Somethingother.

Divine, perhaps, now that I knew what to look for.

He reminded me of Layla in ways I didn’t want to admit. He held a presence that demanded respect.

Only Layla had earned my devotion.

He had not.

And he never would, either.

When Ketos briefly met my gaze with powerful, violet eyes, I didn’t flinch away.

Whatever the fuck you are, test me and you will bleed.

Ketos grinned as if he could hear my thoughts.

“Yes, for protection,” Vasilios said, agreeing with Ketos’s commentary. “Instead, those of us who survived the plague were forced to flee our homes because the Nora had all turned on us. And now they’re obsessed withreformingus.” He growled the word ‘reform’ as if it were a curse.

“But the Gods are turning the tides,” Ketos murmured thoughtfully, still holding my gaze. “Your wings are proof of that.”

“My wings were marked by Vasilios,” I told him.

My attention returned tothe king,daring him to deny it.

Vasilios merely smiled, the smug bastard.

He’s just as bad as golden boy over here.

“You proved your worth that day, Novak,” Vasilios said with a slight lift to his lips. “I gave my blessing. My divine ancestors are the ones who chose to see it through, and they marked your two friends as well.” His approval faded as he turned to Auric. “But not you.”

If Auric was offended, he didn’t show it. “Because I believed in a cause that I’m now starting to question.”

“Only starting to?” Vasilios asked, arching a brow. “Hmm. Well, that’s disappointing.”

Auric’s gaze narrowed, as did mine.

Because that tone hadn’t just been condescending, it’d been challenging.

And the look Vasilios gave his guards afterward suggested it’d been some sort of a sign as well.

The hairs along my arms lifted, my instinct to break through the elixir and fly causing my pulse to accelerate in anticipation.

But a gentle breeze instantly cooled the air, giving Auric pause as strands of his long, white hair whipped across his turquoise eyes.

His voice was calm as he said, “If I’ve learned anything over the last few months, it’s that nothing is what it seems. So I’ll be reserving my judgment on this entire situation until I feel more confident in my findings.”