Page 106 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

“Ivrael.” Vazor’s tone demands attention. Commands it. “You need to consider moving faster. If the hunters find them first?—”

“They won’t.” The words emerge in a cloud of frozen breath, each syllable sharp as the stalactites hanging above us. “I won’t let them.”

“Your protective instincts do you credit, but?—”

“This isn’t about protection.” The lie burns cold in my throat. Freezes my tongue. “The plan requires both sisters alive until the precise moment I need them. Nothing more.”

“Of course.” His tone suggests he believes nothing of the sort. “But speaking of precise moments...”

Vazor’s expression makes my jaw clench. Makes ice spread further across the floor. He sees too much. Has always seen too much.

He gestures to the ceiling. “Your control grows more unstable by the day. If you wait until the summit?—”

“I don’t have a choice.” I turn away.

“Then at least let me help secure the manor. My daughters?—”

“No.” The word cracks like breaking ice. Shards of frost explode outward from where I stand. “The fewer who know their true heritage, the better.”

Somewhere beyond the walls of my manor, hunters draw closer while I waste time teaching court dances and proper etiquette and how to move through a deadly labyrinth.

Teaching Lara to survive in a world that wants her dead.

“The timing must be exact,” I repeat.

Silence stretches between us, heavy with all the other things I will not say. With all the things Vazor knows I won’t say.

Finally, he sighs. “As you wish. But remember—these hunters are desperate. The promise of titles and lands makes them bold.”

The reminder sends fresh ice spiraling up the walls. I think of Adefina’s kindness to Lara, of Fintan’s quiet assistance, of every servant who’s shown her the slightest compassion. More lives I’ve endangered through my choices.

More blood that will stain my hands.

“I’ll increase security,” I concede, the words catching like frost in my throat. “Discreetly.”

“See that you do.” Vazor moves toward the door, then pauses. His next words fall like stones onto frozen water. “One last thing. The target who manifested power? She showed pure Icecaix abilities, despite being mostly human. And they had similar bloodline markers to the Evans sisters.”

I go perfectly motionless as I wait for what else he might have to say.

His expression grows grave, scales dulling to a muted gold. “But she was untrained, unprepared. The power consumed the girl from within even as she fought back. That’s why the second team eliminated her so easily.”

As the implications hit me, it’s all I can do to keep from doubling over in pain. Lara’s warmth pulses through myawareness again, and I imagine her power awakening fully—raw, untamed, destroying her from within.

“How long?” The question scrapes past frozen lips.

“Before the hunters find them? Or before their powers manifest? I don’t know.” He shakes his head slowly and his eyes meet mine, holding secrets I’m afraid to name. “Time grows short, my friend.”

My frozen fingers finally release their death grip on the map. “Your sources?”

He hesitates, scales shifting uneasily. “I’ve been watching for opposition to our plan, as we discussed. This information is... recent. But I confirmed it.”

If I’d known earlier, could I have better protected?—

“And you trust these sources?” Ice crystals form on my lips with each word.

“Only one.” His scales dim, betraying rare emotion. “Seren. She was mine to train, once.”

His protégé. I nod, accepting that he might have reason to trust that source.

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