Page 337 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“Until I asked Giles,you, to track down Lucien’s body.” I groan at the memory.

“A little unorthodox, but we both know you far too well and assumed you would want to destroy it.”

“So when I destroyed it…”

“You released the remaining energy, which is why you are at full strength now,” Mom adds.

“Soon to be at full strength,” Father corrects. “His body needs to get used to the full extent of his energy again.”

“All right. As much as it is a little odd, I can get behind it. What else?” I ask.

They share another look, but this time it’s a grave one.

“You messing repeatedly with the timeline has had…consequences,” my mother says.

“What consequences?” I ask as I comb through the new memories. “The Sons of Tenebreis?”

“Not only are they able to temporarily leave Tartareia, but the seal is weakening,” she adds grimly.

“It will not hold for much longer, son. A few decades, perhaps less.”

“Damn it,” I mutter.

As my energy slowly fills every cell in my body, the pain becomes only an echo. When I find myself fit enough, I get out of bed, pacing around as I try to think of my next steps.

“I must go to Aperion,” I tell my parents. “Get Minnie back before the execution.”

Enough things have changed that I bought myself some more time to save her before her execution. But time is still of the essence.

“I prepared fresh clothes for you and some fresh food. It’s been so long since you’ve fed, you must be already feeling theeffects of it.” She materializes some clothes as well as a vial with a shimmery substance inside. The moment I snap it open, the energy of a soul flows through me, helping me ground myself even more.

“Thank you, Mom.” I kiss her on the cheek.

“There is something else, son,” Father starts.

I glance at him and raise my brows in question.

“After you get Minnie back, could you two go to the House of Psyche and check something?”

“For you?”

He shakes his head. “Nykander.”

“Oh. Sol’Ren.”

“Nyk thinks his soul is at the bottom of Psyche, below Katras. I’ve tried to look into it, but I can’t sense anything remotely.”

“Of course I will. Ren was my best friend—still is…” I gulp down, swallowing the wave of sadness that grips me. “How has Nyk been?”

They both shake their heads at me.

“That bad?”

“He’s made it his mission to destroy the people who engineered that illness. But he needs to find a way to Tartareia first. I told him to wait, that the seal is weakening, but he doesn’t believe that will happen soon enough.”

“Nyk has always been hot-headed,” Mother adds.

“I would be too if my wife and son were killed by that damn illness.” I purse my lips. “I still expect to break out in blisters every time I use my powers,” I add, almost to myself as I clench and unclench my fist and feel the surge of energy washing through me.

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