Page 143 of Amethyst and Iron
“We do know that,” I assured him. “And don’t forget that I also know how it is. I was a closed-off loner for a long time because of all my baggage with my family, Chimera Circle… changing me, being hunted. But you can also see from how farI’vecome, that there is a way through.”
“And despite your trying, there have still been notable incidents of unilateral action on your part,” Cassius pointed out.
“Well, Cas, it wasn’t allunilateral, was it? I recall some bilateral actions involving the two of us,” Sylas retorted with a bit of an edge, indicating that he was getting agitated, feeling cornered.
That really wasn’t what we were trying to do.
We were trying to bring him in closer, to even bolster him.
Lazriel frowned. “What?”
I already knew. Cassius had told me about him and Sylas murdering an entirePuritascell weeks ago. Actually, the murdering aspect had been Cassius. He’d acted to spare Sylas the burden, one he’d been willing to take on. Cassius had told me during our training at Mordrek Mountains, his goal to warn me of what my vengeance-fueled state at the time toward Sorin andPuritascould lead to—things that couldn’t be undone.
“They wiped out aPuritascell,” I told Lazriel.
“Huh,” he said, looking between them. “Wish you’d called me in, but I’m glad you dealt with some of those fuckers.”
“They didn’t call you in—or me—because they terminated them.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “Sometimes there’s no choice, I guess. Especially under these sorts of circumstances.”
“What?” I questioned. That didn’t sound like him.
“While I was with Remnant, he took out a massive recruitment gathering ofPuritasfuckers, along with a high-ranking member.” He held up his hand. “That stays only between us.”
“That was a powerful display,” Cassius commented. “A definite blow to their operations. Hmm… a sound tactical move.”
I shoved my hand through my hair and asked Lazriel, “Bytook out, you mean he murdered them all?” At his nod, I pressed, “And you?”
“I didn’t kill anyone, Velra. You know that doesn’t sit well with me.” His gaze flicked to Sylas and Cassius. “I mean, forme.It’s just not—”
“You can’t stomach it,” Sylas said. “We know.”
No. He couldn’t. But the fact he’d been around all of that, and that he wasn’t actually condemning it either… it was concerning. Would his stance change, would he be pulled into that sort of thing deeper when he spent more time with his father?
Sylas didn’t kill as his opening move, but he could take it to that place if he had to. It was a line he would cross if push came to shove.
And Cassius wasn’t from the mortal plane. He’d been a warrior to the Celestial Plane for centuries on end, so his thinking was different on the matter of taking lives like that. He’d take anybody out to protect me, to protect us.
But somebody had to draw that line.
Of course it had crossed my mind to go that route with Sorin. But when I’d assaulted him and incapacitated him with my magic earlier, my intent hadn’t been to actually kill him. I’d wanted to show him how insane his actions had been, how far gone he was. And, yeah, maybe there had been a little bit of vengeance thrown in. But I’d drawn a line and I wouldn’t go over it.
It was why I had to be the one in our foursome to check Cassius and Sylas as well.
I just really hoped that didn’t come to include Lazriel.
He shifted the subject rather smoothly, returning back to the Sylas issue of it all, telling him, “So, yeah, there’s still been some major unilateral moves on your part. Shoving Cassius and me aside to perform thatAuthority of Deathspell. Not telling us aboutPuritas’rise—although you at least shared that with Cassius. Just not me and Velra. Then there’s you retreating to your cabin where I didn’t even scent another presence at all, so you weren’t actually meeting with that Charles guy after all, even though you claimed that to Velra and Cassius. Andthen, on top of all that, you knew about Morien Morgrave. Your fucking father is back, alive and kicking, and you didn’t tell us, Sylas. I mean… really?”
“I needed to research his return properly before I filled you all in.”
Lazriel and I exchanged a look.
“I think that means they don’t consider your response good enough,” Cassius said.
Sylas pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right. Points made. Not just made, but driven home. I’ll… let’s just… what if I fill you in on everything I know about this nightmare return of his?”
“And that comment you made about Cornelius when Victor was shooting his mouth off earlier?” Lazriel cut in.
