Page 173 of Amethyst and Iron
“Something’s happened, Velra.”
A rush of adrenaline rolled through me.
Nyx was a big fan of small talk.
And he also wasn’t the serious type, keeping things light.
The tone of his voice… it was really fucking worrying.
“Something?” I responded, unsteadily.
“Shortly after I got off the phone with you… you know I was receiving that influx of fifty hybrids who were seeking sanctuary with everything… and then… I mean…”
My gut twisted.
He could barely get his words out.
And the emotion clogging his throat… it was painful.
“What’s happened, Nyx?”
“The facility was hit as they were arriving and… they’re… they’re all dead.”
I choked and staggered back into the kitchen counter.
I caught Cassius, Lazriel, and Ketheron looking on.
Their absolutely gutted expressions made it clear immediately that they’d overheard it all with their supernatural hearing.
“No,” Ketheron sputtered. “No.”He started pacing. “Too much hurt. Too much injustice. This cannot go unanswered.”
Cassius went to reach for him, but Ketheron jerked back with a burst of speed.
“Donot,”Cassius told him. “This will not end well. Ketheron—”
Ketheron snarled.
Then with a blinding blast of his golden magic, he dissipated in a cloud of teleportation.
“Fuck!” Lazriel cried.
“Ketheron!” Cassius roared. “Return!Immediately!I know you can hear me even through teleportation! Ketheron!”
Holy shit.
The immediate areawasn’t utterly decimated.
That was something.
And it did seem to actually bode well where Ketheron was concerned.
“He hasn’t magically-nuked the surrounding area,” Lazriel spoke, basically voicing what I was thinking.
Cassius was scanning everything as he flew us toward the facility, what Nyx and I were simply calling Facility 3 for now. Nyx had wanted to give each one a special name, but he hadn’t landed on any that he’d consideredspecial enoughyet. Also, the actual work that CRS did had obviously taken precedence.
Cassius’ wings flapped stealthily, barely making any sound as we made our approach from the rear, coming from the flanking forest.
As he dropped lower, I took in the sight of crowds gathered out front, the swirling, panicked chaos of it all. I saw Nyx there, his blue hair whipping in the wind. Vorzyr Titanus was there with him and I watched him step into Nyx’s path, his hulking form providing a barrier to Nyx storming off to do hell knew what.
