Page 57 of Amethyst and Iron
“Because of the fear. Because you grew up without somebody to guide you properly. And for that, I am fully responsible. I wanted to keep you away from all of this. I wanted you to remain free. To escape the pain of it all, the darkness, the danger. But things have shifted and we must adapt.”
I started shaking my head.
“I do not intend to discount the wolf. I respect how much you value it. And it is the part of your mother that I can see in you, and I would never wish to dishonor her. However, you are at a severe disadvantage with the forces aligning now, enemies gathering. If you do not embrace all that you are, if you are not willing to learn, you cannot hope to face them and survive, let alone succeed.”
He paced for a moment, then leaned against one of the high-backed chairs. “You are a chief target ofPuritas.Victor Halrow is a high-ranking member. He has now also taken a personalinterest in you, beyond the scope ofPuritas’intentions to make an example out of you. He became fixated on you the moment you crossed paths nearVantiqe.”
“Why?”
“Because he saw something in you.”
“What?”
“Me.”
“He…oh.”
“Yes. You see now why I wanted to keep you far away from all of this? That is just the tip of the iceberg, Lazriel.”
“You really think you could take him?”
I hadn’t even registered his speed when he’d torn into the area and sent Victor flying off hundreds of feet into the distance. But I didn’t know the extent of his abilities, obviously.
“I should say so. I’m his Maker.”
10
~Cassius~
She continued to sneak glances at me as we neared our destination through the extremely dense forest, her shadows swirling all around us and concealing our approach.
Despite it being daytime, there was little light. Even without her shadows, the forest around us was so dense it swallowed most of the illumination.
“Is all well?” I finally asked, having hoped she’d eventually voice whatever those looks my way were about. Yet she hadn’t. Understandable, given all that was on her mind.
As the words left my mouth, I realized how utterly ill-equipped they’d sounded.
“No,” I began again, correcting myself. “Of course I know all is not well. I simply meant, in this instance, is there something specific you wish to discuss? Something behind the looks you’ve been sneaking my way for the past thirty-one minutes?”
“Thirty-oneminutes? That’s specific.” She chuckled then and the sound was incredible. Especially in light of everything. “I knew what you meant,” she told me seriously then. “And I also know you weren’t being flippant in the least.”
Thank goodness.
I was aware that I had come a long way with that sort of thing, but I also wasn’t arrogant enough to believe that there wasn’t still work that needed to be done.
“I just… before everything that happened atVantiqe, I wanted to talk to you about what happened that night. But we never got to address it. Now we’re in this very brief calm before another storm, I thought we should take the time to… you know… discuss it, I guess?”
I frowned. She had come a long way with opening up lately and after she’d dropped her defenses it had felt very natural for her to do so. But now she was being rather… awkward about it. I didn’t understand why she would—oh—that night!Of course.
“The night we made love. That is what you are referring to, yes?”
“Yeah,” she answered, fiddling with the sleeves of her hoodie.
Well, Lazriel’s hoodie.
She’d emerged from my bedroom wearing it this morning, along with Sylas’ Nexus Band ring. Although the ring was currently de-powered, it gave her a connection him. She had been staying at mine and Ketheron’s apartment for the last few days while she’d been recuperating. She’d wanted to see to the Blood Trace before she was fully healed, her urgency unbearable, her wish to act immediately understandable. But she’d calmed and rested, recognizing that being fully healed was the only way to proceed safely. She and Ketheron had grown closer in a wonderful way since she’d been staying with us. Her personality worked very well with his. And he, of course, wished to understand my fascination with her.
“You wish to discuss our lovemaking… now?” I queried.
