Chapter 6
~Sylas~
The wolf hybrid was a hot piece.
Absolutely no doubt about that.
So much intensity.
So deliciously wound up.
He was just begging to be unraveled.
And I was getting rock fucking hard just fantasizing about facilitating his surrender.
My first few days under this accursed punishment had proven far more interesting and satisfying than I’d imagined.
In more ways than one.
I’d thought coming here would prove to be incredibly intellectually stunting, that I’d be bored out of my mind. Yet, I’d witnessed—and experienced—something delightfully unexpected when the little Wraith hybrid had nearly detonated all over the Grand Atrium that day.
She had impacted me.
My magic.
Not only that—she’d enhanced it.
In those moments when she’d lost command of her magic, my power had flared of its own accord.
I’d actually lost control from the shock and intensity of it briefly.
Me. Lost control.
Me. Impacted by another’s power, and one far less learned.
Initially, it had been unnerving, but the broader implications had taken my attention over that.
Because, with the infection that plagued me, my magic was fritzing, yet she’d amplified it.
Fuck, she was the key to a whole lot for me.
And she was right here up close.
I’d reported the strange occurrence to Kai and while he’d agreed to look into it with me, recognizing its viability to help me with my situation, he’d also delivered a warning on behalf of his love, Nyx Laryn.
Nyx was very close friends with Velra Nox, so close that he referred to her as little sis. I had a bit of a reputation, so I’d been warned to tread carefully, to keep in mind that Nyx would melt my balls if I upset his beloved friend.
Well, I was all for a challenge.
Just like the delectable Lazriel clearly was.
Something he was going to great pains to demonstrate currently.
And he was clearly in his element right now while doing that, battling hidden demons in the form of real opponents in Graverun.
It was my first time coming here, an arena carved into the bedrock of a subterranean area beneath the Academy, only accessible when given the correct magical password to enter through the enchantments hiding and protecting the space.
The atmosphere was intense but electric.
The arena was circular, a coliseum with tiered, concentric seating that rose steeply toward the vaulted stone ceiling.
Each tier was packed with spectators—very vocal spectators.
Massive stone archways supported the arena’s structure forming alcoves along the edge where others watched from the shadows. The seating was hard, black stone.
Flickering amber magical fire hung from iron settings above the fight circle.
The fight circle was marked by a glowing amber shielding spell.
It kept the fighters within that space so combat didn’t spill out toward the unguarded seating and spectators.
It also prevented the fighters from taking things too far—it read their vitals and would freeze them for several moments if said vitals took a dive, in order to prevent any fatalities.
Aside from that restraint, there were no further rules, the fighters free to unleash.
And there Lazriel was now, covered in blood, sweat, and scars.
So many scars.
There were many visible when he was fully clothed as it was, but down to just a pair of deep-green satin shorts now, more were in view.
His chiseled torso was a canvas of claw marks and scars inflicted by a serrated blade.
Old scars, though. Caused years ago. So none of them had come about from Graverun then.
I was curious to know what the story was behind them.
It wasn’t public knowledge—not to the students here, nor to the upper echelons of the supernatural world. I’d already asked around.
He’d come out tonight into the fight circle thrusting his fists in the air to roaring cheers from the excited crowd, wearing a forest-green satin robe emblazoned with bold, golden lettering with his moniker—Halfblood Hound.
I’d seen him take out his first opponent—a second-year werewolf who’d partially shifted immediately in a bid to instantly overpower him—with two blows.
His second opponent had been a vampire double Lazriel’s age who’d been sent here due to his bloodlust issues, and Lazriel’s own vampiric speed had utterly eclipsed his.
He now had the guy’s blood dripping from his mouth—the ultimate insult to a vampire, being bitten by another.
But the fool had earned that disrespect from Lazriel after he’d hurled some half-breed comments at him, then sliced his face open with his talons—a nasty wound which had since healed.
I watched as a Dark Fae student stepped into the fight circle.
I frowned when Lazriel still didn’t step out to take a breather, or to even call it a night.
He still needed more? That was concerning. On so many levels.
The Dark Fae was clad in head-to-toe shimmering blue leather, his wild black hair falling down his back in waves.
Lazriel had only just assumed a fighting stance when the opponent fired a bolt of blue magic at him, ripping him right off his feet and onto his stomach. I grimaced as his face smashed into the stone floor.
The Dark Fae took advantage of it and fired his power mercilessly with both palms, making Lazriel roar and shudder, keeping him down.
But then I saw his claws drop and he actually pushed off the ground, glaring at his opponent, seething and gnashing his teeth, his eyes on fire, a moment before his fangs dropped as well, a stunning combination of wolf and vampire all at once.
He rose and rose and the Dark Fae stepped back worriedly.
And then Lazriel flashed a bloodied grin and lunged at him in a burst of speed, driving him down to the floor.
What followed next was one hell of a gory display, Lazriel roaring and snarling as he beat and beat and beat.
It was the raw, caged energy of a beast who only felt free immersed in mindless, no-holds-barred violence.
My cock twitched, unbidden.
Because, fuck me, I wanted to play with that.
With the volatile fire that was at the heart of it all for him.
With the truth buried beneath all the rest.
With the damage that called to my own.
A flicker of power touched me, startling me.
Familiar power.
I spun from the fight and caught sight of a glimmer of white light over by one of the entrance tunnels.
He was here.
I’d recognize that power signature anywhere.
After all, it had saved my life.
I swung back to the fight briefly just as Lazriel was crowned the winner yet again, and then I followed after the unexpected visitor.
I rushed through the tunnel and came out at the rear of the campus grounds far away from the main building itself. Warmth came and went as I passed back through the protective enchantment.
The unprecedented interloper wasn’t immediately visible, but before I needed to search him out, his voice rang out.
“How dangerous is he?”
I turned to my left as he emerged from a mammoth willow tree.
I walked to him out of the way of everything and everyone and met him halfway.
“Cassius,” I greeted. “Long time.”
And that long time had certainly altered him.
His new look definitely reflected his changed status as a Fallen and the rejection of ceremonial grandeur.
His white-blond hair was shorter now, barely brushing his shoulders.
He was clad in dark colors almost blending entirely into the night with his charcoal shirt with rolled sleeves and a pair of black slacks, along with a black jacket worn at the edges.
There was also an odd burst of color from a beaded bracelet that was a stark contrast to the rest.
“Indeed. You look well.”
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
There was no point hiding the truth of my health from him, because he’d seen me severely desiccated before, almost to the point of no return.
He gestured at Graverun now several feet from us. “Is that the case with Lazriel Thaine? Or is the surface of what I’ve observed truly who he is?”
“That fact that you’re asking me this question means that you’ve been watching me too.” Otherwise, how would he be aware that I’d made a read on Lazriel, or even been in his vicinity at all?
“I keep any eye on all those who draw close to Velra.”
Velra. I was aware that they were Soul Branded, but I didn’t know that he was still a part of her life. I’d thought they’d gone their separate ways, that whatever had been was long over between them.
Huh. This complicated things.
“Does she know that you’re intervening and making moves in her life behind the scenes?”
“Of course not. She would misinterpret it.”
“As stalking? Because I’m not sure how much of a misinterpretation that would actually be.”
“No,” he grunted. “As me caring too deeply.”
“And you don’t care?”
He shifted his weight. “I’m just concerned for her wellbeing and safety.”
The level of delusion I’d experienced lately from others was unbelievable.
“You’re sure about that?”
He flinched, then looked uncharacteristically off-center. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Just tell me what your take is on the wolf. Kai has informed me that your instincts are virtually infallible.”
Of course Kai thought that.
It made sense with our history.
And I also needed others to believe that.
But in the case of Lazriel, it was actually a very easy read.
I didn’t need to be an empath to see the truth there.
“He’s volatile, but at his core there is morality, lines he won’t cross, care he wants to express but fears to at the same time. He’s not hurting Velra. He helped her.”
“And he… desires her?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well… very good.”
“Is it good? Because if it isn’t and you want a place with her, now would be the time to make that known. And, keep in mind, that there is room alongside him with her. It doesn’t need to be a competition.”
He stared at me for several moments.
And then he flinched.
“I must get back,” he announced. “He’s calling for me.”
He?
I didn’t get to voice the question, as he teleported out in the very next second.
Huh.
That had been enlightening.
I shoved a hand through my spiky hair and turned to head back to my dorm, but then hands grasped my shoulders and shoved me into the trunk of an oak tree.
As I jarred hard against it, Lazriel was suddenly in my space, his claws digging into my coat and scraping through to my skin, making me grunt.
“Stop with your fucking bullshit!” he roared in my face.
He was fresh from his last fight, blood drenching his face, all over his exposed chest, and he was still only in his shorts and even barefoot, while his hair, usually so well kept, was a wild, bedhead like mess.
Combined with the fury coming off him… fuck… it was glorious.
“Stop what?” I asked.
He shoved me, making me choke at the sheer power behind it. “You know what! Being every fucking where I turn! Lingering! Watching me! You want me to notice! You want me full of you and—”
“Full of me? Mmm… I certainly do, hot furious hybrid.”
“Shut the fuck up!” he roared. “You’re trying to fuck with me, take my position here, and now you even want her for something too.”
“It’s not that and you know it. But your denial game is ridiculously strong.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know that I do. And that’s what’s nagging at you, why you’re drawn to me.”
“I’m not fucking drawn to you.”
“You’re sure?”
He flinched, and didn’t speak to it, which was unbelievably telling.
And then he blew out a breath and said instead, “You have no idea how long it’s taken me to get to this point with Velra.
For her to trust me, to trust in herself with me.
She’s coming to me at The Fade and I won’t let you screw that up. Do you hear me?”
“It’s not my intention to screw anything up for you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Do you really think you can keep all of this checked around her? Something you’re well aware she’ll need you to check—at least at first?
You’re cracking and raging. Right on the edge.
Something’s happening, something’s changing for you, and you’re right on the periphery of finally being ready to acknowledge it and embrace it. ”
“Shut it!”
“All this rage and violence against me? It’s passion. It’s your truth. If you shrink back into denial now, you could fucking detonate.”
He stilled, his claws digging deeper into my chest, the searing pain more welcome than deterring now, especially as his eyes flamed for me.
He leaned in and my breath caught with the delectable anticipation, of him about to let go and allow it all in finally.
His eyes flickered.
Uncertainty.
Confusion.
More painful denial that he was desperately clinging to, even though it clearly brought him so much hurt.
He withdrew and jerked back.
He stared at me, eyes wide, fucking shaking with it.
And then he took off in a burst of vampire speed.
“Hell,” I breathed, sinking back against the tree trunk.