Chapter 17 Winter #3
“Structure and control, being monitored down to every little detail, even slight reactions—physical, emotional, mental? That’s him in training mode.
Intense beyond belief. And he’s a dominating force, something that comes through in virtually everything he—oh.
You’re looking for discipline and grounding, alongside your own need to conquer and punish wrongdoers and unjust situations.
My dad and Requital are perfect to obtain both. ”
“And purpose.” He unfolded his arms, the tension leaving him now.
“I’m in my fourth and final year here at Loxley Academy, and I started the year with still no idea of what I wanted to do or to become once I graduated.
Now there’s this. I mean, it’s early stages, so who knows?
But giving it a try is something I really want to do. ”
I smiled. “Good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I’m really happy for you. Definitely pursue it.”
His whole face brightened.
And it really did things to me.
“Does Vax know about Requital’s actions, that you called them in on his behalf?”
He nodded. “I told him at Polaris.”
“And? How did he take it?”
“He reacted rather reasonably,” a silky smooth voice sounded, which had Zayn spinning around and me looking out to see Vaxan strolling out onto the balcony.
He’d conjured some black silk pajama pants that were incredibly alluring. As if the sight of him bare-chested, all that expansive broad muscle on display, wasn’t fucking seductive enough already.
He’d put his crown back on to come out here, given that the sun had risen, but his hair beneath was out of place and mussed like Zayn’s—and mine. A rare relaxed and leisurely look for Vax. It looked good on him.
“You took it well, hmm?” I queried.
“He actually slapped me,” Zayn said.
“What?”
Vax rolled his eyes. “He was panicking and shot off the bed. I slapped his beautiful ass to snap him out of it. A slap that he enjoyed immensely, I might add.”
Zayn chuckled. “Yeah. Just fucking with you, Win. It’s all good.”
Even with Vax’s Basilisk nature, his standing as High Lord Heir of the Excetra Crown, and the pride that came along with that?
I didn’t need to voice it, because he registered my skepticism, and told me, “He did it to protect me, to assist you, out of love. For the right reasons. There’s nothing to condemn there. No instinctual reaction borne of pride will prevent me from recognizing and honoring that.”
I beamed out at him.
“Always with the reason through all the bullshit, huh?” Zayn commented.
Vaxan stepped forward, asking me, “Speaking of such things, how do you intend to proceed concerning the unknown threat against you?”
“Last night, you saw me cast it out. Since then, my magic has stabilized. Before the two of you came out here, I was even able to perform Soul Track without any issues. I’m back to normal.”
“Evira also cautioned that just because you cast it out, it doesn’t mean the threat is vanquished. The fact that you, of all beings, were targeted is deeply concerning. So is the fact that it resembled the Mark of Draco. And that Ambrose has discovered a destabilization to the balance.”
I sucked in a breath at his sharp—almost stabbing—words.
Words that definitely couldn’t be denied.
And I wouldn’t… I couldn’t deny them.
I’d made a promise to myself that I’d step up.
But that needed to be done carefully. Or it could damage so much. And so many.
Although I’d heeded Evira’s words and hadn’t isolated myself or pulled away, I still wouldn’t allow them to be impacted by me and what I was.
I just had to do it with them and not lone-wolf it, which as Evira had rightly pointed out, would only serve to hurt all of us in a whole other way.
“For something to impact the likes of me, we’re talking about either a colossal concentration of black magic, or Celestial power.
Given the way I likened it to Draco, and you did also, it points more toward a Celestial source.
But one deeply twisted and corrupted, because I’m obviously very familiar with how Celestial power feels and operates given that my father is an Immortal, Ketheron is my family, and I’ve spent my childhood around countless others too like Christalyn, Ariana, Jaxon, Cornelius.
It could merely be somebody experimenting and testing the reach and potency of their power against a known force like me—death incarnate, unkillable, Sylas Morgrave’s progeny…
that sort of thing. Or there could be more to it.
And the balance destabilization… it could actually be me.
My existence… maybe hitting a certain age is a factor. ”
“No. You’re not the cause of any destabilization, Win. You’re a force of good. Don’t even go there. Also, destabilization to the balance could mean anything. Like a slight thing or even something temporary.”
“I mean… yeah, that’s technically true.”
“Right. Now, if the experimentation aspect is the case, it’s gotta be one of the Celestial children—well, they’re all grown up now—causing trouble. Those who don’t live at the community that is Haven Initiative anymore, or attend academies and shit like Christalyn does,” Zayn pointed out.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “And it comes at a good time if that is the case, because Ariana, Ketheron and Father are conducting their annual check-in on all of the Celestial children, per Guardian Movement protocol. We’ll know if something is amiss soon enough.”
“And if the source is not one of them?” Vax pushed. Because, of course, he felt like he had to. He was safeguarding us.
“Then when the check-in is done in a few days, I’ll go to Ketheron. His knowledge base when it comes to these sorts of things is virtually unmatched. If I go to him now, I’ll be arriving right in front of Ariana and Father, and it’ll convey urgency and raise alarms.”
“Maybe that’s the best idea,” Zayn said.
“What?”
“Then they’ll be informed. And Sylas will know. It was clear to me from how he was talking about your upcoming training that he knew fuck all about your glitching issues, Win.”
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “He couldn’t know about that.”
“Why not? Believe me, your entire family is more involved in your life than you even realize. Velra was here recreating the circumstances of Vaxan’s attack, because from my call to Sylas, it had them realizing that Vaxan meant something to you.
That’s how much they care about you and what you want and need. ”
Vax eyed me.
“You see?” I said. “That sort of thing is why I kept the glitching off their radar.”
“I do see, yes.”
“What are you talking about?” Zayn asked.
“Sylas can be intense, yeah. But when it comes to you, he wouldn’t do anything detrimental, no matter what.
” He stared at me for several moments. “You think he’d lock you down until this threat is resolved?
Is that it? He wouldn’t go that far. The way he was talking about you, about us, the way he handled the whole complicated mess of you and me…
that’s your fear talking, not the reality of him. ”
“My fear? You mean what had been my reality for twenty years—right up until a few weeks ago? Coming to Loxley Academy is the longest I’ve been away from my family home, and properly out in the world.”
“Exactly, Win.”
“Exactly what?”
“You are out of the family home now. You’re on your own doing your thing. What I saw of your family dynamic when I was living with you guys for a while, the overprotective and kind of suffocating nature of it that you felt, it’s over with now.”
“Zayn, even now, there’s the condition of me becoming my dad’s apprentice. Not to mention what you yourself just told us—that my family is still hovering.”
“I told you that to show how much they actually care about you and value and support your choices.”
“And yet it demonstrated the fucking invasive nature of it, the ongoing supervisory intensity coming off them all, especially Mom and Dad. Pops is more relaxed about it, largely because he’s wild at heart with his wolf-vampire nature.
Father believes in the whole coming-of-age-crucible thing, that I need to experience and overcome things on my own as a rite of passage. ”
Vax nodded along, getting it, then even voicing the root cause, “Because of your special makeup, the fact that you’re one of a kind, your family believes it’s painted a target on your back.
Now you’re an adult, they believe you’re finally strong and capable enough to protect yourself.
But they only accept that to an extent.”
“Yes,” I told him, and eyed Zayn pointedly.
“And it’s not just about the possibility of me being pulled from Loxley Academy or being locked down at home if my family was made aware of this situation.
It’s what it would do to them. The danger it could pull them into in a bid to protect me.
They spent so long fighting, even before the Hybrid Liberation War.
So much pain and trauma was piled upon them.
Even after the war, when things settled, they never fully did because of me, because of what I am.
They went out of their way to protect me.
It needs to end. I need to take that on now. They need to be at peace.”
Zayn shoved a hand through his hair. “Look, I get it. I do. But you going to Ketheron is gonna out you anyway. He hates keeping secrets. So... you’re just telling us you’re gonna do that without actually really planning to?”
“He’s actually kept secrets before. We both have for each other. Because of his emotional age during my childhood, we were more like brothers rather than him being an uncle of sorts.”
“And you’re not actually going to tell him the full situation?” Vax asked.
“I trapped some of that gooey substance in the chaos of my freakout before I took off on you on Mordrek Mountains. I’m going to show that to Ketheron, claiming I discovered it in my travels, or something, and take it from there, have him inspect it.”