Chapter 5 - Velra #2
She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Good. I’m finally at peace with him, but doing this… I don’t want the notorious Halfblood Hound marking me as an enemy again, you know?”
“I won’t let that happen. No matter what. You’re my friend. That will be emphasized if this does end up coming out.”
Right now, Lazriel thought that I’d been staying away from Kelsana since I’d gotten back because of my trauma response toward her being endangered when Sorin had attacked at Vantiqe.
But I’d ensured he hadn’t seen the two of us together because his instincts and intuition were off the charts, especially now he’d fully embraced his vampire side.
He would have been able to clock that something had been going on, that she and I were working on something secret.
I shoved my hand through my hair. “Bet you’re wishing you hadn’t seen all my notes about this situation when you came to my dorm room the other night, hmm?”
“Actually, I’m glad I did see it.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“So you don’t have to do this alone.” She winced.
“But I also get why you need to do it without your men. At least for right now. You’ve died twice—they were all there witnessing the second time.
Then with the Morien attack, they saw you on the verge of tasting death a third time.
It’s a lot. Like you explained to me, they’re hanging by a thread. ”
Yeah, they were. I hadn’t seen the aftermath reaction from Sylas because he was in the Shadow Tunnels, but things were definitely coming through from even his texts.
Lazriel’s reaction to me losing it when we’d been fooling around had made that clear as well.
He was so incredibly worried for me and he’d been pushing for me to see Brandise.
And then there was Cassius. He’d barely reacted to me almost dying again—or even him almost dying.
And with Cassius, it meant one thing to me—it was coming. In a major way.
Kelsana went on, “And that massive personal stake they have toward you, in your wellbeing, can cloud a whole lot. Just like the fact that it needs to be you who does this thing today and it can’t be any of them in your stead, or even anyone else.”
“I really appreciate you helping me to re-establish the connection needed for today.”
“Well, you can’t go back into the Dark Fae Realm. Alarms would be set off all over the place—literally as well.”
“You were discreet?”
She smiled, knowing what I was really getting at.
“I’m fine. I didn’t endanger myself or put myself on the radar of the Royal Fae Court.
But once this thing happens today, the proverbial noose will definitely tighten, and I’ll be implicated.
” She lifted a shoulder. “I’m fine with it, honestly.
I hate going back into the Realm anyway.
And things with my parents… well, I told you what they’re like.
With me trying to change and to be better, severing my ties with them will actually be a good thing, conducive to that. ”
“Even with that being true, you’ll still be in danger. I can’t allow that.”
She frowned. “You want me to stay here, just give you the address of the meeting I set up between you and the group?”
“Yes.” I held out my hand.
She stepped up to me, urgency spilling from her.
“Velra, this isn’t just your fight. What those Dark Fae acolytes of Morien Morgrave did, what the ones who allied with that Puritas army that attacked Sylas and Lazriel did, and what all these mind-meddling supporters in general have done, has dragged the reputation of all Dark Fae beings through the mud.
Pretty soon, all anybody will see when they think of the Dark Fae is that we’re underhanded, power-hungry, irredeemable demons. ”
“Kelsana—”
“I know. I understand the danger of it. But I didn’t exactly help the cause myself, did I?
My actions back at Maven Academy gave Dark Fae a bad name in that space too.
I need to fix a lot of what I did back then.
And here and now, getting in on this fight, is my way to fix this specific aspect.
Or at least try to. I don’t just want to go along with you today to meet with them.
I want to become a part of it. I’m in, no matter the danger. ”
As her words hung heavily, I caught sight of an eruption of fuchsia magic outside the gates where four security guards were stationed, magically-imbued swords at the ready, even clad in shimmering armor.
A woman with short, feathered jet-black hair materialized. She was a petite thing but the way she carried herself gave her a commanding, yet somehow gentle edge at the same time. She was dressed in pink from head-to-toe, a cropped blazer giving way to a pair of wide-legged pants.
Just the way Nyx had described her.
Brandise Parker. Healer and Trauma Specialist.
Any student who’d returned to Wraeven had been locked down and wasn’t allowed to leave the campus through the intensely reinforced wards, so any specialists—or feeders in Lazriel’s case—could only access those who needed their services by coming here in person and making house calls.
I stared at her as she approached the security guards and began the process of identifying herself and undergoing their security check. She had a definite disarming presence about her. And this was me seeing her from a distance. Up close, that would be all the more intense.
It had me shifting my weight uncomfortably. It was a good thing I wouldn’t be making it to my session with her today. Being disarmed… wasn’t that just another way of being lulled into a false sense of security? It was worrying, I knew that much.
At least she had two other appointments here, so she could just move them up when she realized I wouldn’t be showing up. No harm, no foul.
“All right?” Kelsana asked, lightly brushing my arm.
I blinked and grasped her hand. “Let’s go. The window is opening in seconds.”
“Really? You’re on board with me being there, heading deeper into this?”
“Like you said, it’s not just my fight anymore.”
That was a heavy fucking statement considering the circumstances.
I didn’t allow myself to think more about it as I focused, my power flaring, both Dark Fae and my shadows, the latter sweeping around the two of us as I also called forth my illusionary magic, and even my Dark Fae teleportation.
The moment Brandise passed through the ward, I made my move, using that movement as a distraction to sneak by undetected, the flare of power that would register being put down to somebody passing through—not us passing out beyond the ward’s protection.
It worked.
No alarm bells were raised.
Nobody noticed.
And I kept it that way, sweeping us away completely in my shadows.
Undetected.
The only way it could be right now.
It seemed like another life.
I’d made myself believe it was for a long time.
Ever since Chimera Circle had altered me forever.
Ever since I’d been set apart from Dark Fae—still partially one of them, but also partially something else altogether.
The kidnapping, the experiments, being changed, my return to my family being met with hatred and revulsion, being cast out, then even hunted…
all of that threatened to get its claws back into me, pushing me to relive it, as I stood now staring at a stark reminder of my life before any of that had happened.
Thryne.
The combo of throne and thorn slapped together.
My invented word.
For the resistance I’d created a few years back.
A force that undercut and undermined the Dark Fae Royal Court, that checked their power through strategic and clandestine means.
Three dozen of them stood, boots sinking into the snow on one of the peaks of Mordrek Mountains.
It was the location where Cassius had been helping me get a lot of shit out of my system through unleashing my power, and also practicing how to combine the Dark Fae and Wraith more fluidly.
Because this place was also used as a training ground for the Guardian Movement, Ryker had imbued some of his defensive magic into the area that protected against massive, destructive surges of power. So there was some safety—at least from magic-wielders—in meeting here.
Kelsana met my striding, determined pace, her cape sweeping behind her as she walked to my right.
She kept clutching it to her against the wind and sleet whipping all around the immediate area.
The same indications of feeling the cold a bit too much were evident with Thryne.
Some members were wearing robes, others in heavy furry coats, all shivering a little.
For my part, I was only in my black corset and leather pants and I was fine. It was a Wraith thing.
When I’d created Thryne, we’d gone the full face mask route and shimmering silver body armor. But now here they were just dressed in what I’d class as civilian dress. Whatever they wanted. Some in robes, like I’d noted already, others in suits, some even in jeans. It was a real free-for-all.
“The resistance needs to be visible now,” a once familiar voice spoke, just as they stepped from the crowd and met our approach.
“Graceyn,” I spoke.
She smiled, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail that swung from side to side. A black and gold form-fitting dress with a geometric print was partially obscured by her furry black coat guarding her against the frosty temperatures.
She had been one of my first recruits. Not only that, when I’d been cast out of the Dark Fae Realm, she was the one I’d tapped as leader in my stead.
“It’s been far too long,” she greeted.
As we reached one another, we slap-shook, just like the old days.
Her gaze raked over me. “Loving the new look. Concerned about how it came about.” She ground out. “Those fools hardening you through their prejudice and persecution, no doubt.”
“She’s come out the other side,” Kelsana assured her, and I smiled out at her.