Chapter 16
~Winter~
It was on.
The time had finally come—especially from their perspective.
The necromancers who’d been stuck down here for two decades. And before that, hunted by Morien. They’d been living a nightmare for far too long.
At least the six who were working with me to break free of this shitshow.
The other fourteen were lost. For now.
Once we were all out of here, they would all be given a good chance to be rehabilitated, to recover from Ruxnoth’s corruption.
There were two sets of loyalists down here.
Those who saw Ruxnoth as a holier-than-thou messiah sort of figure who they’d bend to no matter what.
And then those who wanted to remain in Sanctus apart from the world due to their trauma.
Those ones didn’t want Ruxnoth raising it, connecting it to the mortal plane, nor conquering anything.
But they also wouldn’t work to stop him, or say a word.
They’d just go along with it because they didn’t want to lose him as a powerful force. As a protector, as they saw it.
He'd really done a number on a lot of them.
And I knew well how that felt, unfortunately.
But I also knew the relief, grief, and anger of coming out of it, and the need to make it right—to stop the motherfucker, come what may.
“He’s not gonna break his word,” I heard Philip assuring Rex as he’d noticed him pacing up and down my chamber, getting more stressed by the moment.
Philip’s shock of thick black hair was a sharp contrast to Rex’s blond, the two of them in jeans—Philip’s gray as opposed to Rex’s being blue.
“Yeah? You sure about that?” Rex said, fingering the collar of Philip’s white dress shirt, which was slapped away in the next moment.
“Save the touching for your ‘Sire’.”
“Shut the fuck up. You know I had to do that.”
Fiona stepped in, her gold blazer glinting under the lights of the room, just like the crystal buttons.
She grasped Rex’s shoulder and drew his attention away from Philip—also protecting her surrogate little brother in the process.
The bond they’d formed since being down here reminded me a lot of Evira and Torvek’s sweet relationship.
“He does know. That’s why he’s calling you out.
He’s recognizing what a loss it’s going to be for you once all this goes down and you’re separated from Ruxnoth. ”
“Worse,” Philip cut in. “When he finds out you, like the rest of us detractors, were working against him.”
“I knew the risks when we allied with Winter. I’m gonna lose my mind—it’ll fracture again.”
“For a time. Sylas is working on a way to fix it permanently for you, remember?” Fiona said.
“Yeah, I… if it was Winter, I’d be settled knowing that. But Sylas and me… our history isn’t exactly stellar.”
“Because you fucked his boyfriend once?” Felix Coulter’s voice came, as he walked on into my chamber too, his spiky mermaid hair bold as hell—and a breath of fresh air honestly. As was his purple shirt with the pastel blue and green geometric print untucked over a pair of cargo pants.
Aliya Marques slid in with him and shut the door.
She hastily tucked her white tank into her jeans, then ran a hand through her short brown hair.
I caught a sly look from Felix at her. So they’d been fucking in the narrow window they’d had before coming here.
Well, I understood that. It could take the edge off in many situations.
Right now, though, it was the last thing I wanted to entertain or hear about.
For myself, let alone now this thing concerning Dad.
Jeez. Why?
“Yeah, you know that hot sorcerer he was seeing?” Felix went on, walking over to where the three were gathered, as Aliya headed over as well, giving me a chin lift on her way, while Felix was too immersed in his conversational track.
And I’d also noticed that when he was stressed, he liked to tease.
“Kai?” Aliya asked.
“Nah, that wasn’t really a thing. This guy was somebody Sylas indulged his exhibitionist kink with. Big time.”
I grimaced at his words.
Wesley, who was standing with me in his blue tweed suit, the two of us trying to finalize something vital to what was about to go down, shook his head in dismay.
I’d been trying to maintain concentration through all of this, them being here, all wanting to check in with me, because they were nervous—aside from Wesley, as he was an absolute rock—yet that had just clinched the break in my focus.
“That was years ago,” Rex snapped. “And they were broken up when that went down. It was Tate Willowby.”
“Oh, yeah!” Felix cried. “That pretty boy.”
“Boy?” Philip questioned. “Sylas was half his age.”
Rex held up his hand. “It’s nothing to do with me dicking down Tate—”
“You dicking him down?” Felix questioned. “Come on, man.”
Rex ground his jaw. “Fine.” With a heavy sigh, he said, “For your information, when Sylas found out about it, he laughed. Laughed his fucking head off.”
Wesley spoke, not raising his voice, yet it carrying powerfully over to them, “Shortly thereafter you met your lovely wife. So, as they say, the rest became history, hmm?”
“Yeah… then I met Genevieve.” His eyes shone at Wesley. “Thanks, Wes.”
“Of course. So long as it helps. We can’t lose focus now.
Moreover, Sylas won’t forsake you due to the real reason you believe the two of you weren’t on good terms—nothing to do with overlapping…
fornication. What you believe was your aggressive rivalry with him for several years.
He didn’t see it as a rivalry on his end, Rex.
Maybe a mild agitation, nothing more.” Wesley grinned at me, then told Rex, “Besides, as I understand it, he made a promise to his son. Those are cherished dearly in their family. He will see to it for you.”
I saw Rex taking all of that in.
The room fell quiet, everyone understanding the heaviness of it.
Then Rex looked out at me. “When he breaks the death-tether on all of us, when you’re back up there too, make him put me in stasis.
Please, Winter? Will you do that for me?
I don’t want to feel that... being fractured like that again.
If I’m put under until your dad finds that cure, I won’t have to.
It will… it will be okay.” He winced. “And if he can’t determine a cure, tell him to let me go.
No Valley, or I’ll go in shattered like that…
but wiped from existence and nothingness instead.
Like he did to Morien to ensure that psycho could never resurrect again. ”
“If that’s what you want, of course.” But my dad would find the cure. It wasn’t even a question to me. “Things do work out, though. Okay?”
He smiled, but I could see he didn’t really believe it. “Thanks, kiddo.”
It was okay, he would believe it. He’d see it and live it for himself.
I saw the others gazing at me in some sort of wonder.
Ah, it was that look people got when they saw a gentleness in me, a supposed innocence, which was shocking to them, given both what I was and, yeah, who two of my dads were—Cassius and Sylas.
Not Pops, because he was sweet in a sort of rambunctious way.
And mom was fierce, sure, but only vicious with it when those she loved were threatened.
Otherwise she was deeply attuned to others, just like me.
I drew in a breath. “We’re done with recounting past… exploits?” I asked them all. “If any of the rest of you had a sexual run-in with my dad, let’s save it.” For never.
They started frowning at one another. I even saw Wesley looking surprised.
“What?” I asked.
Wesley laid a hand on my shoulder. “We thought you knew. Sylas didn’t engage in dalliances with other necromancers.”
“Yeah,” Felix said. “I mean, even Trixie tried to get in there, and she couldn’t. He shut it down. Hard.” Off my look, he told me, “One of the necromancers murdered by Morien.”
Oh, fuck.
I swallowed thickly. “Why not?”
“His colossal power, Winter,” Wesley told me. “He was concerned he would lose control if he connected physically with another necromancer.”
“Connected physically,” Felix laughed. “Oh, Wes.” He shook his head, then explained to me, “Fucking is a loss of control, right? Really letting go? With his power set, that kind of connecting with the exact same ‘type’—pure Necromancy—in a sexual partner… he thought it was a risk.”
“That was before he proved to himself and everyone just how controlled he is in all things when he dealt with Morien. He reached new heights of power and didn’t falter,” Fiona said. “Like you,” she added, with a smile.
“Like you’re about to do once again tonight,” Philip added.
“Some never fall victim to corruption, no matter what,” Rex told me. “And it’s not about some predestined bullshit or being born that way, because we all know that’s just fakery.” He slammed his fist to his chest, over his heart. “It’s what’s in here. That being steady. And it is in you, Winter.”
“We’re not just with you for this mission because of what you can do when it comes to the Fuel Core of it all,” Aliya said. “We’re here for you. We trust in you.”
Philip held up a finger. “And, rest assured, not in a cultish way.”
“Yeah, been there, done that,” Felix muttered. “Hades, what a shitshow.”
“I appreciate the trust,” I told them.
“Well, when you get back topside, you’re gonna feel that from them up there as well,” Fiona said. “The Dracoryn Realm, especially, after what you did for them.”
“I suppose.” I’d just done what had been needed.
Wesley gave my shoulder a squeeze, then addressed them, “I was going over the mechanics of the Fuel Core bonding with Winter. Specifically, what will happen during the transference and the point at which he will be vulnerable.”
“Which Ruxnoth will use well,” Philip said.
“Indeed,” Wesley confirmed. “His promises to Winter about the partnership Winter was able to tame him with will break.”
“And as I’ve said, I’ll be able to stop him,” I assured them.
Off their looks, Wesley explained, “Winter has formed a hold on him.”
“How?” a bunch of them asked in unison.