“How would that occur?” Jezebel asked.
But Ophelia’s tone was streaked with horror. “Blood.”
She looked up at me, and those wide magenta eyes said,Their blood has been used as mine has. There was a kinship in that stare, a protectiveness that explained her outrage at Lancaster killing the phoenix.
She swallowed down the fear and explained, “When you crashed through the ceiling into the manor, Zanox was cut.”
“We all saw the blood,” I said, remembering the dark, sticking substance splattering the courtyard.
“There is something in his blood that caused the pegasus to emerge,” Lancaster said, indulging the theory.
“And maybe”—Ophelia was searching now—“it finalized the reversal of Kakias’s immortality ritual, too.”
“What do you mean?” Lyria asked, leaning forward in her seat.
Ophelia explained, “When we tried to undo Kakias’s immortality to make her mortal, we were missing an ingredient. She was weak, but still very much immortal, until Jez arrived.” Ophelia shivered as if remembering the late queen’s bloodcurdling shriek, but went on, “There’s something in the khrysaor blood that set off that entire spiraling chain of reactions.”
The room fell into a contemplative, myth-laden silence. Finally, Cypherion said, “There are too many occurrences for them to be coincidences.”
Ophelia met my eyes, silently working through everything we’d been handed and uncovered. The constellations-turned-myths, Kakias’s death, the fae queen’s soldiers now at this table…
Her eyes widened, and I knew we put the pieces together at the same time. Ophelia’s stare whipped to Lancaster, and she said, “It’s connected to the reason you first came here, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Lancaster clipped. “I think there is something on your continent—some kind of rot within the magic—that is causing all of these unnatural phenomenons to occur.”
“Perhaps it’s your presence,” Santorina quipped, but even that flaming remark was tempered by weight of the threat.
Lancaster only offered a flat look in response. “I wish it were as easily exterminated as that.” His gaze swiveling to Ophelia, he added, “You don’t have a grasp on your magic.”
“Not entirely,” Ophelia ground out.
Lancaster sat back in his seat, twirling his knife around his hand. “What do you know of it?”
Ophelia and Jezebel exchanged a look, then Ophelia summoned a delicate strand of Angellight. Based on the pure gold sheen, it was connected to the shard of Damien’s power around her neck. She sent it dancing around the fae, reflecting on the glass shelves lined with Starsearcher incense, candles, and books. Mora grinned, mystified, but Lancaster’s hands inched toward his weapons.
“Not a wise choice,” I threatened.
“Relax, Lancaster,” Ophelia said, attention carefully honed on her power. “You wanted me to use it.”
“You relax when an enemy’s magic is close enough to strangle you.”
“I thought we were allies.” But Ophelia withdrew the power, having it settle across her shoulder—her wound—like a gold bandage. She relaxed, and in only a minute, she pulled the sheet away to reveal a fresh pink scar. “That’s about all we know.”
She didn’t mention Jezebel’s silver light or spirit speaking, but Lancaster narrowed his eyes on Baby Alabath, likely trying to draw a conclusion from her connection to the khrysaor.
All he said was “It’s not much.”
“I’m trying,” Ophelia snapped.
“Try harder,” the fae said. “You never know what things you’ll unravel if you learn. What could be undone.” There was a new edge to his voice. Less the commanding, ancient soldier and more distressed. Ophelia noted it, too; it sank into her frame as she chewed her lip, working through what she was going to say next.
“Damien, our Angel, has visited me a few times,” Ophelia admitted, giving the fae a small peace offering as allies. An offering after they came to their rescue tonight, despite her disagreement with how Lancaster ended the situation. “Twice, he’s delivered prophecies. During the later visits, though, he seemed…blocked.”
“Blocked?” Mora asked.
“Like there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn’t.”
Mora exchanged a glance with her brother.
