Seventy-two it was.
While I was immersed so deep in my sensory perception, I heard my dad’s heart skip a beat. His gaze flicked to mine and he smiled.
He’d felt that?
Me unleashing that aspect of my abilities?
“When the reinforcements arrive, join me.”
His whisper on the wind reached me, his eyes burning into mine briefly, enough for me to return it with a confirming nod, before his gaze flicked back to Lucas.
Although, honestly, I was sure he hadn’t taken his attention off him with his other senses, not even for a moment.
“What?” Lucas asked. “Who are you talking to?” Lucas’ eyes darted around. “You’re bringing The Shadowed in?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Well… good. Let’s get to the deal.”
“Chief Recruiter now,” Remnant mused.
“That’s right,” Lucas confirmed, puffing out his chest.
“AlsoArchitect of Puritas Rhetoric.”
“You know my exact job titles. I’m honored.”
“As you should be. To garner the personal attention of one such as me is no small accomplishment.” He raised his hand, seemingly casually, then flexed his talons.
And then his features contorted, his fangs dropping.
All this time and it was the first instance that he’d brought that out.
His eyes narrowed while blazing red. “And it is that pride in your sadism and dogmatist outlook that you will perish by this night.”
Lucas jolted, failing to stifle a gasp.
He shifted his weight in a bid to cover up the fact he’d just exposed his true fear of my dad and his eerie threat—well, promise.
He gestured at his ball of magic still levitating before him. “Do you know what that is?”
“Concentrated sunlight swirling within a sphere of your energy.”
Fuck.
Lucas started when the extreme threat that the awful thing was even to an Ancient didn’t garner a lick of a reaction from my dad.
Then the sorcerer scoffed. “Fucking Ancient. We’re gonna die by our pride and whatever else you spouted off? You’re gonna die by your goddamn arrogance, old man.” He sneered and threw his hands out, gesturing all around him at his members. “Look what you’re up against. These aren’t all baby vamps either. We’ve got near-Ancients amongst them. Learned magic-wielders. Those you already took out were a mishmash—old and young.”
“You’re suggesting that I got off easy? Is that it?”
“Damn fucking straight. So, like I said, arrogance is gonna be your fucking end if you make one more move against any of us.”
“I see.” Remnant licked his fangs, drawing his own blood then drinking it down in front of them, like he was just doing something mild like clucking his tongue. “Then let me be clear. What you experience from me is a far cry from arrogance,youngling.That implies an inflated sense of self and not possessing an accurate understanding of one’s abilities or limitations.” He took a step forward and the army jerked back. “I assure you that is not the case here.” His lips lifted. “As I will duly demonstrate.”
In a burst of speed, he slammed his fist into the ground.
It created another seismic shock, but it became damned clear to me in that moment that the first one had been child’s play to him, because this one decimated the entire area, cracking and splitting the ground down to the bedrock, sending the army collapsing but also blowing backward from the violent pulse it created.
