He arched an eyebrow. “But… won’t you marry them and want your… own space? Isn’t that how it works?”
“How it works is different for every unit. It doesn’t need to be this way or that. It can be whatever we like. And you’re Cassius’ family. Loving him, that makes you my family too. Lazriel and Sylas will see it the same way as well.”
His eyes brightened. “Wow. I would very much like that—to live in a castle like this one.”
I smiled. “Then we’d best make it happen, right?”
He beamed out at me, then focused his attention on the sculpture. “I can build this.”
“What? You can?”
“It’s Applied Cognition. An amalgamation of eidetic learning and praxis integration. I don’t just memorize blueprints, architectural and engineering details, theory, practicalities, and schematics; I ingest them. I don’t just retain the knowledge, I can apply it and execute it perfectly. So, with that being the case, along with a dash of magic and, yes, brute strength, I could most definitely bring this to life for us.”
“Once this is all over, I’ll take you up on that. Thank you, Ketheron. That’s so sweet of you.”
“I can’t wait.” He tapped his fingers on the bench. “I wish I could help. WithPuritas.But they want me kept out of it.”
“They?”
“Cassius tells me it’s for my own safety. And for him, I know that’s true. He cares about me. But he thinks I don’t know theother part to it, the part he doesn’t want to tell me for fear that it will upset me. The Guardian Movement and the Unity Council—the entire supernatural world, really—fear me and displays of my power. Because of what I was made to do before. Decimating the Unity Council building, causing chaos and destruction and pain. They’re afraid that if I was brought into this battle now, it would happen again. And even with those who believe I could do that in a controlled way, the rest of the supernatural world would just see the indomitable displays of power, and it would unsettle them.”
“Those are optics and political pressures. Not the reality that you live, thatwesee, or that in any way denote who you actually are.” I clasped his hand gently. “If you like, I can keep you informed about what’s going on. Would that help? Or would it make it worse, knowing you can’t actively participate? At least, right now, anyway.”
“Being informed cannot hurt. Misinformation or lack of it is where the danger always lies. Much like those who hunt us. Their thinking is warped and misinformed. And that breeds radicalization, especially when power is added to the dangerous mix.”
Beyond his abilities and his incredible knowledge base, he was a survivor of deep-rooted trauma, somebody now persevering through a journey to become more than what was done to him, to actually live a life of hope, joy, love, and fun.
And, with that, I could relate so much.
Honestly, the boys could too. In their own distinct ways, because of what had been done to each of them.
I let go of his hand and shifted on the bench, lowering my voice and telling him, “So, here’s the deal so far. Those two sets of enemies that were threats to Lazriel because of their loyalty to the deceased Jason Strickland, have been taken care of by Cassius and me. And the Guardian Movement. Weincapacitated them with authorization, and then the Guardian Movement arrested them. They’re being processed as we speak. But there was a member of one of the gangs who wasn’t there when we arrived. His name is Jesse Harmon. He had a personal connection to Lazriel, as we discovered through our research—a member of Lazriel’s pack and his first male crush. He was enamored with a recruitment gathering that came to the town he’d been living in with his gang and he’s since formed a smallerPuritascell. So we’re trying to track him down. It won’t just rid us of all of those enemies connected to Strickland finally, but also give us an in to lower-levelPuritascells and, hopefully, even theserecruitment gatherings.”
“Hmm… this personal connection is dangerous.” He grimaced. “Lazriel is such a kind and pure soul. How anyone could hold hatred for him is beyond me. You also, with your maniacal brother.”
“It’s a good thing you and me can’t understand it. We don’t want to be on that wavelength.”
“You will find Harmon and this despicablecellof his.” He stared forlornly at my castle sculpture. “And what of the Guardian Movement’s mission to root outPuritasas a whole? Where does that currently stand?” He winced and gestured around as Blackline Protocol hummed in the background, a constant reminder of the stakes of it all.
I went to speak, but a burst of white light pulled me up short, and then a hand landed on my shoulder with a familiar touch.
Ketheron raised his gaze, and I turned my head to see Cassius standing there behind me.
“I see you are having a rather informative discussion,” he spoke with clear weight, as he eyed me, then looked between me and Ketheron.
I flashed my eyes at him. “A discussion that is helping Ketheron to feel better about being benched.”
Cassius flinched. “Benched? I wouldn’t refer to it that way. He is not… I mean… the intent is not to….” He blew out a breath. “I suppose it is coming across in that manner.”
“So, we can discuss it more?” Ketheron asked.
“Yes. Not right now, however. The children are getting out of their morning classes. I’ve just finished mine. Ariana will be done with hers within moments also. They will be all over these grounds for recess, playing. I don’t want them frightened.”
“We’ll talk about it at dinner tonight, then. Back at your place,” I suggested.
“Very good.”
Ketheron nodded, then he brightened and said, “After recess and lunch we have Magical Art Therapy.” He looked at me and explained. “It’s where Ariana teaches the children shadow weaving—it’s her magic making expression in the air with her silver power. But you would be a great addition with your frost sculptures and your actual shadow magic. You should be a part of it.” He eyed Cassius. “Yes?”
