His endurance was impressive.
One so young should not be capable of that—neither wolf nor vampire.
Merely twenty-one years of age.
It took centuries to be able to endure a magical assault of this caliber. Proof that his Ancient Vampire blood was able to be harnessed. He was just clearly caught on using it merely for durability during combat. And not consistently either, given what I knew of his brutal battle with Victor where he’d barely employed it.
Outside of combat, I was already aware that Lazriel drew on his Ancient Vampire blood when it came to his sensory perception, something Victor had also noted.
“I have to commend you, Lazriel, evading the protection of The Shadowed is not an easy thing to accomplish. It takes tremendous skill. Yet, you have succeeded.”
He’d applauded him snidely, then gone on to condemn him asoutmatched, slow, arrogant, stupid, impetuous.
In fact, Lazriel was none of those things.
Victor, of course, knew that.
He didn’t misread people. Not when he intended to make them his playthings.
The truth was, my son unnerved him.
My agents had reported the proof to me through something Victor had said during his first encounter with Lazriel.
“I do love demonstrating to perceived apex predators that they’re really the prey.”
He had recognized my boy’s potential to become a true apex predator.
It had taken him longer than I’d expected, actually. Perhaps he was missing a step, due to aligning himself with the despicable madness that wasPuritas.
No matter, his true motive was more than just Lazriel’s connection to me—it was fear.
Of what my boy could become.
What hewouldbecome now that he was here with me.
I snapped my fingers.
My magic-wielders pulled their power back and stepped away, leaving Lazriel panting, bloodied, and looking mighty confused.
With his fighting experience at Graverun, he was used to ending a fight definitively.
What he’d learned there was both goodandbad.
He had experience from three years of engaging in brutal battles with no rules enforced, facing off with opponents of varying experience levels, different species, a wealth of abilities.
However, it also had him entrenched in a particular way of fighting that did not draw enough on his vampiric abilities, especially the Ancient aspect.
“Leave us,” I spoke to the room full of two dozen spectators lining the walls.
They moved instantly at my word, dragging out the unconscious as they went.
The last one through closed the steel door behind them.
“I had that,” Lazriel told me, slamming his fist into his hand, his eyes wild, his hair matted with sweat.
“Perhaps.”
Those wild eyes narrowed. “Noperhapsabout it. I would’ve trounced them.”
