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I lowered my gaze, breathing deeply to calm the rage simmering in my blood, because the last thing I needed to do right then was kill an ancient elder. “I am asking you to reconsider. For the good of the whole.”
“We uphold our decision,” Korgeerasz responded.
Jaw tight with rage, I rolled my shoulders back, desperate to maintain my composure. “Then, I would like to bond with this female, with witness, to ensure that he does not also lay claim to her womb.”
A long pause followed, and when I glanced up, I caught the wicked grin stretched across the face of the elder. “We would not be in a position to grant you such a request as that, either.”
Hands balled to fists, I lurched forward. “I fought alongside you! Against my own blood!”
“You did, yes. And it is only out of gratitude for your loyal service all those years that I will allow you to walk freely from this meeting without imprisonment for your abandonment. You are owed nothing, Van Croix. Leave immediately, before we decide to confiscate the angel, anyway.”
Fuck.
Fuck!
They’d called my bluff about killing my father, a threat they’d feared while I was in their clutches. Knowing that I was capable of murdering him, of setting Letifer free and dooming all five realms, they’d always been careful with me. Their response didn’t make sense, until I turned around and caught sight of Bishop Venable, or Barchiel as he went by those days, crossing the court. Without a doubt, the bastard had told them of my lost powers.
After hoisting Soreth up onto my shoulder, I strode toward where he stood passing out his drug, Rapture, to the nobles like candy.
When he looked back at me, the appraisal in his eyes turned to shock. “Van Croix?”
“I’m sure you’re quite surprised.”
“I did not expect your return from Ex Nihilo.”
“And you made a point to speak of what happened. What did you do, Barchiel, tell them you were the one who’d smited me?”
“It does not bode well for me that you’ve returned. Through your death, I’ve gained stature. And now, they will look upon me as a liar.”
“You are a liar. And if the prospect of killing you twice didn’t bore me to tears, I would surely make a point to do it now, in front of all your new friends. Luckily for you, I’ve got somewhere to be.” Burning with rage, I strode past him, ignoring whatever he shouted after me as I made my way back through the corridors, to the courtyard, where the horses awaited us. I threw Soreth’s still-unconscious body up onto the saddle and guided the horses out through the gates.
48
THE BARON
The carriage slowed to a stop in front of the manor.
Home.
It had been two years since the baron had last seen the place, or his mother, for that matter. After Solomon’s death, she’d sent him away to Cavendale, a university just outside of Rome. Much as the baron had detested and fought against leaving her, to pursue something as trivial as academics had seemed at the time, she had insisted, assuring him of the great relief it would bring her. For, while he was away at school, his father’s attention was directed elsewhere, and the baron only hoped it hadn’t been set on his mother during that time.
She stood before the entrance at the top of the staircase in a finely crafted, blue gown, which effectively hid the frail state of her body beneath.
For two years, the baron had immersed himself in his studies at Cavendale, until the day a courier had sent word that Lady Praecepsia had begun to deteriorate. At which point, he had been called home.
The vibrance of her smile showed no hint of suffering, but there remained shadows behind her eyes that the baron noticed as he stepped out of the carriage to meet her.
“My son,” she said, arms wide, as he strode up to her and fell into her embrace. “You’ve returned a man!”
“I have missed you, Mother. How have you been?”
“I am better now that you are here. Tell me of your studies at Cavendale.”
“I could regale you with stories of watching the grass grow, which would be a far more interesting topic than Cavendale.”
His mother let out a chuckle, guiding him up the staircase with her arm hooked into his. “As I understand, you did quite well there.”
“Is nothing a secret anymore?” he asked, his voice pitched in amusement.
