Chapter 362 (1/2)
Chapter 362: Fate Intertwined
NICO SEVER
I rin Caeluh the castle’s cold halls,Servants bowed and pressed themselves to the walls as we passed, and even themilitary leaders shrank back in fear of me—as they should I was in no mood to be disturbed or interrupted; I wanted answers, and wouldn’t be disrona hi stairs to Agrona’s charip fired behind me The stairs opened up on a hallway that connected the rona’s private chambers Unlike the cold stone halls we’d just coht
The walls were covered in artifacts and souvenirs of Agrona’sthe dead relics and artifacts of Agrona’s favored highblood fa,the feathers that still gleaon feathers over an ornate necklace of claws and fangs; and a pair of dragon horns that sprouted from the wall
I stopped short The way foras barred
“I arona Move, Melzri”
The other Scythe pressed a hand to her heart and let her ly “Now is that any way to speak to the one who trained you and took care of you after we got you back from that trashy little island, little brother?”
I scoffed, letting a murderous intent seep out into the fancifully decorated hallhere Melzri stood guard Though I glared at her, she only s exactly as she always had: perfect silvery-gray skin, pure white hair plaited into a thick braid that ran down her back, and dark lips and eyes thatonyx horns that sprouted from her head and curved sharply back, a ser horns
“I’m not your brother,” I said waspishly “What are you even doing here, anyway?”
She gave le, which she knew I hated and did purely to irritate me “Just some Victoriad business Viessa was here too, but she left only o, I’ealed blood, drifted to focus on Cecilia “Ah, the fairl’s skin well, I rowled, stepping between Melzri and Cecilia “Shut up and leave her out of this”
I felt Cecilia shuffle next to o wait in our roorin “What’s wrong, little brother? Not willing to share your plaything…although, I suppose really she is the High Sovereign’s pet, right? Which makes you…what? Her nanny? No…” Melzri put a hand over her , I think…”
“I don’t care what you have to say, Melzri,” I said, trying to sound like I htlessly reached for Cecilia’s hand, but she dodged it, and the anger rushed out of s
Melzri saw, but instead of ave me a disappointed frown and stepped back to block the way forward “The High Sovereign is not available to speak with you at this moment You ent—”
Melzri sniffed “I’ out for you, little brother If you stor with Dragoth and Sovereign Kiros, youother than your little feelings hurt”
This caught n of Vechor is here?” It was rare for the Sovereigns to leave their doh I was paraded around before each of them when I was named a Scythe of the central doain
Melzri didn’t bother to answer, and so I turned my back on her and walked to the farthest corner of the roolared at a matched pair of ruby blades, crossed over the crest of sohblood
Did thefor them? I wondered Did they feel safe in their nobility, as if they had carved out a place for the for soh the events at the High Hall again, trying to le doubt in olden-eyed Ascender Grey was really e in appearance But I didn’t understand why Agrona hadn’t told me the name beforehand
Was it some kind of test?
I had been tested often, and experimented on, and pushed to my limit Sometimes these trials were painful, even cruel, but they had always hed deeply, failing to understand
Cecilia had followedco to look anywhere but Cecilia or Melzri, I let , where an enorth of the hall
It showed the flight of the Vritra froons of the Indrath clan asin a blood-red sky, while people—both lessers and the Vritra Clan basilisks—cowered behind Agrona, displayed here in shi+ning platinuon’s at bay…
“Nico…?” Cecilia asked froaze on my cheek, but I didn’t turn to look at her I couldn’t If I did, I orried I ht break
It shouldn’t have been like this I had spent an entire life trying to protect her, first froht to use her, and this new life had been dedicated to co her a second chance, but when I’d finally acco for rona had once fawned over me the same way he now treated Cecilia…but he had turned dish Hall knoho this Ascender Grey really was He o, and with so little information? But I didn’t understand his ame?
He should have told me what he knew, or suspected
Mythee the creeping fear that was stealing throughevery dark corner of it Fear was unacceptable It eakness The other Scythes, the Vritra…they could all s devoured alive
“Nico,” Cecilia said again, ht
“What?” I said, more coldly than I’d intended
“How…” She trailed off, biting her lip After several long seconds, she took a deep breath and tried again “I want to know about ether Although I wanted her to understand—wanted her to hate Grey asthe rona’s rich baritone said fro his sudden arrival “But I think you are ready, Cecilia”
Melzri slid aside, putting her back to the wall and keeping her head down Agrona’s red eyes took in everything within the hallith an easy sweep, a placid movement that almost seemed like laziness, and yet I knew in that instant he had read everything in the roo the world to stand still and wait for him to arrive As he passed Melzri, he reached out and ran a finger along one of her horns, but his attention was otherwise entirely on Cecilia
“Do you really—” My ument dismissed before it could leave my mouth
I wanted to wrap my arm around Cecilia, draw her close to me so I could corona approached He brushed aside her gunainst her temples She closed her eyes as her body went stiff
Although I couldn’t directly experience what the High Sovereign was doing in her rona was a master of direct manipulation of the mind, able to both remove and alter memories, and even able to directly control another person’s body to a li Cecilia back the memory of her death…in only a few moments, she would know
She would rey tingling through my body It would have been better if I could have told her all the truth frorona had twisted theGrey’s She just had to have someone in this world she could trust entirely, i those little memories h, the memory of her death…even I didn’t want it in rona would help et it Cecilia shouldn’t have to remember it either, but she had to see, she had to knohat had happened With Grey alive, it was only a matter of time until they crossed paths She needed to knoho he really was It didn’t matter how many names he’d taken or lives he’d lived…inside, he was still the sashi+p over his only friends—family—in the world
I wouldn’t let hian to tremble Her eyes stayed shut, but a pained whimper escaped her lips Her knees threatened to buckle
“Stop, she’s—”
A crushi+ng force wrapped aroundoff my plea My hands clawed at rona didn’t even look atbackwards, but he caught her, scooping her up and holding her in his arms like a child “Hush, Cecil I know, and I am sorry to burden you with the truth of your death Rest now” Agrona lowered his forehead until it touched Cecilia’s There was a spark ofbeca ended
Melzri was by their side, and Agrona handed Cecilia—my Cecil—to the Scythe “Take her to her room Guard her until she wakes, then return to Etril”
“As you co Cecilia with her