16. ~Saryan Hart~

16

~Saryan Hart~

Alena Rose was a threat to my kingdom.

She was a threat to every single wielder of dark magic throughout the supernatural world.

The damage she could do couldn’t even be fully quantified, it was so staggering.

She was also the love of my son’s life.

Supremely difficult situation didn’t quite cover it.

I’d encountered my fair share over the centuries of my rule.

However, this was unlike all the others that had come before.

Because of Orpheus.

And it pained me, especially with us becoming close again after years of unfortunate estrangement due to outside factors.

Now, yet again, those threatened to compromise our relationship.

At the same time, I couldn’t simply allow this to go unnoticed.

I couldn’t simply stand aside knowing someone with this highly dangerous ability existed.

Someone so young and unlearned too.

Someone who’d been tortured and traumatized, calling their stability into question.

Someone who desired vengeance on their tormentor. Their tormentor who was a dark magic being.

The ramifications were beyond catastrophic.

A heavy sigh escaped me as I stepped out of the room I’d just spent the last few hours within. Blood dripped from my hands and I was just about to clean them with a brief brush of magic when a rush of intense power had me stilling, then staggering in my step.

The same sort of rush that Abigail caused when she would force her way into my kingdom without any warning and expending a mass amount of power to make a point and her indomitable standing known—in her worst moments.

Recognizing the power signature instantly, I latched onto it and teleported out to its location on the bridge just feet from the entrance to the palace.

Magically-induced thunder rolled overhead, the sky breaking as bolts of purple lightning tore through it.

My guards and my gargoyles didn’t move, however, recognizing its source as I had.

In the next moment, a violent flash of purple light erupted on the bridge just steps from me and Orpheus materialized in a deep crouch, his power sparking all over him as he slammed his fist down onto the bridge’s surface, lightning leapfrogging out toward me.

I raised my hand and stilled it in its tracks, preventing it from connecting.

Fury emanated from him, his body vibrating with it as he rose to his feet, his eyes flaming at me in both warning and threat.

A flash of blue light came into being just behind him and then his two cohorts, Xavier and Talon, materialized, flanking him.

Hmm. They’d put the pieces together faster than I’d hoped.

Orpheus called more of his power and the force behind it actually pushed me back.

He was making it clear to me exactly what he was capable of now, that his power, in fact, rivaled mine.

“Son.”

“Father,” he bit back.

“You’ve made your point. Pull back your magic and we’ll talk about this rationally.”

“Rationally?” he spat out. “Like you kidnapping the woman we love?”

“I did what was necessary. You shouldn’t have kept this secret from me. Don’t think for one moment that I believe you had no idea of this ability of hers. An ability that is a threat to our people, Orpheus. You had a duty to report this to me.”

“What my duty was regarding this situation is up for debate.”

“No. It certainly isn’t.”

“Release her. Now.”

A snarl sounded and I looked to see Xavier had called on his vampiric nature, his fangs dropping. “That’s her blood on your hands.”

“Shit, you hurt her?” Talon cried.

“What have you done?” Orpheus demanded.

His magic flamed and I conjured a shield of silver to encompass me, dropping my palms and watching as his lightning fought to penetrate it.

I wouldn’t strike my son. I didn’t want to hurt him and I knew he didn’t really want to hurt me either.

He could have struck me with the lightning from the magical storm he’d generated before he’d materialized when I wouldn’t have been able to see it coming in due time.

The phoenix called his flames forth and the hybrid did the same with his magic, making a move against me.

Before they could so much as release their power at me, six of my guards teleported before them, surrounding them, weapons drawn.

While they knew not to interfere in a battle between my son and I, the same certainly didn’t extend to others.

As Orpheus moved to react, I called to him, “Summon your rational thought. Should you escalate the situation, they will be harmed. I don’t wish it to come to that and I’m certain you don’t either.”

“Enough blood has been shed lately. Yet you’ve just shed more,” Orpheus rebutted.

“It’s not what you think.”

Xavier scoffed. “Her blood is staining your hands and you really want us to believe you haven’t hurt her?”

“She hasn’t felt an ounce of pain, I can promise you that.”

“You’re lying!” Talon yelled.

“He’s not,” Orpheus asserted, staring into my eyes. “What have you done with her?”

“If you’ll calm down, I’ll explain. However, you are not taking her from here.”

“Issuing such a statement—or more like an order—is no way to calm me down, Father.”

“She exposed her dangerous ability to the world. She’s not safe out there. Within my kingdom she is protected. No harm will befall her.”

“Except at your hands,” Xavier accused.

“So forthright, just like your father.”

“Speaking of my dad, he won’t allow this. He won’t allow an angel—Abigail’s daughter, no less—to be held captive by you. By anyone.”

“You’re certain of that?”

“Yes,” he hissed.

“Then why isn’t he here right now alongside the three of you? Could it possibly be that you haven’t disclosed to him that it was me who was responsible for taking her? Why, pray tell is that?”

My son glared at me, aware that I’d obviously put the pieces together.

They didn’t trust Exemplar with this revelation.

Rightly so.

Even with Elliot wanting to safeguard Alena Rose and act in her best interests, his wishes weren’t paramount, not when he had so many others to answer to. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that those wishes would be usurped by what Exemplar wanted collectively. In all likelihood, after what had happened, they would want Alena confined at the compound, more for the safety of others than for her wellbeing, as well as to use the act as a gesture of faith to calm the uproar that was currently running wild throughout the supernatural world in light of what she could do being disclosed.

“Stand down,” Orpheus told his loves, a moment before he pulled his power back.

“Ore, what—” Talon started to protest, but Orpheus held up his hand. He’d inherited that from me.

“My father and I will talk,” he told them, his eyes narrowing at me.

I swept away my shield and told him, “You and I alone. Your loves will wait and calm themselves in the central living room.”

“The living room?” he questioned, knowing that I only liked to receive allies and friends in that room. I sent others to the library or one of my numerous salons.

“Correct.”

Understanding that it boded well, he gave a nod, then stepped forward. “So be it.”

“You should be attending to your project with the assistance I sent along with you in the form of Edgar,” I told Orpheus, as I watched him down half his glass of bourbon, while I sipped at my spelled glass of vodka.

“I would be doing just that if you hadn’t kidnapped Alena.”

“Or if Constantine hadn’t had his new acolytes attack her and Electi Academy.”

He gave a nod. “I felt a mammoth and concentrated expulsion of dark magic.”

“And you thought it was Constantine.”

“Yes.”

“Well, in essence, it was. He was working through them, using them as his puppets. You need to maintain your focus on your project, because it’s clear Constantine took said action to cause a distraction and to render Alena impotent against him, forcing her into hiding to ensure she isn’t an issue he has to contend with when he makes his big move.”

“Release Alena and I’ll get right back to it,” he challenged.

“She’s a threat to us, Orpheus. It’s my responsibility and my duty to attend to that.”

He scoffed. “Come on.”

“She has the ability to wipe out the essence of our power. She could destroy us.”

“You mean, just like Elliot Sabre could destroy everyone if he really ever let loose? Just like Constantine still has the power to do with the level of dark magic he wields that’s fueled by his vampire side? Like the Dragon Empire does if they were to lose control and raze the entire supernatural world to the ground? Just like you do if you called on the full force of your power and all the magic that fuels the kingdom?”

“This is not the same.”

“Like hell, it isn’t. It’s only different to you now because this could hurt you. While you’ve had the power to hurt many for centuries on end.” He downed the rest of his drink, then put it down on the bar. “Yet, even in your worst moments, you haven’t.”

“Are you forgetting that Constantine took control of her not long ago? She almost killed you when she was being wielded by him.”

“That can’t happen again now Abigail has rid black magic from the world. She also can’t be controlled by Dark Fae mind meddling, I’ve seen to it.”

“She’s vengeance-bound when it comes to Constantine, it’s quite possible that she could lose control through that.”

“If that happened, it would be relegated to defeating him. That’s an asset. This ability of hers is an asset, quite possibly the best way to take that motherfucker down. So instead of you focusing on the threat, see the opportunity in it.”

“I do see the opportunity, Orpheus. However, it doesn’t negate the threat.”

“Father—”

“There needs to be a failsafe.”

“Let me guess, trapping Alena here in a zone void of magic?”

“That’s part of it, yes. A necessary precaution to keep the Realm safe.”

“I won’t allow you to keep her as your prisoner. She’s already been through the hell of that with Constantine. She will not suffer through that again.”

“There’s no suffering to be had in this situation. I’ve ensured it.”

He frowned. “How?”

“I wouldn’t permit your love to be treated poorly. I know what she means to you and I understand it. You know I do. But at the same time, we must be careful. I need more time to ensure the threat that her new ability poses can be mitigated.”

“How the fuck do you plan to do that?” He stared at my hands, which I’d since cleaned of blood. “Drawing her blood? Making her bleed? That sounds like poor treatment to me, suffering.”

“I’m not bleeding her out, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“How else are you keeping a Nephilim captive then? Without black magic, there is—”

“Dust from the mines in the far north of the Realm.”

“What?”

“We unearthed some of it centuries past, but I closed the mines, concerned that factions of our people who were against my rule and rising up at the time would be able to use it against me. But things are different now. They have shifted. Our subjects know that they need to look to me for their protection through the threat that is Constantine Vale. So, after the brutal invasion by Constantine and his army wiped out a good portion of the Dark Fae Army and jeopardized so much, I put a precaution in place should anything like that occur again. That precaution was to set to work having our people unearth the dust and my magical scientists to weaponize it. Already many of our soldiers now carry that on their person. Within a few weeks, they all will, and it will be standard procedure to do so. It can stop even the most powerful being in their tracks and temporarily incapacitate them. It will also be able to be released on a mass scale. We are developing weapons now to position at key points around the Realm.”

“Wow, that’s really something, Father. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“You have no role in running things here.”

He noticed the edge in my response, telling me, “As we discussed before I left for my project, that will be changing soon. Once I get things off the ground, I’ll be able to do both and stand here by your side. And let’s be frank, you never really wanted to give up rule completely. You enjoy the power it offers you.”

The corner of my mouth turned up. “More so the control, but yes. So long as you don’t change your mind. Things will be heavy to bear when you first roll your project out.”

“Well, I’ve never been adverse to pressure, have I?”

“No, I can’t say that you have.”

“Then trust in my word. I’ll be here.”

“Then I look forward to it.”

“For any of that to occur, we need to reach an agreement here first. Regarding Alena, Father.”

“And I’m hopeful that we will. You need to see her, I believe.”

The harshness he’d been levying my way since he’d arrived finally softened a little. “For you to offer that freely is a step in the right direction.”

“I’m nothing if not reasonable.” Off his look, I added, “When it comes to my son.”

He stepped up to me and demanded in that forthright way of his that made me proud, despite the fact that it was proving a challenge currently, “Take me to her.”

I nodded and took his hand, then teleported us to the far north wing of the palace.

We materialized outside an arched silver door that shimmered in the darkness that enveloped the rest of this part of the corridor.

“What is this? I’ve never seen this before.”

“I fashioned it, especially for your love.”

He tensed, receiving my words in a worrisome way.

Time to put an end to that.

I unlocked the door with my magic and we stepped inside, with me careful to lock it behind us the moment we did.

I turned to my son as he took everything in.

“Well? What do you think?” I asked.

He swung his head toward me, eyes wide, his stark surprise clear.

“Motherfuck,” he choked.