Raymond handed the device over to Ashley. “Put your number in and hit send,” he said, holding her hand and walking her back to the sofa.She looked at the phone, then back at him. She pulled him toward the elevator, typing as she went.After a brief moment, she handed it back to him and pushed the call button on the exit.The doors opened immediately.She turned to him.“Be safe, I’ll call you,” she said, her voice phlegmy again, though her face was dry.He nodded. He leaned in and pecked her lightly on both cheeks.“You too, silly goose,” he whispered.The doors closed, and both of them exhaled.==========Back in her car, the one that had brought her from her home to Tyler’s apartment complex, the other occupant remarked gruffly, “What took you so long?”“You could have gone in yourself, Father.”“Humph. That stupid dog. He thinks he can jump from one stable to another? Impudent little shit,” Lord Belarnt cursed, crossing his leg with a huff.He had received a call from Lord Henry;

Alex was a mage. It was a secret. He had no Emperor gifts, but regardless of this, if such a thing were disclosed, the boy would be made to leave his father’s noble house, something nobody wanted.The mage had evaluated Tyler, as requested by Henry Kramer. He confirmed that Tyler Esteil had magic in his blood. Not like everyday people, but like a storm, a deep well, a reservoir, but heavy, denser.It was why the young mage could not ‘see’ Tyler. If Alex were a thermometer, Tyler’s readings were basically off the scale.==========Henry saw the sweating man in the hospital room, someone who had needed assistance to even sit up on his bed mere days prior. He saw the man who had walked into the room in the mansion. A very changed man.A man who appeared to have aged, grown, but still looked the same, yet was not. His face was like marble until he spoke. His eyes were dark, not the color, but rather the sense of it. There seemed to be a shadow or wall

Demitrius glared at Tyler and instantly cooled his gaze when he saw the man’s heavily lined brow and the deep concentration in his eyes.Anton’s mouth had opened, but had shut immediately when he noticed the same thing.Jorkana’s forehead gem was glowing softly as his lips moved in silence. He had moved to his brother’s back as soon as the needle had been inserted.Demitrius’ eyes closed as a hot, white pain filled his shoulder. His hands were balled into fists as his body began to shake.“Pill,” Tyler said, and Tally handed him a small yellow ball the size of an orange seed.“Swallow this,” he said, pushing the item against Demitrius’s clamped lips. The man opened his eyes and mouth without hesitation. His heart was banging against his chest, sweat was pouring off his entire body, but he had no choice.There was a coolness on his back, where his elder brother’s palm was. He trusted his brother’s powers implicitly. If something was wrong, Jo

Tyler raised his hand as the magic filled his body, warming up the entire room, driving out the oxygen. He reduced the power, controlling it with his mind, and his necklace – a new skill he had learned during his short visit to Karisa.He had come to realize that the necklace was HIS protection gem, as it were.An item given to him by his father, which his mother had spelled with her magic to hide his power. A power he had thought was related to his Emperor gifts, but which he now understood, during his recent visit, was not the case.Rather, it was to hide his own personal magic. Mage level magic – the magic held by the ‘others’ of the world. Magic that was not supposed to be borne by nobles.He stared at the ceiling. As a mine inspector, he knew exactly what to look for.The cracked and broken wood beams, the metal rigging used to hold up the roof and prevent cave-ins, the wires for lighting and airing out the tunnel so that workers would be more

As Lincoln watched his young friend, possibly the only peer he had, Tyler’s gaze softened, and his shoulders relaxed.Tyler lowered his chin slightly. “I will do much alone, but I will need you, Boss Brazer, as support for some tasks. It’s not just a whipping I’m giving now. This is going to involve another house, and nobles have rules for things like this.”“But I will call no council. I will be my own council.” He paused, gauging the older man’s reaction.When Lincoln did not react, Tyler continued steadily, “Things have to be handled with care, or they will turn on me in ways that will make ancient wars seem like a game.”“I want whoever killed that man. Not for justice; that does not exist in this world, but for a message to be sent.”He shifted his weight, standing taller in the night breeze that brushed strands of his now long hair into his face, as Lincoln’s ear-length one also moved with the wind.“Nobody fucks with my House and gets