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Only a week had passed since Armando had learned a Blood Replica of him existed. He found himself and Izdahl heading again to meet Xeira in her study. He was surprised to find Xeira standing in front of the closed study door. A moment later, he went on high alert. He looked around, feeling the same presence he’d first felt years ago. The spiritual energy of the Nitelvosa who’d killed his parents and then visited him in the hospital was strong. It made no sense he was feeling it anywhere near Xeira.
“Izdahl, what’s going on?” Armando asked.
“What do you mean?” Izdahl said.
“It’s...I feel...”
“Armando, you’re not imagining things,” Xeira said quietly. “There’s someone you should meet. Well, you already met him long ago. Follow me.”
Armando and Izdahl went with Xeira into her study. In one of the chairs sat a Nitelvosa who made Armando recoil. The Nitelvosa wore a black mask. Seeing him triggered a vicious rage in Armando. Before he could stop himself he was across the room. He ripped off the Nitelvosa’s mask, staring at him with mounting fury. His widened at seeing someone who looked like a younger version of Dagmar.
“Who are you?” Armando asked.
The Nitelvosa gave him a sardonic smile. “Hello, Little Medina.”
Power heated Armando’s hands and the energy imbued in his arms by Zaitiv pulsed violently. He raised his left hand in front of the Nitelvosa’s face and a ghostly version of the Nitelvosa stretched away from his body. An inner voice Armando had never heard commanded him to pull. That’s what he did. Armando heard a wet ripping sound, followed by a wail of anguish. Malicious pleasure spread through Armando, heating his heart and his mind. And he kept pulling, as the Nitelvosa screamed. Before Armando could have his fill of the intoxicating sensation, Izdahl grabbed him, forcing him away from the one he wanted to kill. Izdahl pinned Armando against a wall.
“To get to him, you have to go through me,” Izdahl said. “GG would not have brought him here, if there wasn’t a good reason. We must listen.”
Armando stared past Izdahl, barely hearing him. Armando’s malicious intent to kill the Nitelvosa flooded the room. Xeira helped the Nitelvosa to his feet and hatred rippled through Armando for him and her.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Izdahl said. “You cannot act on it.”
Armando curled his fists at his sides, as he fought the violent urge to punch Izdahl until he was a bloody mess. Some part of him knew that, as enraged as he was, he’d never want to hurt Izdahl.
Izdahl held Armando’s face in his hands. “Focus on me. You’ll lose the best chance to get answers, if you don’t control yourself.”
Armando shook, trying to manage his rage. All he could think of was that he had the power to kill the one who’d cruelly ripped apart his family. Yet, he couldn’t use the most deadly ability at his disposal—one that few would ever possess. While it wasn’t a fully formed ability to take souls, he could still injure souls. Acidic anguish boiled within him, seizing his heart and mind. He raised his head to the ceiling, releasing a primal scream containing his deep pain and fury. When he looked at Izdahl again, tears streamed down Izdahl’s face.
Izdahl released his wings and wrapped them around Armando. He held Armando tighter, resting his forehead against his. “Light of my soul, I know how much you hurt. But you must endure. Can you please do that for me? For us? We need answers.”
Armando closed his eyes, as he nodded. “Just give me a moment.”
“If I let go of you, will you promise to stay calm?”
“No, but I won’t kill him. At least not today.” Armando wiped Izdahl’s tears, focusing on becoming gentle again. When the dark urge to maim had subsided, he said, “You can let go.”
Izdahl moved out of the way. Armando narrowed his eyes at the figure who stood at Xeira’s side.
Xeira motioned to a table. “Let’s have a seat and talk this out.”
Gritting his teeth, Armando took a chair by Izdahl. He clenched his hand under the table, determined not to lose his temper again.
“We have a great deal to discuss,” Xeira said. “None of it will be easy, but it is a conversation we must have.” She glanced at the Nitelvosa who’d sat next to her. “You can begin.”
The Nitelvosa took a deep breath. “My name is Volpe Saberian. I’m Dagmar Havad’s son.”
Given how Volpe looked like a younger version of Dagmar, there didn’t seem to be a way to deny their connection.
“I’m unclaimed,” Volpe said. “Dagmar promised me, if I did something important for him, that he would officially acknowledge me.” Volpe let out a long breath. “He did not keep his promise.”
Armando stroked his jaw. “I have questions and you will answer all of them.”
“Fortunately, for you, I promised Xeira that’s what would happen.” Volpe studied Armando with sharp gray eyes. “I understand why Dagmar’s obsessed. Your power’s not even fully awake. He should be worried. His plan will fail and I’m grateful for that. I just hope I’m around to see it.”
Armando gave Volpe a withering stare before saying, “First, show me your arms.”
Volpe nodded and smiled, as if he knew why Armando had said that. He pushed up his shirt, revealing a brand on his left arm. Armando gritted his teeth when he saw a raised crescent over an octagon. He realized he hadn’t imagined what he’d seen all those years ago.
“Does that remove doubts, Little Medina?” Volpe asked.
“Stop calling me that. Now, what did Dagmar ask you to do?”
Volpe held Armando’s gaze. “I think you know.”
“Say it.” The soul fire under Armando’s skin pulsed. “I’m not here for games.”
“It was me that night. I conjured the valjeels and ordered them to destroy your parents. I made them injure you and your sister. My goal was to kill your entire family.”
Armando pounded a fist on the table. “But my sister and I survived. Then you tried to wipe my memory, in the hospital.”
“That’s partially true. I left a spell to protect you and your sister. And myself, of course. Every time you tried to remember, I wanted you to feel pain. It was safer for all of us. My father is as much a threat to me as he is to you and your sister.” Volpe frowned and stroked his jaw. “At any rate, the spell worked with your sister, but it began to wear off for you. I’m not sure about the reason.”
“Why did you attack my family?” Armando asked.
“I did it under orders from Dagmar,” Volpe said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Completing the mission was a bargaining chip.” He gave Xeira a furtive glance.
She raised an eyebrow. “If you’re not honest with us, I’ll know. Any chance you have of living rests with me. Don’t push me.”
Volpe gritted his teeth and looked back at Armando. “Dagmar, my so-called father, has my wife. Farai has been in stasis for over two decades. When Dagmar abducted her, she was pregnant with our twins. I don’t know what’s become of Farai and our babies.”
Armando cursed. “Well, I can tell you what became of my family. My parents died violently in front of me. My sister and I are traumatized. My parents will never see their grandchild. So fuck you and your sob story.”
Armando felt Izdahl’s hand on his arm. Izdahl squeezed gently, reminding him to be calm. He took a deep breath and focused on getting more answers. “Did I release you, when I made the statue’s shield fall?”
“Yes,” Volpe said. “I couldn’t believe the turn of events. Finally, something was going my way.”
“How nice for you. With your good luck, you chose to harass me. I felt you presence near me several times.”
Volpe shrugged. “I needed to know how much of a threat you were. Once I figured out you’d become so strange, I decided my best chance was to reach out to the Amasis.”
Armando glanced at Xeira before looking back at Volpe. “What do you expect to get?”
“I need protection and I want to save my family.”
“Fuck you. And fuck your family. What kind of woman would be your wife, knowing what you did?”
“Farai has always seen the best in me.”
“Despite how you look.” Armando’s skepticism about the situation continued to rise. “You’re basically a younger version of Dagmar. Why didn’t people connect you to him?”
“I’m allowing you to see my true face. Dagmar required me to hide who I am, whether with magic or by using a mask. I broke that rule as much as I could. There are very few, like my wife, who’ve seen my real features.”
“Why didn’t Dagmar accept you as his son?” Armando asked.
“As far as I know, he’s never really cared about anyone, except himself. He was ambitious decades ago and it seems he hasn’t changed. There were even rumors he’d poisoned the previous Havad Velzo, who treated me like a son. Dagmar set things up for me to take the fall for the former Velzo’s death. I was attacked by some of his agents, narrowly escaped, and hid in the shield for Zaitiv’s statue. I was too weak to get out of the shield. I had to use what power I did have to hide and stay in stasis, right there under Dagmar’s nose.” Volpe motioned to Armando. “And then there you were, twenty five years later, being nosy and exposing me. Imagine my surprise when the shield dropped and I soon heard my father’s voice. I narrowly escaped again.”
Armando assessed Volpe, thinking about all the ways he could be vulnerable. “You talked about your father. So, who’s your mother?”
Volpe’s lips thinned, before he answered, “I don’t know. I had several female caretakers, but none of them claimed me. I’m guessing my father prevented that.”
“I know exactly who your mother is,” Xeira said.
“Then please don’t tell me her name. She’s safer that way.”
“And why’s that?” Armando asked.
“I hate her. What kind of woman would fall in love with Dagmar?”
Armando scoffed. “What makes you think you’re a child of love?”
Volpe laughed and shook his head. “You can shoot barbs at me all day, or we can make a plan.”
Armando took a deep breath and looked at Xeira. “What do you have in mind?”
Xeira leaned forward. “In exchange for providing testimony against Dagmar, I’ll protect Volpe and his family, including his mother.”
Volpe narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care about my mother. She—”
“Well I do,” Xeira said, her tone firm. “I know how she’s caught up in this. The right thing to do is to shield her.”
“Xeira, you’re really going to protect him?” Armando asked.
“It’s the deal I made and you can’t change that. I need you to handle your role, which is to inform Valeria. It wouldn’t be right to keep it from her. When the truth comes out to the public, at a time I decide, I don’t want her to be caught unaware.”
“And how is Valeria?” Volpe asked. “When I visited her in the hospital, she looked even frailer than you did.”
Armando flinched, disgusted that Volpe had even spoken his sister’s name.
“It’s not like you think,” Volpe said. “I watched over both of you, for as long as I could. Protected you. I even killed several of my father’s agents who wanted to finish what I started.”
Armando gritted his teeth. “Do you expect my gratitude?”
“No. I just want the record to be clear. I could have picked you off and chose not to. Even during these past few weeks, I had three perfect opportunities to kill you.” Volpe shrugged and gave him a cold smile. “And six imperfect ones.”
The power pulsed in Armando’s arms. “Maybe it wouldn’t have been as easy as you think, you fucking—”
Xeira held up a hand. “Enough. This is counterproductive.” She glanced at Volpe. “Stop antagonizing him.”
“I’m not,” Volpe said. “I’m speaking the plain truth. He needs to learn to handle it.”
Armando let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Izdahl massaged his shoulder. “I know this isn’t easy. We’ll work through it.”
“Is that so?” Volpe asked Izdahl. “I’ve been feeling your malice this entire time. What deep grievance do you have against me?”
Armando glanced at Izdahl, wondering what he’d say. He’d been quiet for most of the conversation.
Izdahl didn’t bother looking at Volpe. Instead, he focused on his great-grandmother. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes, I need to talk to just the two of you.” Xeira glanced at Volpe. “It’s time for you to return to your room.”
Four guards entered the study, silently looking at Volpe.
“Well, it was so very nice meeting you,” Volpe said, as he walked to the guards. “You three sound close. Such a tight-knit group. Some Nitelvosa and humans have all the luck.”
Armando glared at Volpe. “I’m not lucky. Half my family’s dead because of you.”
Izdahl patted Armando’s back. “All right. Let’s stay calm.”
“You should keep a tight rein on him,” Volpe said. “He could compromise everything.”
Izdahl rose to face Volpe. “You should know I’m more Ziyad than Amasi. Never forget that.”
Volpe took a step back, moving closer to the guards. Armando noted the deep fear that entered Volpe’s eyes.
“Izdahl...” Xeira said, her voice holding a warning.
Armando held onto Izdahl’s arm, feeling him struggling to restrain himself. He’d been quiet for most of the conversation, but now it was clear he’d been keeping in his rage and giving Armando room to speak.
“Volpe, our conversation is over for today,” Xeira said. “We’ll hammer out more details about your bargain tomorrow.”
The guards led Volpe away. Armando remained standing, staring at where Volpe had been, and trying to process all that had just happened.