“No,” Leonid replied easily. “We have been here too long. It is quite clear that you have both exhausted yourselves. Only one Castor can break the spell, and he is not here.”
“Your faith in us is truly heartwarming,” Lucas snorted.
“I have always been honest,” Leonid said with no qualms. “You know I am right. Whatever extra is needed, there is only one Castor who may possess it.”
“It seems I have arrived at the right time then,” Cord said as he strode into the room. “Still nothing?” he asked Lucas as he crossed the room to him.
“No.” Lucas carefully looked over the Castor. “What’s happened, why do you look exhausted?”
Cord shrugged, his face impassive before he turned to Leonid. “She was injured, they both were. They are fine, neither has woken yet, their injuries still need healing.” He turned to Rorik. “Pure Prime Castor Rorik, could I ask either you or Castor Jameis to return to the Pure Castors’ medical wing and carry out the necessary healing?”
“What do you meaninjured?” Leonid snapped, rising to his feet.
“Who has been aiding them that they cannot heal them fully?” Rorik asked at the same time.
Cord looked between the two males, and ignoring Leonid for the moment, he focused on Rorik. “We did not let any Castor near them or Marcus. We no longer know who to trust.”
“My Castors are fully trustworthy,” Rorik retorted sharply.
“It was Pure Castors that were under the mountain before I returned,” Leonid said as he remembered the conversation with Malack. “He said that they had been in conversations with Viktor and the others, not my wife.”
“My Cast is not tainted,” Rorik said furiously.
“I think perhaps we need to accept that all of our Casts, Sentinels, Vampyres and Lycans have sympathisers to the Darkness,” Cord said as he sat down heavily. “The free packs were fighting with the Drakhyn that Marcus fought, and they were in the ambush on Tegan and the others.” He lifted tired eyes to Rorik. “You can see the Mark, Lucas and Garrick trust you, she would benefit from your care.”
Rorik looked like he was about to say something, then with a firm nod, he cast the powders to portal and was gone.
“Can I get told now?” Leonid asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
“Of course,” Cord murmured as he looked over the papers on the table the two Primes had been studying when he came in. “Is this the spell?” he asked Leonid.
“Yes.” Leonid was close to losing his temper. However, as Cord sat and read the notes and the spell, he was able to recount the events to Leonid and Lucas, who both sat and absorbed his retelling with horror.
“They are bold,” Lucas said once he was finished.
“She will recover?” Leonid asked quietly.
“She will. I healed most of the bleeding, but I am limited in healing,” Cord said as he looked up, his eyes alight with mischief. “Caring isn’t really my forte.”
Lucas muttered under his breath, which Leonid heard and Cord ignored. “Does it make sense to you?” Lucas asked curiously. “I’ve only seen one spell as intricate as that, which a non-Castor could do, once before.”
“Some of it makes no sense,” Cord admitted. He pointed at a symbol. “I haven’t seen this, what is it?”
Leonid huffed in disbelief. “I thought you would know, it’s inked on your back.”
Cord looked up and studied him. “This mark here? Is on the Mark of Velvore?”
“I would have seen it,” Lucas said in denial.
“It is,” Leonid said. “If you would remove your clothing, I can show the Dark Prime.”
“One of these days, someone will buy me dinner first,” Cord mumbled as he pulled off his jacket and then his shirt. He turned his back to them both and heard their intake of breath. “Yes, I know, it’s grown.”
“When did it become coloured?” Leonid asked curiously. “It was not like this before.”
“It’s a very long story,” Cord said with gritted teeth.
“The birds are the Ravens?” Leonid said quietly. “But the colour is also theirs.”