Page 159 of Wings of Sacrifice
“Okay.”
I circled the symbol and the description of Michael and my exposed back. Then I stood to leave. As desperate as I was to continue, I needed to get to my squad.
Cato pointed at the symbol I circled. “That’s a Severance Rune.”
My mouth popped open for a moment. Did Cato actually give me a straight answer without me even asking for one?
“It wasn’t in the book of runes,” I finally replied.
“No. There are some Sanguis Runes I left out of the tome I gave you.”
Of course. I shouldn’t even be surprised.
“What does it do?” I asked, pushing my luck.
Cato straightened, scrutinizing me.
All my studying must’ve paid off because he gave me a sharp nod.
“It separates power into two coexisting halves. One remains accessible, while the other is sealed away to create the illusion of diluted powers.”
I scribbled down his answer with a giant smile.
I still had the newest images to figure out, but it was a start.
When I finished, he retreated with what I swore was almost a smile of his own.
I staredat the arena’s heavy wooden doors, listening to the sounds of swords clashing and warriors’ victory cries, knowing what waited for me on the other side.
“They’re never going to listen to me,” I muttered to myself.
It weighed as much on my shoulders as… well, everything.
The heavy wooden door opened, and I stepped back in surprise.
“Then make them,” Ronen said.
“Were you there the entire time?”
“No. But you’re late. I was coming to find you,” he explained.
I peered over his shoulder at my squad in dread.
“How do I make them?”
“Force them to. Threaten them.”
I scoffed.
“I tried.” Kind of.
“Do you want me to talk to them?” His shadows seeped into his eyes.
If Ronen intervened, there would be no talking.
“No.” I’d lose all leverage then. This was my problem. “Threatening them into submission isn’t going to work for me.” At least not on Matt and Dusty—not unless I showed them everything I could do. But would that even earn me their respect? “And I think there’s enough fear going around.”
“It’s our way, Hellion. Suffer?—”
