Warlock Ch 163. Ga On
Cassius tilted his head, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "Oh? And why not? He's my apprentice. Anything you have to say to , you can say in front of him."
Damian's stomach tightened, but he kept his expression neutral, his hands clasped behind his back. He wasn't sure whether Cassius was testing him or just enjoying the chaos, but either way, he wasn't about to slip up.
Aria's jaw tightened, her frustration evident. "Fine," she said after a mont, her tone clipped. "But don't bla if he learns more than he should."
Cassius' smirk widened slightly. "I'll take that risk."
Damian resisted the urge to glare at Cassius. 'Of course you will,' he thought bitterly. 'Because you're not the one she's trying to expose.'
But outwardly, he remained composed, ready to play the role Cassius had set for him. The ga was on, and Damian was determined to win.
The silence in the room was heavy, pressing against Damian's chest like an invisible weight. He stood at attention, feigning deference while his mind raced. Every instinct told him to tread carefully, to pick up every thread of the conversation and weave it into the facade he needed to maintain.
Aria's sharp gaze shifted between him and Cassius, clearly weighing her next words.
Damian knew her well enough—knew that she wasn't the type to mince words or waste ti. Whatever she was about to say would cut straight to the bone.
Cassius, of course, looked utterly unbothered. He lounged in his chair with his usual air of smug superiority, one hand resting lightly on the armrest while the other toyed with the edge of his teacup. The faintest hint of amusent played on his lips, as if this entire situation was just another one of his gas. And maybe it was. Damian wouldn't put it past him.
Aria's voice broke the silence like a blade through glass. "I'll be blunt."
Her tone was as sharp as the look in her eyes, and Damian felt the air shift, his pulse quickening. But he kept his face carefully neutral, his stance that of a diligent apprentice caught in a conversation far above his station.
"I've been following leads," Aria continued, her words deliberate. "Rumors, whispers—about Kaelan."
Damian's heart thudded painfully against his ribs, but he didn't so much as blink. Instead, he shifted slightly, as if uncomfortable at the ntion of the na, hoping it would read as ignorance rather than guilt.
Cassius tilted his head slightly, his expression a mask of polite curiosity. "And?" he prompted, his tone light but his gaze unyielding.
"And I've found enough to know he's not gone," Aria said, her voice steady and cutting. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on Cassius like a predator sizing up its prey. "You can't expect to believe you don't know anything, Cassius. If Kaelan is out there, alive or waiting for the right mont to co back, you'd be one of the first to know."
Cassius didn't flinch, didn't react at all. He simply took a slow sip of his tea, as if her accusation were no more pressing than a mild inconvenience. "Interesting theory," he said finally, setting his cup down with a soft clink. "But what makes you so certain he's still around? The last ti I checked, Kaelan was a na relegated to history."
Aria's gaze darkened, her voice sharpening. "Don't play coy with , Cassius. You and I both know he wouldn't go down that easily. Kaelan was… is… an anomaly. And anomalies don't just disappear."
Damian's fingers curled slightly, hidden behind his back. His stomach churned at her words, but he kept his expression carefully blank. He risked a glance at Cassius, silently praying the man wouldn't do sothing reckless—or worse, sothing helpful.
Cassius leaned back in his chair, his smirk deepening. "You sound almost impressed," he said, his tone practically dripping with amusent. "It's rare to hear you speak about Kaelan with anything other than disdain."
"Don't twist my words," Aria snapped, her composure slipping just enough to show the raw edge of her frustration. "You know as well as I do that Kaelan was dangerous. Too dangerous. If he's back, the balance is at risk—again. And this ti, it might not recover."
Cassius shrugged lightly, as though the world she was describing was little more than a feather on his shoulder. "And yet, all you have are rumors and whispers. Hardly enough to go on."
"I have more than that," Aria countered, her gaze narrowing further. "I've seen signs. Traces of his power—unmistakable. He's out there, Cassius. And if you're hiding him, if you're protecting him—"
"Then what?" Cassius interrupted, his voice calm but carrying an edge that silenced her imdiately. His eyes t hers, and for the first ti, there was sothing sharp and dangerous in his expression. "What exactly do you plan to do, Aria?"
The tension in the room was suffocating, and Damian fought to keep his breathing steady. He shifted again, this ti letting a faint frown touch his face, as if the conversation were making him uncomfortable.
Aria straightened, her tone hardening. "I plan to stop him. Whatever it takes."
"And yet," Cassius said smoothly, leaning forward slightly, "you're here. Talking to . Hoping for what? That I'll hand him over if he exists? That I'll betray soone I might or might not even know?" He chuckled softly, the sound more cutting than kind. "You're grasping, Aria. And you know it."
Damian's pulse quickened as Aria's eyes flicked toward him briefly, then back to Cassius. "And what about him?" she asked, her voice sharp. "Your apprentice. What's his connection to all of this?"
Cassius raised an eyebrow, his smirk returning. "My apprentice? He's a promising young warlock, eager to learn and far from ready to be dragged into whatever conspiracy you've cooked up. Isn't that right?" He turned his gaze to Damian, his expression unreadable.
Damian straightened, bowing his head slightly. "Yes, Master. I'm only here to learn from you. I don't know anything about… Kaelan." He let the na linger awkwardly, as if it were unfamiliar to him.
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