Chapter 953: Absolutely Certain

Kyyle watched Spider’s back until it vanished into the throngs of mages, his lips pressed so thin that they were starting to turn white.

Today had not gone at all how he’d expected it to. Then again, all things considered, it most certainly could have been worse. The Truthseekers had nearly ruined everything that they’d been working toward by having their crazed mercenary drag them all into a fight that none of them were prepared for.

That part didn’t surprise Kyyle. Those fools were barely ever coherent for long enough to pull off an organized assault. They’d have been wiped out a long time ago if not for Orlen. Working with them in any capacity was a huge gamble. But, unfortunately, the Prophet had decided that they were necessary.

As much as Kyyle disagreed with that sentiment… it wasn’t his place to voice those issues. The Prophet had been very clear about that. And Kyyle was not stupid enough to try and challenge the Prophet. A very large aspect of war was knowing when to wage one.

A fight against the Prophet was not one he would win.

It wasn’t one that the other Apostles would win either. He had his place for a reason.

Really, he was just thankful that the Truthseekers had been clever enough to send someone that wasn’t a deluded, brainwashed fool to do their bidding. Spider had more than taste. He was actually competent. Not only had he managed to call off whatever plan Orlen’s goons had come up with in a span of just a few moments, but he’d also done it while siphoning the attention the move had generated into a pointless performance.

Kyyle had initially been quite convinced that something else was going on. That Spider had been hiding a separate goal or somehow working with Vivian to try and worm his way into their group. The fact that he’d managed to find them twice in the enormous dining halls was incredibly suspicious.

The suspicion had only grown when Spider had coincidentally recognized someone in the crowd and started speaking to them like an old friend. He’d also seemingly been quite protective of them before Revin had shown up to interfere. But the cards had finally fallen into place.

Spider wasn’t protective of the woman. He’d been trying to protect himself and his reputation. Nobody wanted to go around admitting that the shadow hanging over their past was, in fact, a slighted ex-wife that was more powerful than they were.

And that was indubitably the truth. No matter what Spider tried to claim about being equally as powerful, his former partner was very clearly the stronger of the two. That was why she had him dancing on strings being polite to her daughter and trying to make sure nobody found about the relationship.

Gods. How embarrassing.

His fears had indeed been quenched quite thoroughly. Kyyle had known that Spider was hiding something. And now he knew what it was — and exactly why the other man had gone through such lengths to try and hide it.

Unfortunately, that knowledge hadn’t come for free.

The pile of fingers on the floor were making that very clear. There was still a chill running down Kyyle’s back. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from them. Spider had barely reacted to the cat when it had appeared on his shoulder. But he definitely hadn’t felt it coming. Nobody could have. Not with Aqua Terra’s barriers in place.

That meant he was quite accustomed to the beast. A beast that had somehow traveled through the party without drawing any attention whatsoever from the people running it. A beast that had quite recently liberated someone of far more fingers than they had any right to have in the first place.

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Kyyle had absolutely no delusions as to what kind of monster would be able to pull that off. There really weren’t many options in the first place. If something could teleport around Aqua Terra without notifying anyone, then it was either powerful beyond belief… or it had permission.

Or both.

Either way, there were a few too many puzzle pieces that slotted together far too well.

A powerful messenger bearing threats from an ex-wife that was clearly stronger than Spider. An ex-wife that had a network running deep enough to not only spy to make sure that he was showing her daughter the appropriate respect but also fast enough to send him and Spider a threat.

The number of mages strong enough to do such a thing anywhere else in Obsidia were very, very few.

The number of mages strong enough to do such a thing inside Aqua Terra, right under the noses of some of the most powerful people in Obsidia, without a single person catching on…

Kyyle swallowed.

There were only two that he could think of.

And even though he hadn’t managed to feel any of the cat’s magic, he’d caught a very brief glimpse of its appearance. That hadn’t been much. But it had been enough to give him a pretty strong resemblance of another mage’s power.

The pure white fur as clean as freshly fallen snow and the malice in its eyes… there was nearly no doubt about it. This cat had ties, no matter how distant, to Renewal. And that lowered the potential options for Spider’s ex-wife down to just one woman.

One very, very terrifying woman.

Kyyle tried to think of another option. He tried very hard. But none came to mind. There simply weren’t any other ways to reframe this. It all lined up too perfectly. Spider’s fear of being discovered, as if there were eyes everywhere, the speed of the threat, the cat’s ability to move in the party without being stopped, all of it painted an undeniable picture.

Vivian.

Spider had somehow gotten into bed with the Prophet of Renewal.

Kyyle wasn’t sure if he was more impressed or horrified at the mere thought. But if he had been asked to come up with the most powerful, petty, Rank 8 mage in Obsidia… Vivian would have been the first answer that came to mind even before he’d met Spider.

This was her, all right.

He hadn’t realized that she’d gotten married at any point. But such things were easy to conceal. Especially if the marriage hadn’t lasted long. As for her daughter… she clearly hadn’t been Spider’s. He’d made that much clear. That meant Vivian had probably had her with a different mage and hidden her identity.

That was very good to know.

Some idle part at the back of Kyyle’s mind was also entirely unsurprised to find that Vivian had somehow failed to hold down two separate relationships. She wasn’t exactly the caring sort.

It really didn’t matter. What did matter was that Vivian was now going to be looking at him and the other Apostles very closely. If she thought they were trying to go after her daughter…

He felt his skin go a shade paler. They couldn’t afford that. If there was one thing Kyyle was absolutely certain of, it was that Vivian was quite possibly the pettiest woman in the entirety of Obsidia. She would break her own rules and accept the punishment purely to spite anyone who dared openly defy her.

The warning she’d sent via her cat made that very clear. Revin might have been involved with Vivian as well. That would explain how he’d managed to get into his shadow without setting Vivian’s alarms off by using magic within her party. She probably had Revin keeping an eye on her brat.

We definitely can’t afford to get any close to her daughter. Vivian giving us any more scrutiny than she already is will ruin everything. But if we’re with her ex-husband… well, she clearly doesn’t like him much at all. She only interfered after I got close to both of them. It wasn’t Spider that she was trying to protect.

That meant they could probably continue as they were so long as they maintained a wide berth from Vivian’s spawn. That was definitely doable. It probably meant that Revin wouldn’t come bothering them either. He wasn’t here for them. Vivian had almost certainly just paid him to make sure nobody tried anything funny.

Kyyle looked back down at the pile of fingers on the ground. He blew out a slow breath. They were walking a tightrope. But things hadn’t come crashing down yet. They’d averted the disaster. And there was one very good thing about the whole situation.

It was beneficial enough to bring a faint smile to Kyyle’s lips as he turned on his heel and strode into the crowd in the opposite direction that Spider had taken.

Spider clearly hated his ex-wife. This whole job was personal to him. And if he had his own stakes in making sure that Vivian’s power was shaken, he’d be far more reliable. After all, nobody was going to go telling a former partner that they despised about plans to be rid of them.

There was no chance that Spider was a double agent for Vivian.

Kyyle was completely certain of it.