Celeste's POV
*****
"Absolutely not."
All heads turned in the direction of that thick baritone.
Azrael.
He shook his head, taking a couple of steps forward while my mother tilted her head at him.
"Excuse me?"
"I said no." He repeated flatly. "The risks of what she's about to do are just too much."
My fingers were gripping the edges of my top while my mother lowered her arms. She gave Azrael a sweeping look from his head to his toes.
"You think I don't know how dangerous it could be?" She finally muttered. "We're running out of options. My presence could help in anchoring her through the process—"
"Could." He was so close to stepping over the candles just to pull me out of there. "This is blood magic we're talking about. It's binding… and when dealing with people working for Nyx, that can be like stamping a death wish."
When I cut mom a look she seemed stunned.
Everyone else stayed silent, the only other person who didn't appear utterly confused being the Dean.
