Alaric could have asked his father. The money would have been there within the hour. A single call, and Alaric's accounts would have been replenished.
But he refused.
His ego wouldn't allow it. Not after everything that had happened. He had set out to prove that he could reach the top without his father's hand guiding him, and accepting his money now would undermine every step he had taken on his own.
Especially after what his father had done with Selene.
After their agreement for him to stay in the Second Sanctuary, Alaric was ready to take what he wanted, the Spirit Arts Manual.
But the conditions attached to it had been designed to test Alaric's resolve, pushing him into a corner where Selene had nearly lost the manual entirely. His father had played him, using the manual as a chess piece in a game Alaric had unfortunately lost.
He had managed to navigate it in the end. Selene took the benefits of the manual. But the taste it left in his mouth hadn't faded.
