Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 2413

Sylas returned inside to find Cassarae, Xarvenya, and Nosphaleen stepping out from the bath together, their hair still damp while a faint warmth clung to their skin. There was something different about all three of them now, a softness and vitality that hadn't been there before, and even without his senses Sylas would have recognized the glow for what it was.

All three stopped when they saw him.

Nosphaleen was the first to react, surprise flashing across her face before a pleased smile replaced it, while Xarvenya simply raised a brow.

Cassarae studied Sylas for a moment longer than either of them before speaking. "You're still here?"

"I plan on being here more often." Sylas looked between them before his gaze settled on Cassarae. "Especially once the children are born."

Nosphaleen's smile brightened immediately, and even Xarvenya's expression softened, but Cassarae understood enough to hear what Sylas hadn't said. Contentment settled over part of her almost at once, since Sylas only slowed down like this when he felt the world had returned to a state he could control, and if he was willing to spend more time at home, then whatever threats remained outside probably weren't threats he considered meaningful anymore.

The other part of her didn't like it nearly as much.

Cassarae knew better than anyone how Sylas behaved when something interested him, whether that something was an enemy, a puzzle, or a path no one else seemed capable of seeing. He could look almost inhuman when he became absorbed in those things, yet underneath all of that he was still a person, and she didn't believe anyone could spend the rest of their life without a direction and remain unchanged by it.

"You need a bath," Cassarae decided.

Sylas looked at her, then at the three women who had quite clearly just finished taking one themselves, but Nosphaleen was already smiling as though the decision had been unanimous. Xarvenya turned back toward the bath house without complaint, leaving Sylas little reason to argue when he hadn't planned on doing anything else anyway.

...

Steam drifted lazily through the room by the time Sylas settled into the water, his shoulders resting against the edge while Cassarae sat behind him and began washing his back. Nosphaleen claimed one of his arms almost immediately, slowly running warm water over it while Xarvenya sat nearby with the composed elegance she seemed insistent on always maintaining regardless of the situation.

For several minutes, Cassarae didn't bring up anything important, letting Sylas lean back while three sets of hands moved around him and the tension he hadn't realized he still carried gradually disappeared. Then, once she was reasonably certain he had stopped expecting the conversation to become anything more than that, she looked toward Xarvenya.

"I've been wondering about something."

Xarvenya glanced toward her. "About the Demon World?"

Cassarae smiled slightly. "That obvious?"

"You have asked me six questions about it over the last two days. No matter how much you pretended it was casual conversation, I have much more experience than you do. I can feel the difference."

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