Page 3937

Hector said nothing, instead just letting Caster continue thinking it over. Frankly, if Caster wanted to rescind his offer, then he would be fine with that, too. He could try to help Loren out later, if needed.

The more pressing matter was ensuring that this spatial distortion on his body was actually removed. However the rest of this conversation played out, he didn’t intend to let that little trick get overlooked before they were done here today.

-+-+-+-+-

The old palace rumbled again, stirring him awake.

Rather than being alarmed, however, he merely exhaled and rolled over in his large bed. At least it wasn’t the middle of the night, this time. The others had waited until morning to start fighting.

Ugh.

There was so much to be done, still. He’d been putting it off the past few days, hoping that word would finally arrive of Grandfather’s whereabouts, but perhaps it was time to get on with things.

The swirling rumors didn’t help, of course--rumors that Grandfather wasn’t just abroad on another of his archaic hunts or conquests.

Rumors that he was actually, truly gone, this time.

Vanished in the great storm, like so many others.

Vasiliy didn’t believe any of them, though. He’d lived too long and seen Grandfather disappear too many times for this development to be in any way worrying for him.

At least, with regard to Grandfather’s well-being, that was. There were plenty of tangential worries that were getting to him.

Such as the Great Project. The centuries-long vision of their clan.

Grandfather’s latest venture in Ardora had been meant to uncover the means of solving long-enduring problems regarding soul sustainment. The artificial atmospheres that they had been working on over the last half-century were still only passable, at best.

But it seemed that wasn’t to be.

Vasiliy hadn’t wanted to admit it, but this procrastinating wasn’t helping anything. Just because the rumors about Grandfather were exaggerated nonsense didn’t mean that the Project shouldn’t still proceed on without him.

In fact, if he returned after a long absence and found no progress, Vasiliy knew from personal experience that he would be quite cross indeed.

Yes. As his eyes slid open, he resolved that he would battle his way over to the new testing facility today. The civil war that was currently taking place within the family was certainly a headache, but it was also none of his concern. If any of the fools got in his way, he would put them down like the rabid dogs they were.