Ciprian couldn't conceal his shock at the audacity of what Sonia had just said. And the other two were obviously in on it.
"What is this? Are you trying to remove me from power?"
"I don't know. Will you be honest with us?" Sonia tilted her head.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Ciprian pounded his fist on the table. "This is outrageous. If anything, I will be the one deciding if you still deserve to be at *my* side. You can't remove me even if you wanted to. *I* am the True Core. No one else."
A pulse of energy rippled out from his fist like water rippling around a dropped stone. The plate that held his supper rattled in place and didn't stop until Cato slowly reached out and stilled it with the tip of one finger.
That calm reaction infuriated Ciprian even more. It made him feel like he was a petulant child, and they were the real adults in the room who had decided to break him of a bad habit by not giving him what he wanted.
