Page 71 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Emor gives a rough laugh. “True, true. Well, we’d better wrangle some breakfast before we wage our little war.” He tugs one of his companion’s sleeves. “Come on, you can help me whip up some of my famous scrambled eggs.”

Most of the rebels duck into the next room, which I guess is the café’s kitchen. Voleska remains, crouching down to study the shield where she’s propped it against the wall.

I move to the window, peering out into the faint dawn glow that’s just touching the streets. Casimir starts helping Stavros with the false hand he’s made to help him blend in—a leather glove partly stuffed to fill out the fingers, that they’re hoping to fit over his metal prosthetic in disguise.

Rheave ambles over to join me. He gazes out into the back alley for a few moments before saying, “I wish we could give them the choice.”

I glance over at him. “Who?”

“The other daimon. I’m sure some of them simply want to be free. That’s all I wanted at first. But they’re not getting the chance to really own these bodies if they’d like to experience this kind of life for a while.”

My stomach twists. I hadn’t thought of the situation like that. “If there was a way we could simply snap them out of the scourge sorcerers’ control…”

Rheave aims a quiet smile at me that suddenly makes him look much older than his youthful looks suggest. “But there isn’t. I know. And it’s better for them to be free in their usual state than forced to do horrible things for the sorcerers. Once we’ve defeated the Order of the Wild, though, we should let the ones who are left decide what they’d prefer.”

“Of course.”

He lapses into an unusually pensive silence before turning his gaze more intently toward me. “You’re sure this is a good plan, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to it otherwise.” I furrow my brow. “Why—do you think it isn’t?”

The daimon-man shakes his head. “I don’t know either way. It’s only that… I realize that in the long time I was in this world before, I wasn’t interacting with humans the same way I do now. I didn’t fully understand what I saw happening between them. But there was an atmosphere around them sometimes… When they become angry, it’s difficult to predict how they’ll act. And anger seems to keep going and going until someone stops it.”

Hmm, Julita says. That’s rather wise from a being who’s only been semi-human for a few weeks.

It is. I can’t deny that he has a point.

Sometimes I forget that as young as Rheave can seem with his inexperience in the physical world, he really is much older than the rest of us. By human standards, I’d imagine his spirit self is nothing short of ancient.

“That’s true,” I say. “But sometimes you need to stir up that anger if you want to shake people out of complacency or fear. The important part is directing it at the right targets.”

“People aren’t that easy to direct when they’re upset, are they?”

I grimace. “No. We’ll do our best. We have to do something, and this seems like our best shot at making a significant difference quickly.”

Rheave offers me a wider smile, with a gleam of affection in his eyes that makes my heart skip a beat. “Humans are always doing something. All that sense of purpose used to confuse me. Things didn’t matter the same way to me before.”

He hesitates and then pats my shoulder. “But now that I understand, I like it.”

Something about his vocal appreciation makes my pulse wobble more—and a glow of hope light in my chest.

Yes, human beings are pretty amazing. They can create all kinds of horrors, but they can also fight with so much conviction to see those horrors overturned.

I don’t ever want to forget that.

Emor’s voice carries from the kitchen, calling us to breakfast. We eat standing along the counters, anticipation thrumming through the air. I barely taste the eggs, as good as I’m sure they are.

Casimir rubs my arm, pitching his voice so it’s just for me. “Are you okay with everything you committed to?”

I let myself lean into his warmth briefly. “Yes. I really am getting a handle on things. It’s… it’s good to be able to help without constantly worrying about doing damage at the same time.”

I glance down at the short sword he’s wearing on his belt and then over at Stavros, who’s drawn closer. “Are you two ready? It could be a mess.”

Stavros smiles grimly. “All the better for us to get in there and thin the scourge sorcerers’ numbers without being obvious about it. It’s about time they realized they can’t conquer Silana so easily.”

Casimir touches the hilt of his sword. “I may not be anywhere near as experienced in combat as our general is, but I’ll put what skills I do have to good use.”

It makes my heart ache to think of this sweet man spilling blood for the cause, but I know there’s no point in protesting. The scourge sorcerers set the tone with all the violence they’ve already carried out.

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