Page 52 of The Immortal Covenant

Yet, if anything, Malorg only grew worse as the meeting continued. Gone were the slight smiles and shared looks. Polite banter drowned beneath strict formality, and each passing comment devolved into a bitter argument.

Halfway through their allotted time, Sarilian caught Darius’ exasperated expression. He hoped his own face was doing a better job hiding his irritation.

Clearly, that kiss on the rooftop had affected Malorg even more than Sarilian had feared. Merciful Light, Sarilian should have known better than to give in to his attraction. That brief moment of weakness had only made things that much more difficult for both of them.

When the meeting concluded, Malorg didn’t wait around, rushing out of his seat and into the hall before Sarilian had even stood from his chair. Sarilian darted ahead of the rest of his delegation, desperate to catch him. But by the time he reached the hall, Malorg was already a blur of shadow vanishing around the corner.

Sarilian let out an annoyed huff. He considered pursuing, but he’d never be able to catch Malorg if he didn’t want to be found. Instead, he waited impatiently for the other delegates to catch up.

“Yet another waste of time,” Faeris sighed with an annoyed shake of her head. “So much for negotiating with these stubborn Infernals.”

For once, Sarilian didn’t bother defending Malorg. She was right. They should be past such pointless antics. Frustration boiled his insides, both at himself for allowing a kiss that risked ruining everything and at Malorg for going back on his word to take the Accords seriously.

“Perhaps things will be better next week,” Darius said, glancing at Sarilian with what might have been sympathy. “Come—let us return to Daybreak.”

Still grumbling among themselves, the delegation proceeded down the hall. Sarilian started after them before hesitating.

Darius noticed his absence first. “Everything all right, Sarilian?”

Usually, this was when Sarilian would retreat with Malorg to their private sitting room. While it seemed like a long shot after that disastrous meeting, he held out the faintest thread of hope he’d find Malorg waiting for him there.

“Everything’s fine. There’s just something I want to look into. I’ll be along to the waypoint shortly—no need to wait for me.”

Faeris shook her head. “I can’t imagine why you’d want to spend an instant longer in this dreadful place than you have to.”

Darius arched a brow, narrowing his eyes at Sarilian. “I know you’re committed to these talks, Emissary, but there’s only so much you can do to force Infernals to see reason. Perhaps you should save your efforts for our next session?”

Despite his discomfort at the Aspect’s scrutiny, Sarilian stood his ground. “As always, I appreciate your advice, sir. But this is something I have to do. Trust me.”

Darius gave him a long, searching look—the kind that never failed to make Sarilian squirm like an impetuous child. At last, he nodded. “Very well. Take care.”

The Aspect’s vaguely ominous parting words echoed in Sarilian’s head as he did his best to navigate to their usual sitting room in the dim light without a guide. Eventually, he found the place, but there was no sign of Malorg within the mountaintop refuge.

Sarilian had expected no less. Still, he couldn’t completely muffle his disappointment.

Remembering their shared moment atop the Citadel, that disappointment morphed into anger. He and Malorg might not be lovers anymore, but he’d thought they were tentatively finding their way back to friends. Malorg owed him better than this. Merciful Light, he owed hispeoplebetter than to selfishly abandon the Accords, throwing away their progress on a whim.

So, what am I going to do about it?

The easiest option would be to do as Darius suggested—meet up with his delegation, return to Daybreak, and try to speak with Malorg again next week. However, that seemed destined to accomplish little. What was to stop Malorg from pulling this same vanishing routine indefinitely?

Sarilian could confront him in public and deprive Malorg of that chance. But he didn’t dare risk exposingwhythis tension lay between them. No, what he needed was some other way to reach Malorg in private—one the Infernal couldn’t simply retreat from.

Slowly, his gaze focused on the door leading out of the sitting room, a crazy plan percolating. If Malorg had fled the Citadel, the most obvious place for him to go would be his apartment in Twilight. Sarilian could exit the Dusk Citadel easily enough—the guards were used to the Celestial delegates by now, barely even bothering to sneer. But the instant he tried to deviate from his prescribed route to venture into the city, he’d be spotted.

Unless…unless he didn’tlooklike a Celestial.

His magic might not be as good at forming illusions as Malorg’s, but what was an illusion if not a certain bending of light? He’d watched Malorg disguise him as an Infernal countless times. Could he replicate some version of that enchantment with dawnflame instead of duskflame?

The answer, much to Sarilian’s chagrin, was a resoundingno. Perhaps if he’d been in the Dawnlands, his magic at full strength,he’d have had more luck. As it was, however, the spell collapsed before he could finish weaving it. So much for his daring plan.

He moved toward the door, ready to give up and rendezvous with Darius and the others, when he suddenly recalled the walls in that tower. Unlike other duskflame enchantments he’d seen, the walls hadn’t changed color or adopted a fluctuating pattern—they’d gone completely transparent despite remaining solid. A faint flush shivered down his spine at the memory of Malorg shoving him against one, proving as much.

Such a uniform change seemed simpler than maintaining a complex disguise. Could his dawnflame manage that feat more readily?

After a good deal of trial and error, triumph surged through him when he held up a hand rendered nearly imperceptible as light bent around it. The enchantment was more akin to camouflage than pure invisibility, but so long as he avoided places where he’d stand out too much, he should be able to blend in with his surroundings.

He thought of Darius and gave a nervous chuckle. Merciful Light, what would his mentor say if he could see Sarilian now? Somehow, he doubted the Aspect of Justice would approve of how Sarilian was putting his lessons to use. Trickery and deception were supposed to be the domain of the Infernals, not a self-respecting Celestial warrior.

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