Page 13 of The Immortal Covenant

“That explains the trembling, then,” Malorg replied, some of his tension fading.

Sarilian slowly craned his neck to stare up at him. “Did…did you just make a joke?”

A flash of annoyance morphed Malorg’s nascent smile into a scowl. Not because of the Celestial’s teasing, but because it meant that he’d once again forgotten himself and let down his guard. He strode forward. “Come on. We’re close.”

Sarilian staggered to his feet and stumbled after him. Without looking, Malorg held out an arm. Sarilian clutched it, steadying himself. He fixed Malorg with a grin. “You should try it more often—joking, that is. Humor suits you.”

Malorg ignored the jibe. Eternal Dark, why had he suggested this asinine plan, let alone gone through with it? There was little chance this whole thing wouldn’t end in disaster.

Another thought occurred to him then, and he jerked to a halt.

Sarilian, still dizzy from the duskwalking, almost lost his footing and fell face-first. He scowled at Malorg, swatting weakly at his arm. “Did I mention the mild vertigo and the less-than-mild nausea?”

“We can’t go to Twilight,” Malorg said. “Not yet.” Sarilian frowned, and Malorg could sense more questions or complaints brewing. He cut them off before the Celestial could get started. “We’re in the heart of the Dusklands, where thousands of Infernals reside.” He raked his gaze meaningfully up and down Sarilian’s body, trying not to linger on his broad chest or bunched biceps. “And you’re not exactly inconspicuous.”

Comprehension filled Sarilian’s face, his expression clearing. “Ah. Right.” He scratched at his cropped blond hair. “I don’t suppose Celestial emissaries are a common sight here?”

Malorg grimaced at the mention of emissaries, the word conjuring memories of past failings he’d sooner forget. “So far as I know, you’re the first Celestial to set foot here in centuries.”

“I’m honored.” Sarilian tapped a finger against his chin, his eyes eventually lighting up. Malorg bit back an answering grin at the Celestial’s infectious enthusiasm. “I got it! Duskflame works well for illusions, right?”

Guessing what Sarilian intended, Malorg let out a grunt. “That might work. Here.”

Conjuring more of his duskflame, Malorg leaned in and pressed both palms to Sarilian’s chest.No armor, he realized as his fingers encountered solid muscle beneath Sarilian’s thin tunic. He considered chiding Sarilian on his lack of caution, but who was he to judge anyone else’s reckless behavior?

As with the darkvision, he let his duskflame flow into Sarilian and course over the Celestial’s flesh. This time, however, the enchantment had a tough time taking hold.

Malorg frowned. “It’s not working. I think your magic is stopping the illusion from stabilizing.”

“I could try adding dawnflame to the spell. It’s not particularly great for crafting illusions, but it still concerns the manipulation of light. Besides, it amplified your magic before. Maybe it’ll do something similar now.”

“As I recall, last time we combined our magics, it blew up a voidspawn.”

“Only because that was our intent!” A slight crease appeared in Sarilian’s brow. “Though, I suppose it pays to be cautious. Here.” He conjured a small ball of dawnflame that hovered in the air between them. Although the Dusklands left its light dim and flickering, the orb managed to sustain its form. “Try imbuing this with duskflame.”

Malorg considered the floating orb for a moment. Then, he shrugged and did as requested, shaping his magic so that italigned with the weaves of Sarilian’s spell. The light’s golden hue instantly darkened to a deeper shade as black duskflame infused it. At the same time, its glow intensified until its previous dim light shone bright enough to illuminate the nearby trees.

“It worked!” Sarilian said, sounding delighted. A wave of his hand sent the orb circling them.

Narrowing his eyes, Malorg kept his gaze riveted on the orb. “The conflicting magics appear stable.” He shook his head. “Even though they shouldn’t.”

Sarilian halted the orb with a twitch of his fingers, returning it to hover in front of them. “According to whom?”

“According toeveryone!You know the Immortal Realm’s origins as well as I do. The Progenitors might have intended to create a unified bastion against the Void, but when tensions arose over how best to combat the threat, even they recognized the need to divide the realm between the Dawnlands and Dusklands.” Memories of jagged screams floating across a silver field echoed in Malorg’s ears, and he clenched his jaw. “Such a separation is for the best.”

Appearing unperturbed by Malorg’s pronouncement, Sarilian dismissed the ball of light with a shrug. “No amount of ancient history can change what I saw when you aided me against those voidspawn. Maybe dawnflame and duskflame have always had the potential to empower one another, but no one ever bothered to try before.” His golden eyes twinkled as he grinned. “Or perhaps it’s simplyusthat fit so well together.”

A scowl split Malorg’s face. He turned to stare at the gnarled trees surrounding them, trying to ignore the sudden, uncomfortable jittering in his belly. “One successful experiment doesn’t guarantee nothing will go wrong if we attempt to replicate the results on you.”

“You’re right,” Sarilian agreed cheerfully. “But that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Malorg hesitated. Neither of them fully comprehended the unusual fusion of their magic. As he’d warned, it could be dangerous. However, one look into Sarilian’s bright, eager eyes had him ready to agree to anything. “Very well. But theinstantyou feel anything amiss, tell me.”

“Aw,” Sarilian teased as Malorg approached and rested a hand flickering with duskflame on his chest. “Are you worried about me? I’d think concern for a Celestial would violate some sort of Infernal code of conduct.”

Malorg didn’t reply, his left eyelid twitching. The Dark-cursed Celestial certainly knew how to get under his skin. When he’d finished applying the illusion, he stepped back. Just like before, the duskflame continued to roil instead of settling. “Your turn. Be careful.”

Sarilian grinned as the faint glow of dawnflame rose around him. The Celestial’s magic mixed with Malorg’s own, golden threads twining throughout the enchantment. All at once, the stubborn illusion snapped into place.

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