Page 40 of The Immortal Covenant

As Pelorak melted into a pool of darkness, Malorg gathered himself enough to hobble to a chair by the table and sink into it.Though the pain Pelorak had conjured was gone, the aftereffects lingered, leaving Malorg weak and dizzy, as if he’d fought off a hundred voidspawn. Pelorak certainly hadn’t possessedthatkind of power back in the day. It must be a token of his seat, part of an Aspect’s deeper connection to the Immortal Realm.

Mentally replaying the brief encounter, Malorg gritted his teeth. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that Pelorak was pursuing some hidden agenda. Was it as simple as him seeking to leverage the existence of the Accords to improve his position with the other Aspects? Or did he have a more insidious plot underway? All Malorg could be certain of was that whatever Pelorak hoped to achieve, he intended to use Malorg as a pawn.

Not that it mattered. For the moment, Malorg had no choice but to obey and find some way to set aside his past with Sarilian so they could focus on their shared goals. In the meantime, however, he’d covertly investigate Pelorak’s true scheme until he figured out what the Aspect of Ambition was up to…and then, if necessary, do everything in his power to thwart it.

sixteen

Sarilian

“These Accords are awaste of time.”

Sarilian glanced at Darius and stifled a sigh as they walked together through the immaculate marble halls of the Dawn Citadel. Every surface gleamed as if with its own sheen of light, leaving no corner of the massive, high-ceilinged rooms in shadow. Other than the white stone, tasteful gold accents spaced at even intervals served as the palace’s only decorations.

The Aspect wasn’t wrong. These past few weeks had been an exercise in patience. Each time they returned to the Dusklands, Sarilian tried to put on a fresh face and approach things with cautious optimism. And each time, Malorg’s stubbornness hit him anew like a slap to the face.

The memory of their argument after that disastrous first meeting sent a flush of shame coursing through him. How could Malorg think so little of him and what they had shared? It was as if he’d taken Sarilian’s presence as a personal affront. At least Sarilian was willing to give peace a chance. Malorgseemed determined to let their animosity ruin any hope of reconciliation.

“I am certain the Dusk Emissary and I can manage to better communicate our differing points of view,” he replied.

“How very diplomatic.” Darius shook his head, his expression souring further as they passed beneath an arch and entered the grand hall marking the Dawn Citadel’s entrance. “Hard to believe he’s the same Infernal I once watched preach for amicable compromise. Centuries spent in the Dusklands must have dimmed whatever reasonableness he once possessed.”

Sarilian bit back the instant retort on his tongue. It wasn’t his place to defend Malorg, particularly not after how the Infernal had been behaving. His gaze lingered on the Celestial seal inlaid in the floor as they tread over its gold lines, a hollowness filling him.

Like Daybreak itself, this entire structure stood as a testament to Celestial restraint and their devotion to preserving order. Yet where Sarilian had once seen pristine beauty, he now saw empty artifice. With its blank walls and echoing corridors, the Dawn Citadel reminded him of a tomb: a lifeless monument devoted to an unachievable ideal.

That’s your frustration talking. The Dawn Citadel’s not the problem—youare.

Sarilian exhaled. “I know the last few weeks have been challenging. But I have faith we’ll find a way forward.”

If I can just convince Malorg to stop being so Light-blinded stubborn…

Darius leaned in, lowering his voice so his words wouldn’t carry. “The Dawn Council grows impatient. Our own reports show no sign of increased voidspawn activity, and while any potential threat warrants a thorough investigation, the consensus is that, if the Infernals won’t take these talks seriously, then why should we?”

“But sir, we’re immortal! The current Dawn Aspects have all ruled forcenturies. What are a few more months or even years if it means genuine progress?”

Darius’ expression grew distant, his eyes uncharacteristically heavy with melancholy. His voice, when he spoke, came out weary. “You’re too young to have felt it yet—the slow creep of years, into decades, into centuries. Memories of past deeds fading until they are nearly as lost and foreign to us as our own recollections of the Mortal Realm. It is our very eternal nature that drives us to seek out new experiences—fresh ways to combat the tedium of our endless existence so that we continue to feel alive.”

The Aspect’s words stirred up memories of similar sentiments Malorg had espoused. A tight knot formed in Sarilian’s gut. Did all Immortals eventually come to feel Malorg’s same hopelessness and were simply better at hiding it? Was that to be Sarilian’s fate someday as well?

A wry chuckle escaped Darius’ throat. “For all we Celestials like to pretend to be perfect, ascendant beings, the truth is that, at our core, we are little different from the mortals we once were. The Progenitors created us that way, ensuring we still laugh, still cry—still feel pain and joy and loneliness. Still feel love.”

Sarilian swore Darius’ keen gaze flicked to him for a brief second before shifting away as he continued. “Faced with the alienness of the Void, the Progenitors feared fabricating their own inhuman protectors. They wanted beings who could think and act on their own—who, despite forgetting their mortal existences, remembered on some unconscious level what it was like tobehuman.” The Aspect chuckled. “And part of being human is eagerly awaiting results.”

“In that case, sir,” Sarilian said with a small smile, “we’ll have to make sure we don’t disappoint.”

He clung to that newfound optimism as they exited the Dawn Citadel and set off down a wide boulevard forged from silver that shimmered like liquid glass. The occasional Celestial bowed to Darius as they passed, the Aspect returning their gesture with a respectful nod. As they neared the dawnbeam waypoint, however, Sarilian’s hope began to wane.

He could spout platitudes until the end of time, but unless Malorg chose to cooperate with them, they stood little chance of making any actual progress. And based on Malorg’s attitude these past weeks, cooperation didn’t seem likely. Perhaps the Dawn Council was right to question their endeavor. Perhaps this new Covenant had been a doomed effort from the start.

In the blink of an eye and a blinding flash of light, a dawnbeam transported them to the temporary waypoint they’d set up in Twilight. Faeris was already there along with the rest of their honor guard, all of them engaged in a tense staring contest with the Infernal guards.

Faeris tore her eyes away, her face smoothing as she bowed to Darius. “Aspect.” She repeated the gesture to Sarilian with noticeably less enthusiasm. “Emissary. Shall we get this over with?”

Though she directed the question to Darius, the Aspect faced Sarilian and raised a brow. At Sarilian’s hesitant nod, their delegation set off, a pair of Infernals falling in alongside them.

Faeris glared at the escort. “They act likewe’rethe ones who can’t be trusted. As if we didn’t possess the strength and numbers to erase them from the Immortal Realm if we so desired.”

From the way the Infernal guards stiffened, Sarilian assumed they’d heard her. He muffled a wince. “Perhaps we should limit our discussion to more pertinent matters?”

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