Page 109 of Cloak of Night
“I should have asked Fairy to gather some night-blooming flowers for me to bring,” Daemon grumbled. “Maybe then I could get Liga to respond.” His brother could probably get hold of Luna.
Daemon’s sparks sputtered through his fatigue, and he decided to give in to it, just for a moment. He landed on a cloud and collapsed into the cushions of mist. In his wolf form, he was paradoxically sturdy and strong while also weighing very little, since he was composed of stardust and god magic; therefore, the clouds could hold him. It was still hard for Daemon to grasp how this was possible, but that was likely because he was trying to understand it from a human point of view.
“Liga,” he called half-heartedly. “Where are you?”
A small flock of birds flew past Daemon’s cloud. He followed them with his gaze until they’d vanished from sight.
His mind began to wander to what Sora was doing. She was probably laying out a detailed plot for how to assassinate Prince Gin. He hoped she was reconnecting with her sister, too, like he’d gotten to do with Liga. Maybe Sora and Hana were even training together, with Hana teaching Sora how to better use her invisibility.
Invisibility!Daemon bolted upright in his cloud. What if his banishment from Celestae wasn’t as simple as the gods not letting him through the gates when he showed up? What if Vespre had made it so that Daemon couldn’t see the gods’ home at all?
“Nines,” he swore. If that were true, he’d better get back to work at yelling for someone to come get him, because he wasn’t ever going to find Celestae on his own.
Daemon rose from the cloud and shook off the tendrils of mist that clung to his fur. His sparks were bright again; the self-healing properties of demigods also meant his energy could be restored relatively quickly, even though his rest had been short. He leaped back into the sky and flew straight up, to where the atmosphere thinned and breathing would have been difficult if he weren’t a demigod.
He began to cycle through a series of entreaties, shouting each at the top of his lungs.
“Liga, it’s Wolf! I need your help!”
“Luna, this is your grandson. The taigas need you!”
And finally... reluctantly...
“Vespre, it’s your profligate son! I’ve come home to apologize.”
On the hundredth time of calling his father’s name, the air suddenly began to blur in the distance. Daemon stopped yelling and held his position in the sky.
In what had once been empty space, a long stairway appeared. Hundreds of enormous silver torii arches lined it, each heavy-beamed gateway leading straight to the next, creating the sensation of a tunnel leading to the heavens.
Behind the torii-covered stairway, golden pagodas and archways and bridges materialized, like a Kichonan city built from crystallized honey, glimmering in the air. Every god had a towering castle, each tier elegant with curved eaves, broad balconies, and intricately carved gargoyles with fur that swirled like clouds. Around each castle was a sprawling estate, and as Daemon flew through the torii arches and drew closer to Celestae, he could make out some of the lush foliage in the nearest gardens.
Purple wisteria draped and swung in a subtle springbreeze, perfuming the air with a scent of grape candy. Maple trees boasted autumn reds and oranges. And tall, snow-dusted fir trees presided over parts of the floating heavens. Daemon took it all in with wonder. Time didn’t exist in Celestae, and neither, apparently, did distinct seasons. The gods could create and do whatever they wanted.
The rush of brooks, like giggling children, and the melody of crickets creating music that sounded a lot like Kichonan songs to the gods stirred something in Daemon’s memory. He didn’t remember anything specific, and yet he could feel that he’d been here before, that this place lived inside him, even when he was gone. He sped up, bursting out of the last of the torii arches and eager to see what else his first home would trigger.
A voice like thunder boomed across the sky and stopped Daemon short.
“My wayward son. How dare you return?”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Two days after Fairy, Broomstick, and Empress Aki left, Sora received a simple message via glittering eagle ray:Emperor Geoffrey has committed the Imperial Caldanian Navy to help us fight.
The next day, she received this message:Ria Kayla has agreed to send the Royal Navy and Marines of Brin.
And on the fourth night after they’d left, the last eagle ray flew into her hideout and landed on Sora’s pillow:Fale Po Tair will fight. Queen Meredith is leading the Faleese Navy herself. We are on our way.
Goose bumps prickled Sora’s skin. Things were falling into place. The only piece missing was Daemon.
Hopefully, he’d return soon.
Chapter Sixty
It was time. A day after the last of the eagle rays arrived, Sora and Hana stood at the edge of the Field of Illusions, outside the Citadel’s western fortress walls. The troops from Caldan, Brin, and Fale Po Tair were hidden just outside the Imperial City, ready to fight. Soon, they would try to overwhelm the ryuu by sheer numbers, while Sora and Hana slipped into the castle, reunited the soul pearl with Prince Gin, and killed him.
And then there was the question about Sora’s soul and whether it could be purified...
Daemon, where are you?
