Page 42 of Cloak of Night
Fairy looked up at the gray clouds. “You mean this isn’t a normal storm?”
“I recognize the pattern of the lightning,” Liga said. “What you see is actually the flash of Vespre’s sword as the blade slashes through the sky.”
Daemon felt the thunder’s vibrations as if they were in his bones. They were an echo of a memory from his past life in Celestae, when he’d witnessed his father’s fury firsthand. “You’d better go,” he said to Liga. “I’m sorry I kept you for so long.”
“But we still need him,” Fairy said, rushing forward andgrabbing Liga’s wrist, as if that would keep a demigod from leaving if he wanted to. “Wolf, you don’t know how to use all your powers yet. What about gravitational magic?”
Liga rested his hand on hers where she gripped him. “I believe my brother can figure it out on his own from here, now that he’s reconnected with his true identity. Besides, you have a mission to fulfill—sabotage and spying and an empress to find. That is still important, is it not?”
“But—”
“Fairy,” Daemon said gently, “we have to let him go.”
Reluctantly, she uncurled her fingers from Liga’s wrist. “I know you gods don’t like to get involved in human affairs, but don’t forget us when you go back to Celestae, okay? Our invitation to you is always open.”
Liga smiled. “I promise I will not forget you. And I will return as soon as I can. It turns out I find earth rather fascinating. I cannot let my brother monopolize it all for himself.”
Lightning flashed again, brighter and angrier this time. “Go,” Daemon said.
“Until next time.” Liga gave Fairy a courtly bow, tipped his head at Daemon, then vanished as if he’d never been there.
Daemon blinked at where his brother had just stood. Even though he knew Liga was a demigod, the magnitude of his magic still surprised Daemon.
“I’m going to miss him,” he said. Ever since Daemon was taken from the wolves in Takish Gorge, he’d wished for a family. Now he had one, even if it was far away. He looked up. It was too stormy to see the sky, but Daemon smiled anyway, knowing that every constellation up there was a brother or sister. He’d never have to feel alone again.
“I’ll miss him, too,” Fairy said, “even though he was a little weird.”
Daemon laughed. “Well, it’s probably good that he’s gone, or I would’ve been tempted to keep practicing with him. But it’s night; we need to head back to the Imperial City.” They had to keep searching for the empress. Every day that passed increased the risk that the Dragon Prince would do something awful to her or kill her. And it was also of the utmost importance that Daemon and Fairy keep trying to slow his plans in any way they could.
The little space between Fairy’s eyebrows crinkled. “It’s probably too risky to go back to the Citadel so soon. I hope they didn’t discover what we did in the shipyards, but just in case, maybe we should try the castle tonight.”
“There’s that locked room near the top that Sora and I couldn’t get into last time,” Daemon said. “Now that I can fly, maybe we can access it from the outside. Do you have your potion that dissolves glass?”
Fairy patted the satchel on her belt, smiling. “I never leave home without my best ones.”
Daemon shifted into wolf form and flew to the Imperial City with Fairy on his back. Technically, he could fly at the speed of light, but it would make Fairy ill if he went that fast, so he tried to go at a less sickening pace. And he knew now how to dim his sparks, so even if he flew slower than the speed of light, Daemon would be able to approach the bloodstone castle unseen.
Unfortunately, Prince Gin’s lair was more populated than the last time Daemon was here. Many of the rooms flickered with candlelight, and the one in particular thathe wanted to break into glowed through its two-story windows, a large fire in the hearth. The flames silhouetted eight people inside, sitting formally in a circle.
“That seems like it could be an important meeting!” Fairy shouted into Daemon’s ear over the wind and rain.
“What should we do?”
“Take a closer look, I guess.”
“But how?” Daemon hovered in the air. It was uncomfortable, not having a plan. If Sora were here, she would have mapped out what to do ahead of time. Fairy, on the other hand, had no problem with winging it.
“Fly in,” she said. “We can cling to the walls and eavesdrop.”
It was as good an idea as any. He swooped in toward the castle.
Fairy began to whisper a gecko spell to stick to the wall.
“Wait,” Daemon said. “You don’t need to do that.”
He concentrated on the ledge right beneath the tall windows and imagined it extending itself.
“What are you doing?” Fairy asked.
