Page 74 of The Demon's Discovery
Vassago stared at his brother, his hand resting against my lower back, thumb drawing slow arcs against my spine. “It wasn’t.”
“But—”
“My curse is managed well enough!” he bit out. “I would never risk harming her. Not like that.”
Belmont called out again, upset by the tension that surrounded me, though I wasn’t the target. Then Rylan softened,as did Magnus, and I wondered what exactly he meant by his curse, though I kept my mouth shut.
Rylan held a hand out to Belmont. “It’s alright, friend.” Belmont considered this, his head twitching back and forth for several moments before he resumed his shuffling. His eye turned toward the group as he resumed quiet monitoring of their movements. “Apologies brother.” Rylan continued, “But still, your previous history, ours together… Surely you can understand why I was concerned.”
“I can. But even with the changes of late, I am not the same because of her. Just like the pair of you are not the same as you once were.” He stared at them each in turn, and his point was clearly received the way they stiffened under his glare.
Magnus frowned still but gave a terse nod and stepped back.
“It’s nearly gone,” Calla commented quietly.
Everyone watched as the last of the gold slowly turned black, like a stick of incense burning away. I still felt nothing, despite there being a layer of smoky mist clinging to me, a strange magical seal slowly rotating against my middle.
I was disconnected from my body for a moment, the reality of my present too incongruent to the memory of my past for me to comprehend them as having both happened to me.
When the final symbol was solid black, I held my breath.
Despite the magical binding being incorporeal, my ribs were being slowly compressed.
“The seal,” Calla said, stepping in front of me and reaching forward as if to touch it. “It’s rotating backwards.”
“That should have made it go away, right?” Vassago asked. “What does backwards mean?”
“I’m not sure. With high-level magic, anything is possible,” Rylan said, still frowning as he crowded close to his mate, studying the arcane symbols.
“I saw how, when, and by whom it was placed, but that explained nothing. What good is my talent when it doesn’t give me everything I need it to?” he groused, fangs bared as he cursed a gift he felt was incomplete.
“But we can find him,” I reminded him.
“Yes, Dragonfly. We can. And I will. You were very small when it happened. Doing something reprehensible like that to a child is unforgivable.” I was beyond grateful that the memory had been kind enough to show him the man responsible, but I wasn’t sure it actually helped us solve anything. “I can’t wait to locate him and repay his exceptional cruelty. There’s much of that for me to do, it seems. I didn’t get all the context around why he did such a thing, but it doesn’t matter. Thank the saints you didn’t try this on your own at d’Arcan.”
“As I said before—” Rylan started.
“Yes, yes. It’s perfectly wonderful that you came, brother. Very useful. Helpful, even.”
Between the aggressive presence of two demon princes and a curious witch, plus the feeling that I was being corseted by something that shouldn’t have any form, I found it exceptionally hard to inhale.
“Getting tighter,” I puffed out. “Hard to breathe.”
I wasn’t sure what Vassago saw on my face then, but his eyes went wide. “Stolas. Help her.” Panic edged his tone, and one of his hands latched onto one of mine as the other unsheathed his sword.
A low hum came from Rylan’s hands as he pushed his magic toward the seal. It sparked and sputtered, a metal-against-metal sound echoing around the room. My chest compressed even further, and my vision began to darken around the edges as I sipped and panted through increasingly shallow breaths. Belmont made a noise I’d never heard before, clearly distressed.
“Stop,” Calla said, putting her hand on Rylan’s forearm. He lowered his hands, and I began to panic, my breath only able to flow in tiny sharp gasps. “It’s earth magic. Not the same as mine, but of the earth all the same. It has a certain odor to it. Rusty, almost. Can you smell it?”
His nostrils flared as he scented the air. “No, beloved. But I believe you.” He gestured for her to take over.
“Potion tasted like coins,” I forced out. “Sounded like swords.”
“Yes, I heard that too.” A quick look around showed not everyone had experienced the same. “Whatever this magic is will likely disagree with his demon powers, but it may accept my earth magic since it’s similar.” She met my eye, giving a reassuring nod before placing her palms against my sides. Her eyes closed, and warmth flooded into my body through her hands. “Try to breathe with me.” Calla’s voice was calming, low. I felt grounded despite the absolute panic stabbing through my veins. “In”—she inhaled slowly as the heat around her hands expanded—“and out. Again. In… and out. Good. Morticia?” She turned to the cat, who took up a post next to me, her head butting against my leg. I was a modicum better once she touched me as well.
My vision was still a little gray around the edges, but I could get enough air in that I was no longer worried about passing out.
“This can’t be solved with a blade,” Lovette told Vassago, edging her way to Calla’s side.
