Page 98 of The Demon's Delight
“No limit was given, but he impressed a sense of urgency. He requested you specifically, Seir. Any notion as to why?”
I shrugged. “I have a reasonably friendly history with Lilith. I don’t doubt she’ll see me, that I can deliver this as requested. Once I’m able to find her, of course.” I kept to myself that I’d seen her not all that long ago, when she, Ris, and Tap had collaborated on the creation of a series of portals so we could all be a bit more easily connected.
“I see. Report back as soon as it’s done. Sooner is better, of course.”
I reached across the desk and took the envelope from Rune, finding it dense and heavy. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Good.” What might have been the ghost of a smile crossed her mouth under the black smoke. She turned to the papers in front of her, signing them one at a time in bright red ink before handing them to Keplar to do the same. Then it was my turn to sign. “Here you are.”
“Thank you.” I looked between them after putting my name down with a flourish in the magical red ink. I finally relaxed when Keplar laughed.
“I need you back to work as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.” My blood was thumping through my body, the need to get back to the surface my only focus.
“Get yourself set up. Check in as often as you can. We’ll begin the transfer of door monitoring from the crossroads to your new location as soon as you’re set up.” He grinned at me and reached out his hand. I shook it. “It was a good proposal, Seir. I’m more pleased than you know that you found a way to stay out of the wastes.”
“Me too, sir. Will someone be sent in my place?”
He shook his head. “They wanted your talent, so unless someone presents with similar abilities, they will continue to put in a request that will remain unfulfilled.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. They were willing to sacrifice a prince to the wastes, but there was no true urgency? What was out there that they needed help with so badly then? Perhaps I could get one of my other brothers to look into it, they generally worked much more on the outskirts than I did.
He tilted his head, a sly grin on his mouth as he watched me process his response. “We’ll discuss that another time. Get out of here.”
I didn’t hesitate. I sifted to the main hall, waved at Meg as I sprinted to the portals, and dove through the one for d’Arcan, done with waiting to get back to my mate.
Chapter 43
Hailon
Revalia was a beautiful city, flourishing with life of all kinds. I’d never seen the like and could understand why it was one of the most desirable places in all of Cyntere to live now that I was within its walls.
Lovette and Imogen walked me past the outskirts where all the big estates were, then through the center of town and square where the market was held midweek. There were shops of all kinds, a few of which reminded me of the little places we’d visited in the Valley.
“The carriage was otherwise engaged today, or it would have come to pick us up,” Imogen explained, watchful as we wandered the city streets. Every now and then, her eyes shifted to the sky, and if I was quick to follow her gaze, I’d catch a glimpse of another stone kin stealthily monitoring things from the rooftops.
“I don’t mind walking. It’s beautiful here.” Even from a distance the cathedral was beyond impressive, and what they pointed out as the observatory for d’Arcan was stunning just in sheer height.
By the time we reached the Collegium d’Arcan, I was overwhelmed. The city was so much larger than it had initiallyseemed, and there was an endless number of things to take in. The people, the noise, the vendors—it was all lovely, but I wasn’t used to the scale of such a city. It was very pleasant to not have to ignore others staring or sneering when I walked by, however.
The school itself was imposing in size but still somehow felt welcoming. As we went through the iron gates, I felt no sense of foreboding like I expected to, despite a large raven swooping near us as we entered the courtyard. The bird dipped down, like he was getting a good eyeful of us all, then he flew off again toward the main building.
The doors opened as we crossed the courtyard, and a beautiful woman with dark hair greeted us, a shockingly oversized cat winding between her ankles before trotting off to go roll in the grass.
“Welcome! I’m Calla.” She took my hand between hers, giving it a gentle shake.
“Hailon.”
“So lovely to meet you. Please, come in.” She hugged the two gargoyle women, gesturing for us to go down the main hall. “You’re just in time. Greta’s nearly done with a very complicated elixir. Grace is bringing us snacks.”
Calla led us down a wide stone hall and into a classroom that took my breath away. There were overflowing bookshelves and supply cases along the back wall, but it was the floor-to-ceiling stained-glass window that stole my attention. It made a rainbow of light in the room, more beautiful and muted than standard clear glass.
Instead of desks there were sofas and comfortable chairs near a stone fireplace, and several worktables spread through the room with a variety of tools and interesting items on their tops.
Seeing our entrance, two tall, broad men—one dark haired and one light—stood from their seats. Another woman lookedup from behind a table with chemistry equipment spread across it at the back of the room, a kind smile on her face. Her hands, however, were occupied. My mind ticked the faces off as though I’d been keeping a list of who I’d expected to meet. Witch, demon, demon, alchemist. It stunned me how broad my acquaintance list had become since I’d gotten away from Ravenglen.
“Welcome to d’Arcan, Hailon,” Vassago greeted me, putting his hand across his chest and bowing.
