5. Into the Woods

five

Adrian remained melded within Heartrender until his aether gave out, depositing him in a tangled heap of limbs amid the dark trees. Heartrender skidded to a halt and nuzzled at his side. Her frantic yips urged him to pick himself up and keep running. Gritting his teeth, he did exactly that, even as his mind whirled with half-formed questions.

How had Heartrender gifted him her aether?

Why had his archnemesis helped him escape?

And, most importantly, what happened next?

He managed a half-jog, Heartrender adjusting her gait to match. Her encouragement via their bond dragged him onward like a tether long past the point his legs would've given out. When that no longer proved enough motivation, he pictured what Kali would do if she caught him.

Hardly any moonlight filtered through the canopy of trees. Even with his aether-enhanced vision, he stumbled every few paces. He kept expecting to lose Seymour in the gloom, but the watcher remained the same distance ahead. He must've been monitoring Adrian's progress.

Some interminable time later, Adrian's legs collapsed beneath him, and he sprawled in the damp underbrush. Leaves crunched beside him. He looked up to find moonlight glinting off the golden spikes of Seymour's armor. The watcher kept his eyes fixed back the way they'd come.

"Rest while you can," Seymour said. "We continue in a few hours."

Adrian mumbled something unintelligible in reply as his mind slipped into dreamless sleep.

Adrian awoke to an armored knee pinioning his chest and a gauntleted arm pressed to his throat. Panic engulfed him, receding only slightly when he realized it was Seymour, not Kali, straddling him. He couldn't tell how long he'd slept, but night still shrouded the world.

The watcher glared at him, little more than a black silhouette. "I've let you rest as long as I dare. We need to go. But first, you're going to tell me how you did it!"

"Get off me!" Adrian's shout came out a gurgle. Darkness threatened the edges of his vision.

Seymour eased off his throat enough for him to gasp in a breath. "Spirits below, I forget how weak you are." His voice dripped disgust. "Which proves my point—how did you do it?"

"Do what?" Adrian's own temper rose now that he wasn't suffocating.

"Anyof it. Your so-called ‘bond' with that daemon, for starters. That shouldn't have been possible, not without a proper bondstone."

Spirits above, he knew Seymour could be thick-headed, but this took denial to a new level. "I told you, Crastley wrote the symbol in his journal. You watched me form it out of aether."

"I'm not sure what I saw." Seymour's face contorted into a familiar sneer. "Besides, I find it hard to believe that you possess enough aetheric control to do anything of the sort. Another illusion, no doubt."

Heartrender's outrage pulsed in his mind. He couldn't see her from his position, but he sensed her nearby. Seymour must have her restrained too, perhaps by that brute Tremorfist.

He tried to shove Seymour off him, but the watcher merely lifted an eyebrow. Sighing, Adrian sank into the crackling leaves. "To be honest, forming the runes felt…natural. As if my aether had been waiting my entire life to snap into that configuration."

Seymour snorted. "If it's so ‘natural,' how has it eluded the League's top scholars for generations?"

"Maybe no one's ever bothered to look since bondstones are so prevalent." Another thought occurred to him. "Or maybe they have, and Serenity Corp covered it up. Like with Crastley."

And me.

Seymour fell silent, his expression unreadable. "Even if I believed you, that still doesn't explain how you bested that Serenity Corp agent. Bond or no, you never should've been a threat to her."

"That one's easy. I stole her dagger and stabbed her in the eye."

Seymour's body went rigid. "Impossible! Even with an aetherforged blade, you should've lacked the strength to penetrate her aether."

It was a fair point. Adrian himself had a hard time believing he'd wounded a daemon master of Kali's caliber. His thoughts snagged on something else Seymour had said. "Hold on, what do you mean by aetherforged?"

Seymour sighed. "I see your aetheric training wasn't the only thing you neglected."

"You didn't exactly make lessons pleasant," Adrian snapped. "Now, would you please get off me and explain."

The watcher shook his head as if astonished by the depths of Adrian's ignorance. Mercifully, however, he also shifted his weight to relieve some of the pressure from Adrian's chest. "I presume you're familiar with the use of daemons to create various goods?"

Remembering the assembly line he'd witnessed at the Serene Hall, Adrian nodded.

"Well, aetherforging takes that process to its logical conclusion, imbuing an object with additional aether to further enhance it. The practice is rare—I doubt there's a single capable artisan within five days' travel of Hillvale. However, a high-ranking Serenity Corp operative would hardly wield a mundane weapon."

Adrian supposed that made sense. Objects forged from daemonic techniques tended to be naturally hardier. Depositing still more aether into something should only enhance the effect. And, if it was as uncommon as Seymour said, it wasn't surprising he'd never encountered it before.

Could I use aetherforging to counteract my own weaknesses?

He filed the intriguing notion away, forcing his attention back on the matter at hand. "Stabbing someone in the eye seems pretty debilitating no matter who you are. Besides, I didn't do it alone—Heartrender gifted me her aether to enhance the blow."

Not that he had a clue how.

Seymour's knee dug painfully into his sternum. Adrian couldn't tell whether he meant it to hurt or if he genuinely underestimated the hardiness of Adrian's body compared to his own. "Even you must know daemons can't lend their aether on demand. It's too wild and unpredictable."

"Perhaps this new bond is stronger. More versatile." The stubborn watcher shook his head, and the last vestiges of Adrian's patience slipped away. "Spirits above, you saw me meld with Heartrender when I followed you into the forest! I couldn't have done that without a bond."

A slight hesitation. "I suppose. But that hardly—"

"If you're so convinced my tale is rubbish, why did you betray your oaths?" Adrian demanded. "Why put your life on the line to help me escape?"

When Seymour remained silent, Adrian worried he might have pushed him too far. Eventually, however, Seymour said, "I heard what that agent told you. She had no intention of bringing you in unharmed, nor did she deny your accusations. In the heat of the moment, I did what I felt was right." A low chuckle rumbled out of him. "If a pathetic runt like you found the will to fight, how could I live with myself if I did any less?"

"Thanks…I guess." Seymour shifted above him, and heat crept up Adrian's neck as he suddenly became conscious of how tightly their bodies were pressed together. "Since we've reached an understanding, mind, uh, letting me go?"

The watcher grunted and released his grip.

Adrian sat up, sucking in a deep breath. Twin azure glows to his left marked Heartrender and another daemon his aethersense identified as Willowrush. Tall and sinewy, its lithe limbs resembled a mass of reeds swaying in a breeze. Thathad to be Seymour's second. Though daemon masters could only manifest a single daemon at a time, most maintained the limit of two simultaneous bonds. With a jolt, he realized he could now count himself among their number.

Heartrender plopped in the leaves by Adrian's side with an indignant huff. Absently stroking her head, he turned to where Seymour had leaned against a nearby tree. "What now?"

Seymour's characteristic sneer resurfaced. "I'd hoped you had a plan beyond running blindly into the forest. I see now my faith was misplaced."

"Apologies for being a touch preoccupied fleeing for my life. Hiding out here from your watcher buddies was as far as I got."

"At least, that part of your plan makes sense. The Watcher Division never patrols out this far." Seymour narrowed his eyes. "Of course, that's when dealing with thieves or rogue daemons. You've attracted far too much interest for things to be that simple."

"Not just me," Adrian retorted. "You're as much a fugitive now as I am."

Seymour's expression darkened. He jerked a nod and turned to stare at the shadowed trees.

Unease gripped Adrian. What if the watcher decided to abandon him? As much as he disliked the man, any company beat navigating the uncharted wilderness alone.

"We go south," Seymour said at last. Some of the tension drained from Adrian at the use of we. "We'll try to stay parallel with the Bulwark. It's still a few days to the east, but the last thing we want is to stumble into a watcher patrol along the border."

"And then?"

"Once we've traveled far enough to confound any pursuers, we set up camp and wait. Old Man Crastley hid from Serenity Corp for years, so we know it's possible. Once enough time has passed, we come up with believable cover stories and go our separate ways." Adrian paled, and Seymour let out an amused snort. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet? You must've known there'd be consequences for crossing the most powerful group in the League."

He had, but until now, the full cost had remained abstract. Abandoning his life in Hillvale, constantly wondering when the executioner's ax would fall for him as it had for Crastley…

Heartrender pressed against his side, and he drew comfort from her warmth. Despite his terror of the unknown, he knew he'd made the right decision saving her. Besides, after meeting Kali, he doubted she'd have let him walk away, no matter how well he'd followed orders.

When he turned back to Seymour, he found the watcher glowing with aether as he replaced Willowrush with Tremorfist. "Enough talk. It's time we resume our march."

Adrian scrambled to his feet. "For how long?"

"Until we can sleep soundly without fear of a furious assassin slitting our throats. Let's go."

The watcher set off south, using Tremorfist to clear a path whenever the foliage grew too thick. Soon, he was visible only as a rough outline amid the shadows.

Taking a deep breath, Adrian hurried to follow.

"My legs are killing me," Adrian groaned. The faint light of dawn filtered through the thick canopy of trees, illuminating Seymour a half-dozen paces ahead. "Maybe we could take another break soon? I don't think I have the strength for a full day marching."

"You'd better find it, then." Seymour kept his eyes trained forward, his own footfalls through the brush sure and steady. "Or do you value your life so little? By all means, rest to your heart's content if you desire a swift death. It'll probably do me good to be rid of you."

Spirits curse him! Adrian gritted his teeth, conserving his energy to keep putting one foot in front of the other. They'd been walking nonstop for hours now, and while Heartrender was supplying him with a steady trickle of aether, that was no substitute for a good night's rest.

When Seymour finally called a halt for lunch, Adrian collapsed onto a fallen log and devoured a travel ration, finishing it with a swig from his canteen. Between what Adrian had packed in his satchel and the emergency supplies Seymour kept on him, they had enough food and water to last a couple days. After that, they'd be at the mercy of the forest.

The watcher's mind must've gone in a similar direction because he said, "We'll need to start hunting and foraging soon."

Adrian suppressed a groan. "Can't that wait until we've set up camp?"

"Not unless you want to march on an empty stomach. It'll be days yet before we stop."

Thatcaught his attention even through his weariness. He sat up sharply. "Days?"

"I want at least a week's travel between us and Hillvale. Even then, we'll need to remain vigilant for signs of pursuit."

Adrian squeezed his eyes closed, wishing he could shut out the rest of the world so easily. Heartrender rubbed soothingly against his leg. At least, he'd have her by his side.

All too soon, they resumed their trek deeper into the forest. He tried chatting with Heartrender to pass the time but quickly discovered that, while she could interpret his commands in broad strokes, more nuanced speech often confused her. Perhaps humans and daemons experienced the world too differently for some concepts to translate.

Darkness once more shrouded their path by the time Seymour called a halt for the night. Adrian had intended to study Crastley's journal before bed but couldn't conjure the energy. Whatever revelations it might contain now that he'd formed a true bond would have to wait.

The next day began much like the last, though a proper night's rest did much to bolster Adrian's spirits. He was in such a good mood he even tried to strike up a conversation with Seymour. After the watcher's fifth monosyllabic response, however, he gave the effort up as a lost cause.

It wasn't until they were finishing up their breakfast of rations that Seymour finally spoke. "Your hound would be much more useful in these woods than that whelp."

Adrian draped a protective arm over Heartrender. "There's nothing wrong with Heartrender!"

The daemon narrowed its three eyes at the watcher and yipped in agreement.

"Oh?" Seymour's green eyes glinted as he raised an eyebrow. "Can it fend off a rabid daemon attack? Or help replenish our dwindling supplies?"

Adrian hesitated. This close to the forest's edge, they'd sensed only the occasional daemon, but that would change the deeper they went. Food would soon be an even bigger problem. "I'll consider it." Seymour opened his mouth to argue. "I said I'd consider it! Are you ready to go?"

The watcher huffed and stalked into the trees. Above him, Tremorfist swung from branch to branch with surprising nimbleness. Adrian trailed after, contemplating his reluctance to summon Trailseeker. Ever since experiencing a proper bond with Heartrender, his old bond seemed even more hollow than it had before. When he'd thought it a necessary evil, he'd been willing to ignore his guilt. But now…

Now, it was becoming difficult to justify keeping the poor daemon chained, no matter its usefulness. Once they'd finished their march and settled into camp, he'd resolve the problem for good. Until then, he could at least minimize how often he forced it to act against its will.

They had just finished a hasty lunch when a familiar voice whispered in the back of his mind,

"Hello? Adrian? Can you hear me?"

Spirits below! "Seymour!" He hated the franticness in his voice. "I need your help!"

The watcher hurried back, aether pooling around him as his gaze flicked from side to side. "What is it? Have they found us?"

"In a matter of speaking. The Arbiter is trying to contact me."

"Adrian." Arbiter Janice's tone grew more insistent. "I know you're listening. This may have spiraled out of hand, but we can still sort it out."

Seymour scowled. "Whatever you do, don't answer! That'll only make it easier for her to maintain the connection."

"I'm trying not to, but she's being pretty persistent."

The watcher scrubbed a hand through his short black hair. "If your shroud's not enough to shield you, then I don't know how to sever the mental link. I doubt she can track us through it, but there's no way to be certain."

"Um, about that…" Adrian faltered, his cheeks flaring red. "I'm, uh, not using a shroud."

Faster than Adrian could blink, Seymour's hands fastened around his shoulders and squeezed. "We're being hunted by the entire League, and you didn't think to raise a shroud!"

He wilted beneath the watcher's fury, swallowing hard. Heartrender's uncertainty radiated through their bond, and he told her to stay out of it. For once, he deserved Seymour's ire.

"The thought occurred to me when I fled town, but I…um…never learned how."

"Spirits above!" Seymour released his hold on Adrian's shoulders and spun, ramming a fist into a nearby tree trunk. The wood splintered around the impact. "How do you not know how to shroud your aura? Everyone knows how to shroud their aura!"

"It never seemed necessary before. My aura's weak enough that anyone who could detect it would be close enough to see me anyway."

Seymour rubbed his knuckles over his eyes. "Shrouding your aura isn't just about hiding you from someone else's aethersense. It also helps shield your mind from techniques targeting it the same way aether bolsters your flesh. Most people maintain a partial shroud to filter out anything they don't want to get through…such as insistent arbiters aiding their would-be killers."

A familiar shame spiraled through him. By the time the other kids were learning shrouds, he'd already had his falling out with Seymour, and his weak aether had left him floundering to catch up. He'd always assumed it another aspect of daemon mastery that was beyond him. Now, he felt like a fool for not paying more attention.

"Point taken," he said, struggling to ignore the Arbiter's incessant pleas. "Can you show me how to make one?"

"With how hopeless you are? I guess we'll see. You can at least sense your own aether, right?"

Adrian bit back his annoyance at the jibe. "Yeah."

"Well, all you have to do is stretch it out."

Adrian furrowed his brow. "Stretch…it out?"

Seymour looked ready to punch another tree. "Think of your normal aether as a dense river. You need to expand it until it becomes a fine mist shielding you from the outside world."

Mist? River?

Despite his confusion, he tried to do as the watcher asked and widen the aether coursing through him. Shaping so much at once strained his control, like flexing a muscle he hadn't realized he had.

"I can't," he said, his voice tight.

"Why am I not surprised?" Seymour sighed. "For now, focus only on shrouding your mind when you sense the Arbiter reaching out. With any luck, that'll be enough."

As if on cue, Arbiter Janice's voice echoed again in his skull. "It's not too late to make amends, Adrian. Talk to me so we can work it out. No one else needs to get hurt."

A part of him yearned to believe her. Instead, he clenched his jaw and concentrated on expanding aether around his head to shroud his thoughts. The Arbiter's voice gradually faded, growing increasingly distant until it vanished altogether.

Adrian let out a relieved breath. "Thanks."

The watcher resumed his southward march. "You can thank me by practicing your shroud so you don't get us both killed."

As afternoon turned to evening and sunlight faded overhead, Arbiter Janice continued her efforts to establish contact. Each time Adrian felt the link forming, he'd raise his mental shroud and wait for the sensation to disappear. He couldn't imagine the level of control it took to do as Seymour had suggested and unconsciously maintain a partial shroud at all times. Perhaps one day, he'd have the strength for such a feat. Until then, this was the best he could manage.

That night by the fire, he finally found the energy to open Crastley's journal. Excitement thrummed through him when he saw that, just as the note had said, forming a true bond made the jumbled text perfectly legible. Curious. What he knew of daemonic techniques suggested this kind of long-lasting enchantment should be impossible. Setting aside the mystery for now, he flipped to the first page and began to read.

Two hours later, he slammed the journal shut in disgust. So much for simple answers. Crastley's handwriting stretched from margin to margin, so cramped Adrian had to strain his eyes to make out the words, and the man's rambling thoughts leaped from topic to topic in no discernible order. The entire thing was maddeningly obtuse.

He rubbed a hand over the worn tome's cover and sighed. Still, it might hold the answers to everything from Heartrender's origin to the history of the true bond. No matter how long it took, he couldn't give up. Their very survival might depend on it.

Over the next few days, they exhausted the last of their rations and had to start relying on what they could scavenge. Seymour continued to press him to summon Trailseeker, souring when he refused and hardly speaking to him since. Not that Adrian blamed him. He knew he was being stubborn. If he really cared about Trailseeker, he'd have freed the beast days ago instead of keeping it in this cruel state of limbo. Yet, fear of losing his strongest protector stayed his hand.

On the morning of their fifth day, Seymour sent Tremorfist out hunting and took up his usual position twenty paces ahead. Adrian, meanwhile, grilled Heartrender on her technique. To his immense shock, he'd learned it really was called Mirror Image. Perhaps Heartrender had been communicating with him on some level even then. He couldn't get a straightforward answer from her on that point, so he'd decided to explore the technique's limitations instead.

"And you're certain it has to be something you can see right at that moment?" he asked.

Her certainty radiated through their bond, and he muffled his disappointment. He'd pressed her on this before, but she remained adamant that she could only create illusory copies of herself or other nearby objects. No replicating illusions from memory, unfortunately.

"What about the size and complexity of the image?"

A jumble of conflicting images answered him. From what he could gather, Heartrender's response amounted to nothing too big or too intricate. How wonderfully vague. Before he could ask for clarification, she transmitted another flurry of impressions. This time, he had no difficulty interpreting.

"I know, I know. As you get stronger, so will your technique. Is that your subtle way of telling me to stop harassing you about it?"

Heartrender responded with a polite but firm yes, and he chuckled.

Seymour glared back with narrowed eyes. "Perhaps we should quicken our pace. You seem to have energy enough to spare."

Adrian opened his mouth to reply and then froze, stumbling to a halt so abruptly he almost face-planted into the underbrush. Something lurked in the trees off to their left. A few days ago, he might've dismissed the faint aura as weak, but he'd practiced enough with a shroud now that he thought he recognized its use. There was a shrouded daemon watching them.

No, not just one, he realized with growing alarm. More faint auras shone in every direction. They were surrounded.

"Ambush!" he cried as over a dozen diminutive shapes erupted from their hiding places.

Heartrender reacted quickly, conjuring a silent replica of him. Most of the creatures fell upon the closer decoy, but a handful chose correctly. Claws dug into Adrian's cloak and tunic while tiny fangs pierced his skin. He shouted, flailing wildly at the beasts. One lost its grip on his arm and tumbled through the air. He ripped a second free with his bare hands.

That gave him his first good look at the creatures. Painsnappers according to his aethersense, they appeared like a cross between a rat and a lizard, with four taloned hands, whiskered snouts, and spiny crests down their azure backs. Legion daemons like this were rare. Sharing the same aetheric reserve spread across multiple weaker bodies, they operated as a hivemind with a unified intelligence. Kill one and you weakened the collective.

He hurled the squirming Painsnapper away and tried to snag another digging at his shoulder but couldn't get a good grip. Heartrender leaped up, burying her fangs in the creature's side. The two daemons fell in a rolling heap of blue limbs. By now, the illusory Adrian had dissipated under the Painsnappers' assault. No longer distracted, the daemons scampered toward him.

He cursed and stumbled away, scouring the area for a weapon. Armored boots stomped into the Painsnappers' midst before they could reach him. Seymour roared a battlecry as he kicked a beast aside like a ball. Adrian could've kissed the spirit-blessed man.

Tremorfist might be out hunting, but that didn't stop the weaponless watcher from utilizing his metal armor and brute strength to his advantage. In a matter of seconds, he'd crushed one Painsnapper beneath his heel and broken another against a tree.

The remaining daemons near Adrian abandoned their assault on him to swarm the watcher. Seymour's armor protected him from the worst of their fangs and claws, but some slipped through. A solitary Painsnapper sprang onto his back and sank its teeth into his exposed neck.

Adrian clenched his hands into frustrated fists at Seymour's enraged howl of pain. He longed to help, but what could he do besides be a liability? Even if he'd been willing to summon Trailseeker now to fight, he couldn't recall Heartrender while she was embroiled in combat. Checking on her, he found her still wrestling with a daemon by his feet and infused her with a portion of his aether. That much, at least, he could do.

Taking advantage of her boosted strength, Heartrender pinned the other daemon and tore out its throat. Aether burst from the wound instead of blood. The Painsnapper shuddered, its aetheric flesh unraveling as it died.

A bellowing roar vibrated through the trees. Adrian tensed, wondering what fresh horror had found them. Relief flooded him when Tremorfist swung into the clearing with a muffled thud. The remaining Painsnappers took one look at the towering ape and retreated into the forest as quickly as they'd appeared.

"Thanks for the assist," Adrian said, approaching Seymour and holding out his hand.

The watcher glared at the proffered hand as if personally offended by it. He rubbed absently at the already mending wound in his neck. "Someone has to protect you since you're clearly incapable of doing it yourself," he said before stalking off.

Adrian bit back a retort. He honestly didn't know why he'd expected anything different. He and Seymour might be reluctant allies due to circumstance, but they were still a far cry from the friends they'd once been.

Within minutes, it became excruciatingly clear how the Painsnappers had earned their moniker. Seymour said nothing while they lay writhing in agony from the daemons' venom. He didn't have to. Adrian already knew his stubborn refusal to manifest Trailseeker was to blame.

That's why, once the venom wore off, he shoved aside his reservations and resummoned his original daemon. A part of him had feared dismissing Heartrender, but she dissolved into aether like any other melded daemon without muffling their bond. In fact, she seemed to appreciate the opportunity to rest as they continued their journey deeper into the woods.

Trailseeker plodded obediently at his side, as dispassionate as ever. Not that the daemon's lack of reproach did anything to lessen his guilt. Now that he had Heartrender as an example of how a bond should be, his gut twisted at Trailseeker's dull eyes and slack expression. But releasing Trailseeker meant risking the loss of a valuable resource right when he needed it most.

I'll make it up to you when things don't seem so dire, he swore silently. I promise.

The days after the ambush blurred together. Though they'd seen no sign of Kali or other pursuit, the Painsnappers had been a clear warning. The deeper they ventured into Overlin Forest, the greater the number of wild daemons they sensed nearby. At Seymour's insistence, Adrian practiced his shroud until he could maintain it across his entire body for a couple minutes with Heartrender's aid. Hopefully, that would be long enough to evade detection if necessary.

Evening had nearly fallen on their seventh day when Trailseeker suddenly perked up.

"Hold!" Adrian called out to Seymour. "Trailseeker's got something."

Seymour jogged back to him, Tremorfist trailing after in the branches above. This deep in the forest, they'd learned to keep their daemons close at hand.

"I don't sense anything," Seymour said.

Adrian partially melded with Trailseeker to see what had caught the daemon's attention. Through its enhanced ears, he heard an echoing crack in the distance, followed by another.

He canceled the meld. "Something out there's big enough to snap trees like twigs. And it's coming right toward us."

Seymour cursed under his breath. "Quick, dismiss your daemon! And for spirits' sake, please tell me you can raise a shroud. If we can't hide our auras, we might as well ring the dinner bell."

Adrian recalled Trailseeker as Seymour did the same with Tremorfist. It felt strange not having a daemon summoned after so many days with one constantly by his side. Within him, Heartrender stirred from her nap, no doubt disturbed by his churning emotions. He tried to soothe her while stretching out his aether until it coated his entire body like an oil slick.

The sound of splintering trees soon grew near enough to hear without Trailseeker's help. He forced himself to stand completely still, both to limit any distractions and on the off chance the approaching daemon was sensitive to movement. Beside him, Seymour was like a statue.

A powerful aura swept over them—not as potent as Kali's, but still enough to make Seymour shift in an uncharacteristic display of nerves. Adrian trembled from the effort of maintaining his shroud. The daemon had to be close now. Was it his imagination, or was the ground trembling underfoot? He held his breath, willing the daemon to leave before his shroud failed. His unmasked aura might be weak enough to go unnoticed, but that wasn't a risk he fancied taking.

After what seemed like an eternity but couldn't have been more than a handful of minutes, he realized both the aura and the sound of snapping trees had faded. His entire body sagged as he released his shroud, slumping to the dirt and bowing his head.

When he looked up, he caught Seymour's gaze. The watcher studied him with a considering expression. Then, he gave the briefest of nods and turned away. Coming from him, the acknowledgment felt like the highest of praise.

A day and a half later, nine full days after their journey into Overlin Forest began, Seymour called a halt in a small clearing beside a creek. "This'll do," he said.

Adrian nodded mutely, too relieved to reply. He swapped Trailseeker for a sleepy Heartrender and crouched down before her. The daemon closed her three eyes, nuzzling him with her fanged mouth. Her long tail swished lazily from side to side.

For years, he'd struggled to overcome his flawed aether. But that was a weakness he could no longer afford. Perhaps this was the fresh start he needed to reinvigorate his training. After all, what better motivation than a daemon that believed in him…and a foe who wanted him dead?