Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

CLIO

Clio pointed. "Isn't this cool?"

Kassia looked blankly at the bathtub. "Isn't what cool?"

Crouching, Clio tapped a crystal set in the wall beside the faucet. "It's a heating spell. You turn the taps on, then you activate this lodestone and it will warm the water coming from the spout. It's just like on Earth, except no electricity is required. And…"

She popped the crystal out and held it up. "It's removable! So once the stored magic is used up, it can be swapped for a new one, and the old one can be recharged."

"Huh."

"I've already learned the spells. Wait until I show Bastian. This is way better than having to cast a heating spell on your bathtub."

"Prince Bastian didn't send you here for bath spells ," Eryx shouted from the other room.

Wincing, Clio replaced the crystal in its slot.

Kassia squeezed her shoulder. "You're doing your best, Clio. Don't let him bother you."

Clio glanced nervously at the wall between her and the angry chimera. "I've never seen him upset like this before."

"He's usually on his best behavior around you and Bastian." Kassia raised her voice. "He's a complete ass the rest of the time."

Clio flinched, knowing Eryx had heard that last bit. Kassia knew Eryx far better than Clio did. The two chimeras were cousins from a large extended family that had produced many talented warriors.

With thundering steps, Eryx appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"I might be an ass," he growled, his dark stare flashing between Kassia and Clio, "but at least I'm not totally incompetent."

Clio's breath caught at the sight of his shadowed eyes—a blatant warning to tread carefully.

Aside from possessing magic, the thing that really set daemons apart from humans was their essential nature. Daemons had much stronger instincts—in both the predation and self-preservation categories—and sometimes those instincts dominated their behavior. The daemon stopped thinking in terms of logic, law, or morality and simply acted—often violently.

Humans called it "shading," and the key indicator was the darkening of a daemon's eyes. The darker their eyes, the closer they were to violence.

Kassia studied her cousin, then folded her arms. "Get a grip, Eryx. This isn't over yet."

"What's left?" he spat. "In a couple of hours, Clio disengaged a high-level ward while the master weaver was watching, caused another weaver to kill himself, caused another weaver to blow up half their lower level, mimicked an advanced shielding technique in front of witnesses, lost her mask so the incubus recognized her, caused the entire building to shut down, and made us all look like fools!"

Clio shrunk more with each accusation. "No one saw me mimic the shield."

"And if she hadn't, the explosion would've killed her," Kassia added. "You're overreacting, Eryx."

"Overreacting? She screwed up everything , and she didn't get a read on a single useful spell."

"Once Chrysalis fixes things, they'll call her back."

"The incubus recognized her. They'll be suspicious now."

Kassia took an aggressive step closer to Eryx and his irises darkened from burgundy to black. Clio swallowed nervously.

"Back off, Eryx. Shouting at Clio won't change anything. When we came here, we didn't know anyone would recognize her. But it happened, and now we have to deal with it."

Eryx flexed his jaw, black eyes fixed on Kassia and his face calculating instead of angry. Some castes had inherently stronger instincts that pushed them toward aggression or violence—and for some, their instincts were so dominating that they didn't even recognize their allies, seeing only potential threats instead. Chimeras fell somewhere in the middle, while nymphs like Clio were unaggressive compared to most.

Kassia advanced on Eryx and he conceded, backing out of the doorway. Clio reluctantly followed her into the living space. The accommodations Chrysalis had provided were in a two-story inn located a few streets away from the canal that separated the industrial-style quadrant from the rest of Asphodel. Their suite included a main room with a low sofa, a coffee table, and a desk in the corner, as well as a separate bedroom containing two large beds and, of course, the luxury bathroom.

Eryx paced across the room and leaned against the wall by the sliding door to the small balcony. Beyond the glass, the sky was pitch black, and only the lights of the many buildings within the estate offered any perspective.

Clio retreated to the sofa and dropped onto it. She'd shed the oversized sleeves and several layers of her costume, leaving her with a fitted, sleeveless top with a hood, a wide fabric belt, and a single white skirt. Her mask was long gone, buried in the rubble of the collapsed ceiling in Chrysalis.

Kassia sat beside her, glaring at Eryx. Clio resisted the urge to apologize. She'd already apologized profusely while telling them what had happened.

Eryx heaved a long sigh and looked up with eyes that were deep red instead of black. "I'm sorry, Clio. It's hard to keep a level head when so much is riding on this."

"I know," she mumbled. "What do we do?"

"The incubus recognized you." Kassia tapped the arm of the sofa. "But even if he's suspicious, he has no reason to act against you."

Clio nodded. "It's in his best interests to make the most profitable sale possible. Just because we met in a spell shop doesn't change that."

"Do you think he'll finish your tour?" Eryx asked. "We need to get your eyes on their best magic, not their usual warfare spells."

Clio bit her lower lip. "I can try. If he refuses, I'll have him bring spells to me."

"And if he won't?" Eryx pressed.

Her teeth dragged over her lip as she looked at the floor. If Lyre wouldn't show her Chrysalis's best magic, she wasn't sure what she would do.

"One step at a time," Kassia said. "Let's focus on preparing for Clio's next meeting with the weaver."

Clio wilted at the prospect. She massaged her forehead, her limbs still aching from the basement explosion.

"Clio." Kassia's voice softened. "Why don't you take a break? We have lots of time to plan while Chrysalis cleans everything up."

Relieved, Clio got to her feet. She started toward the bedroom, then changed her mind and slid the balcony door open. She stepped into the cool night air and drew in a deep, soothing breath. After nudging the door most of the way shut, she leaned against the railing, letting her gaze drift across the unfamiliar sights.

Beyond the dark roofs, the Hades palace rose above the other buildings, its red lights seeming to sparkle. In the distance beyond them, glowing crimson spots revealed the regularly spaced watchtowers that circled the estate.

She craned her neck, peering at the velvety black sky. No stars interrupted the empty expanse. No hint of a coming dawn touched any horizon. Was it always this dark? Was this a world of never-ending night? She doubted it. How would plants grow without sunlight? Where would the trees in the Chrysalis lobby have come from if this was a dead world of darkness?

She propped her elbows on the rail and supported her chin with one hand, staring absently across the beautiful but somehow haunting lights of Asphodel.

"You need to stop testing my patience," Kassia said, her voice audible through the crack in the door. "Clio's life depends on her staying levelheaded, and if you shout at her again, I'll tie you up and gag you for the rest of this trip."

"You can try," Eryx growled back.

"I can, and I will." Kassia's voice dropped further, until Clio had to strain to hear. "If protecting her means walking out of here without Bastian's precious war spells, then so be it. You can stay behind and get the spells yourself."

Eryx snapped something indiscernible. Footsteps thudded on the floor, and a door slammed.

A moment later, Kassia joined Clio at the railing. She glanced at Clio's expression, then murmured, "You heard?"

"Yeah."

"Eryx is an ass."

"So you've said. Where did he go?"

"To walk off his bad mood, I presume. If he gets himself killed wandering around Asphodel, it'll be his own fault."

Clio gripped her friend's hand. "Thank you, Kass. For everything."

Kassia returned the squeeze. "You be careful when you go back there, Clio. We need to get out of this alive."

She nodded. "I'll make it work."

"You think you can handle that incubus?"

Clio drummed her fingers on the railing. "I think so. He… he isn't what I expected."

"Oh?"

"He's kind of a contradiction. One minute he seems cold and cruel just like I'd expect from someone who invents horrible spells for a living, but then other times he seems…"

"He seems what?" Kassia prompted.

"I don't know." How did she explain that in a few rare moments, Lyre had seemed like a completely different person? A person who'd teased her about getting stuck to the spelled door, who'd lied to spare her feelings, who'd carefully pulled her hood up so she didn't get debris in her hair?

"Clio? Clio ."

She blinked. "Huh?"

Kassia gave her a warning look. "You can't get all soft and misty-eyed over this guy. He's an incubus. Everything he does is a form of calculated seduction."

Clio frowned uncertainly.

"Have you been watching him with your asper to make sure he isn't fogging your thoughts with his seduction magic?"

"Yes, I was checking. He didn't use any magic on me."

"Are you sure?"

Clio rolled her eyes. "I'm sure, Kass. I'm more sure than any other daemon in this realm could be."

"Fair point," Kassia muttered. "Well, if he does try it, blast him with everything you've got."

Clio laughed. "I don't see that going over well, but I guess I won't have much choice."

Kassia leaned her back against the railing, and a comfortable silence fell between them. Clio gazed up at the velvety night sky. Soon, sooner than she'd dared to hope, she and Kassia would return to Irida to live in the royal palace again. Clio would be reunited with Bastian and Petrina, their little sister.

First, she needed to venture back into Chrysalis. It worried her that, despite the danger, a small part of her was eager to return—for one specific, amber-eyed reason.

She sighed and focused on the challenges waiting for her. Getting through this endless night alive would be difficult enough without the distraction of a mysterious, unpredictable incubus who was going to have some pointed questions for her upon their next meeting.