Page 44 of Ignite
What is Daimon to me? A man who looked me in my eyes and didn’t show any emotion. The man who refused to help us get Graylen back and release the souls trapped in the Vale.
“My father.” The words taste like ash as they come out, but I manage to keep my voice steady.Fatherisn’t the best way to describe him. A father shouldn’t try to kill their daughter and her friends; a father shouldn’t abandon his people. “Mybloodandsire. Nothing more,” I correct.
A strangled noise comes from Willow, tears lining her bright eyes. She looks at Brielle and whispers, “Evelina’s wedding day?”
Brielle gives her a sharp nod. I make a mental note to ask what they mean later.
Leda steps forward, her gaze swinging to Brielle, too. “Of course we know our mother’s bloodline…but what do we know about Daimon’s?”
Brielle sucks in a sharp breath and starts to shake her head, turning to Willow and Aster. They’re the only three in this room who know him from before, when he was the commander of the Riders instead of the monster he is today.
“All he ever told us was that he lost both of his parents,” Brielle says slowly. “Everyone who knew him knew that Annora’s parents took him in at a young age, raising them as their own.”
Willow and Aster nod, a somber look passing between the three warriors.
Leda looks at me, and I can see the wheels spinning in hermind. I know what she’s thinking, because I’m thinking the same thing.
But it’s Calix who says, “Daimon obviously isn’t one of the Divine.” He takes a deep breath, and my muscles tense. “But what if he came from one?”
My blood rushes in my ears, dulling the words coming out of Leda’s mouth. I can see her lips moving, but no sound reaches my ears. Brielle says something back to Leda, their voices muted.
Strong fingers grip my shoulders, shaking me lightly.
“Lu,”a deep, feminine voice hisses. “Breathe.”
The world snaps back into focus, the sound of the forest assaulting my senses. I need off this fucking island. It’s too much—knowing Graylen is in pain. Knowing we weren’t successful in releasing the souls from the Vale. Waiting to see what Moros will do next.
It’stoo much.
I shake my head and slowly push myself up, my body swaying as I stand. Calix jolts forward, but I raise my palm, stopping him.
“The only person that can tell us the truth tried to kill us,” I breathe, my voice shaking. “Whether it’s true or not, it doesn’t change anything. We need to focus on getting Nightfall.”
Aster clears his throat and says, “We can help with that.”
I search his gaze, waiting for more, but silence fills the room as everyone turns to him. He struggles to find his words, a war raging in his eyes.
Finally, Leda steps toward him, her head tilted to the side. “And this mysterious dagger that’s going to solve all of our problems is—what?” she drawls. “Let me guess, lost at sea and hasn’t been seen for millennia?”
“Actually.” Willow shifts her weight from one foot to another, her jaw clenching. “We know exactly where it is.”
My heart thrashes in my chest. Theyalreadyknow where the dagger is? All this time—taking us to the cave, showing us those carvings—they’ve known where Nightfall isat.
And yet, they’re here on this island with no dagger in sight.
Leda snorts and mutters, “Convenient.”
Willow’s eyes snap to Leda, two warriors assessing each other. While Willow is bright and sweet, there’s something darker in her gaze. The kind of weight only a soldier can carry.
“If it wasconvenient, then we would’ve found a way to get it years ago,” Willow says slowly.
Leda’s face brightens with the challenge, but I jump in before she starts a fight with the two people who can tell us where the dagger is.
“Where is it?” I ask.
Willow turns to me, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Aster may have hesitated, but she doesn’t.
“There’s a reason we all moved here to Kauri,” she says slowly. “We are the keepers of the wyverns, the ones that watch over them in their slumber and answer Eurydice’s call to wake them when the time comes.
