Page 33 of Daemon Master

“It—she—can think and act for herself. I’ve seen you accomplish impossible feats not once, but twice now. Perhaps it’s time I explore this ‘true bond’ for myself.”

The admission caught Adrian off-guard. Since entering the forest, Seymour had made it clear he intended to lie low for a few months before striking out on his own. Adrian had half-expected him to change his mind long before now, honor or no, and turn Heartrender and him over to Kali in exchange for a pardon. But this…

“Youwant to forge a true bond?”

“Why not?” The watcher straightened his shoulders. “You think I’m not up to the task?”

Adrian wilted beneath his glare. “No. I just thought you didn’t particularly, you know,likedaemons. You realize the true bond requires a partnership, right?”

“If sharpening my weapon requires certain accommodations, then so be it.”

“There are risks involved, too. The true bond requires choice. You’ll need to free your daemons from their bondstones first, and there’s no guarantee they’ll accept. They could flee or even turn hostile.”

“I realize the risks, and I accept them. Better no blade at all than one I cannot trust to do its job.” Seymour narrowed his eyes. “After how you’ve gone on about Serenity Corp’s betrayal, I’d think you’d be more supportive. Are you concerned you won’t be special anymore?”

Adrian tensed, his fingers tightening on Heartrender’s back enough to elicit a disapproving yip. “Don’t be ridiculous! I’d love to see the entire League discard their bondstones for good. But once you cross this line, there’s no going back. You’ll be a traitor forever.”

Turning to stare into the fire, Seymour grinned mirthlessly. Shadows outlined the sharp planes of his face. “I already am. For better or worse, I made my choice the night I helped you escape.” Aether flared around his balled fist. “The Serenity Corp I devoted my life to is a lie. I’ve wasted enough time these past months on doubt and hesitation. So, what do you say? Will you help me?”

Adrian hesitated, thinking of Trailseeker and its recent sacrifice to Icetusk. A familiar guilt curled in his belly. He’d delayed far too long already. “I’m in. Let’s go free our daemons.”

“I still say we should stagger it out,” Adrian said as he followed Seymour through the trees toward the clearing they’d selected. “What if our daemons turn on us?”

Seymour snapped a hanging branch Tremorfist had missed and tossed it aside. “Then we’ll handle it. Better to have it over and done with.” He glanced at Adrian, raising an eyebrow. “Unless you’re getting cold feet?”

Adrian scowled. “Nope.”

“Good,” Seymour said as Tremorfist parted the trees before him. “Because we’re here.”

Adrian’s heart pounded with nervous anticipation as he surveyed the small field of grass and wildflowers they’d chosen. Somewhere nearby, a creek burbled over stone. He stretched out his aethersense, searching for any signs of daemons. As far as he could tell, they were alone.

“Looks clear to me,” he said.

Seymour’s own gaze swept over the area. “Agreed. Stay on your guard, though. You never know when a shrouded daemon might lurk nearby.”

Adrian nodded. Now that they were here, the full weight of what they were about to do settled on him. He cleared his suddenly dry throat. “Should we, um, say a few words?”

“We’re freeing our daemons, not killing them. Besides, what did you have in mind? ‘Sorry for imprisoning you all these years. No hard feelings?’”

Adrian’s cheeks reddened. “Forget it. Let’s just get on with this.”

Closing his eyes, he sensed both Heartrender and Trailseeker’s aether coiled inside him. Heartrender noticed his attention and greeted him sleepily. He gave her the equivalent of a mental pat on the head in return.

Trailseeker’s presence remained silent. Adrian’s stomach roiled. The daemon had been his constant companion for years, protecting him when no one else would. As much as he feared what happened next, it was time to return the favor.

Hoping it wouldn’t be for the last time, he channeled his aether to manifest Trailseeker’s familiar sleek form. “Sorry this took me so long, buddy,” he whispered, placing a hand on the impassive daemon’s head. “But better late than never, right?”

Trailseeker, of course, didn’t respond.

Adrian closed his eyes and reached out to the bondstone resting within the daemon’s core. Shaped like a triangle with rounded corners, the smooth black stone had remained there ever since Adrian first chose Trailseeker as his companion at sixteen. It was what had bound them together, allowing them to function as a team…while enslaving Trailseeker against its will.

Shoving aside the last of his doubts, he sent a pulse of aether to the relic. Trailseeker’s aura flared, and the daemon howled, its legs buckling as it collapsed to its side, panting in deep breaths. The inert bondstone clattered to the forest floor.

Just like that, Trailseeker was free.

“I expected more somehow,” Seymour said. Adrian turned to find him rising from Willowrush’s trembling body. He fingered the bondstone in his hand, frowning thoughtfully at it.

“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.