Page 88 of Daemon Master

“This isn’t your fault, Adrian. My conflict with Leda has been brewing for years.” She sighed, some of the anger bleeding out of her. “Maybe time away will help clear her head. Despite our differences, she is still my sister. I trust her to eventually do the right thing.”

Remembering the hate in Leda’s eyes before she’d stormed off, he wasn’t so sure, but he kept his doubts to himself. “Then, you really don’t agree with her? About us or the true bond?”

Elana fixed him with a stern look. “I meant every word I said yesterday. Bondstones might be tantamount to slavery, but any fool can see how your daemons adore you. I would’ve supported you, even had…” Her throat caught, and she took a deep breath. “Even had my daughter not decided to become one of you.”

He nodded, relief loosening the knot in his chest. He might’ve asked more about Freya, but the girl chose that moment to appear around a bend. Her steps faltered when she saw her mother.

Elana’s face turned stony. “I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time,” she said, standing. “Enjoy the rest of your morning.”

With one last stiff nod, the Enclave’s leader hobbled off. Adrian didn’t miss the pointed way she avoided looking at her daughter, nor how Freya stiffened as she passed. For all Elana’s talk of acceptance, tension obviously lingered between them.

“Glad you could make it today,” he called to Freya.

She mumbled something that might’ve been a greeting and slumped onto a log without any of her usual exuberance. Her eyes, he noticed, appeared red and puffy, as if she’d been crying.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said dully, staring at the ground.

“Are you sure? Because if you need to talk, I—”

“Just let it go!” she snapped, her back tensing. “My mother and I had a little disagreement about my future, that’s all. It doesn’t matter.”

No sign of Metamire, Adrian realized. Perhaps she had the daemon melded with her to attract less attention around the village. Sympathy fluttered through him. He knew what it was like to feel everyone else’s judging eyes upon you.

Footsteps crunched in the dirt as Seymour joined them. “Good. Then, I assume you won’t object to some training.”

“Training?” She glanced up, her forehead wrinkling.

“Yes,training. Or do you intend to let your newfound power go to waste? Now that you’ve properly bonded a daemon, you have a lot to learn if you wish to master your link.”

For a moment, Freya simply stared at the watcher, her mouth hanging slightly agape. Then, tears filled her eyes. Her lips stretched into the widest grin Adrian had ever seen as she threw herself to her feet, wrapping Seymour in a tight embrace.

“Yes, well.” Seymour cleared his throat, and Adrian bit back a laugh at the watcher’s obvious discomfort. Shaking Freya off, he strode toward the woods. “Hurry up. Daylight’s burning.”

Freya gave Adrian an apologetic look. “Do you mind? If you need me here, I can—”

“Go,” he chuckled, waving her off. “I can handle the morning discussion on my own today.”

Nodding, she ran after Seymour. As Adrian watched her go, he made a mental note to check in on her later. He knew from firsthand experience how rough the watcher’s ‘lessons’ could be.

Part of him had doubted anyone else would show up no matter what Elana said, but to his relief, it didn’t take long for other villagers to begin trickling in. By his usual start time, attendeesfilled every seat, and more stood in a loose crowd at the back. A few glared with open hostility, but most appeared simply curious, and he got his fair share of smiles or respectful nods.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said, raising his voice to ensure it carried to the people in back. “Thank you all for coming. As always, I’m happy to discuss anything you’d like about my experiences in the outside world. Does anyone have any questions for me?”

Silence, save the rustling of so many bodies in close proximity. Near half the village must be there that morning—far more than had ever attended his morning discussions before. He waited for someone to speak up and wasn’t surprised when Xander stood from his seat near the front.

The kid appeared even more nervous than usual, shifting from foot to foot. When he spoke, his voice came out a barely audible croak. “C-c-can you t-tell us more a-about the t-t-true bond?”

Adrian sucked in a breath. He’d expected the topic to come up at some point, but not so soon, nor so directly. While he figured out how best to respond, he gauged the crowd’s reaction and found them listening with rapt attention. Xander must not be the only one intrigued by the topic.

Suppressing a grin, Adrian launched into an explanation of what they knew about the true bond and soon found himself fielding questions on everything from what it felt like having a bonded daemon to how—hypothetically, of course—one could form a bond of their own.

Freya might be an anomaly for now, but once people had time to adjust, he suspected the true bond would spread like wildfire. Pride swelled within him at the thought. Though the Enclave was only a single tiny village, cut off from the rest of the League, convincinganyoneof the truth felt like a grand victory against Serenity Corp. With any luck, it would be but the first of many.

Two more days passed before Adrian finally made a breakthrough in understanding Kali’s aetherforged relics. At first, he prayed he’d made a mistake. But no matter how many times he checked and rechecked the deteriorating enchantments, the results remained the same.

“How could they?” he whispered as he sat back, staring at the spirit-cursed objects while a creeping numbness pervaded him. “Howcouldthey?”