There was a crash of thunder, and a bolt of lightning lit up the space through the massive windows at the room’s far end. The chamber was grossly extravagant, multiple tapestries overlapping one another on the stone floors, the walls lined with glass cases and overly-designed, hand-carved shelving, pedestals holding vases, busts, crystals, floating miniatures of entire cities, and in the center stood Xander, that stupid, smarmy grin plastered on his infuriatingly pleased face.
Hands clasped behind his back, the blood mage sighed at the sight of them. “I could barely sleep last night just waiting for this moment.”
“How long have you been standing there?” Damien snorted, eyeing the room’s single shelf of books.
Xander’s head cocked. “Not so long that I felt I needed to come get you.”
Damien strode to the shelf quickly, reading the spines with a quick glance. Nothing of great interest, though some of the books appeared ancient, others looked pristine and unread.
“Kitten, how lovely it is to see you especially. Come here, have a seat.”
Damien snapped back around to see Xander pulling a chair out from a table set near the windows. This time, Amma did not look to him for approval or help. She only squeezed the Lux Codex tight to her chest and crossed the long room in a scurry, head still down. Damien abandoned the shelf and went to stand at her other side, meeting Xander’s gaze as he pushed the chair in under her. Even at this distance, the Lux Codex made Damien’s insides crawl as she sat it on the table before her. As Xander’s dark eyes widened and peered down at the book, it was clear he could feel its divine arcana too.
“Delightful,” he whispered, and then fell into the chair at the table’s head. “Now, first, the plan.” Xander dragged a hand against the woodgrain, and from beneath, a spark of light scurried its way to the table’s center. A vivid image took shape to hover just over the wooden top, tiny buildings springing up in miniature, and in the center a grand castle. Eirengaard. “So, how do you intend to do it?”
Damien watched the image of the city subtly spin before them from where he stood, the divine arcana off the Lux Codex oppressive on his skin. He remembered the city, but the vision in his mind was odd, a nostalgic sort of prickling at the back of his head and something like fear pressing in on his spine.
He looked down at Amma just beside him. Now that—thatwas fear reflecting up in her doe-like eyes, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, goosebumps on her bare shoulders.
“You said it yourself.” Damien took a step away from her to the third chair set at the table’s other end, across its length from Xander. “Storm the gates, cut down the king, and take the vault. Simple.”
“No, no, no!” Xander threw back his head to stare up at the ceiling with a childish huff. Xander had only two years on Damien, yet he always acted so much younger. That, at least, gave Damien the tiniest bit of leverage. “That’s not it. That can’t be it. You’re so muchsmarterthan that.”
Damien remained stoic as he sat, resting elbows on the table, folding his hands together, and placing his chin on them. He looked over to Amma who was still watching him, the fear in her eyes lessening as they narrowed. “Am I?”
“Of course!” Xander sat forward with violence, grabbing the table and making Amma jolt back into her chair. “Now, tell meexactlyhow you’re going to do it, it’s part of our bargain.”
Damien only stared back at him, barely putting the effort in to shrug. “I already did.”
“I can call off the truceanytime,” threatened Xander.
Damien knew that, but he also knew he wouldn’t. He sat back, cracking his neck to cover another glance at Amma. It was perhaps obvious the woman had something to do with Damien’s machinations, but Xander could never guess what. He’d only donned one piece of armor that morning, his bracer with the dagger he used for bloodletting, and turned his arm so its hilt caught the light. “Go ahead. Your accommodations were quite restorative.”
Xander stared back at him over the shape of the city they intended to infiltrate as it slowly spun. Another flash of lightning lit up the side of his face, highlighting the deep curve to his brow and the anger there. Thunder rumbled again, farther off, but the plunking of rain against the window intensified. “Fine,” he finally said, blinking away to look out at the growing storm. “But you’ll tell me eventually. And in the meantime, we have plenty of work to do with this.” He gestured to the book.
Amma was visibly relieved at that, hands loosening from around one another. Her eyes flicked to Damien, and there was even a hint of a smile on her lips.
Damien returned it, just as small, then cleared his throat. “Well, none of us have looked at it yet, so, Amma, if you would, please?”
She sat forward and laid her hands on the cover before carefully opening to the first page. Her eyes followed the script there, thin brows knitting, head tipping slightly to the side in thought. Her fingers skimmed the edge of the page, thumb rubbing over the corner as she prepared to flip to the next one. Deep in thought with the soft glow of the candles on her, she was even more beautiful than usual. Damien leaned on the table, gazing at her, tension wrung out of his muscles. He could have sat there all day, the rain pattering against the window, just watching her read.
Xander huffed out an impatient breath. “By the basest beasts, kitten, tell us!”
Amma jumped. “Right! Um—”
“She has a name,” Damien spat, hating the slimy diminutive, especially on Xander’s tongue.
“Yet she answers.” Xander grinned back at him.
“The thing is,” said Amma before Damien could tell Xander to properly fuck off, “it’s all written in Ouranic.” That was the language of the gods in Empyrea, the equivalent of Chthonic to the dark gods in the Abyss.
Xander laughed ruefully. “How the fuck did Mal read it?”
“He didn’t—he died.” Damien knew a number of languages himself, but Ouranic was a challenge that most infernal creatures couldn’t overcome: it was cursed or blessed, dependent on one’s persuasion, to sometimes tell the reader’s intent, and if it didn’t approve, the symbols could get up and move around.
Amma made a small, nervous sound in the back of her throat. There were very few pages in the Lux Codex overall, and Amma flipped through a number of them before looking up hesitantly. “I know Ouranic. Sort of. Or, at least I had lessons in it…”
Damien couldn’t help but grin. “Boring lessons?”
