Page 79 of Daemon Master

Freya scuffed her feet against the ground. “Of course, everyone here is acting as though it’s the worst thing to ever happen. I suppose they’re right—forcing daemons to fight against their will for sport is pretty horrible, even if their deaths aren’t permanent.” She sighed wistfully. “Still, I’d love to see something like that. Maybe someday, the combatants will berealdaemon masters like you and Seymour. I wonder how many people will be there.”

Adrian gave an absent shrug, still caught up in his daydreams. “Even the minor tournaments draw massive crowds. If Serenity Corp is hyping this one up, I can only imagine how many thousands of people will come to compete, let alone watch. Spirits above, even the League officials and Serenity Corp executives won’t want to miss…” He trailed off, his eyes widening.

Freya frowned at him. “What is it?”

“I think I just had either a very brilliant or very stupid idea.” Shaking himself out of his stupor, he dashed off, shouting over his shoulder, “Meet me at my hut. I’ve gotta grab Seymour!”

Adrian found Freya seated inside at their table when he arrived with Seymour in tow. Heartrender immediately curled up in her lap while Lockrod chittered playfully, hopping around the chamber until Freya offered him a snack of aether.Traitors, Adrian thought to them fondly.

Seymour crossed his arms, glowering at Adrian. “Nowwill you tell me what this is about?”

“Seconded!” Freya said. “Why did talking about the tournament make you run off?”

Seymour glanced at her sharply. “What tournament?”

Adrian took a moment to collect his racing thoughts while Freya caught Seymour up. “All that talk of the Diamond Cup got me thinking,” Adrian cut in once she’d finished. “What’s the main difficulty we face if we want to reveal the true bond’s existence to the League?”

“Serenity Corp murdering us first?” Seymour said.

“Everyone refusing to believe you?” Freya said.

He waved a hand. “Sure, those are part of it. But the way I see it, our biggest problem is justbeing heard. Serenity Corp controlseverything—the government, their three divisions, and even the allegedly free guilds. The instant they caught wind of any rumors, they’d shut them down.”

Seymour gave a curt nod. “Hence our hiding here in this insignificant village.” He glanced at Freya. “No offense.”

“None taken,” she said. “It’s a fair point. People are skeptical of what they don’t understand. It’s much easier for Serenity Corp to maintain the status quo than for you to disrupt it.”

Adrian squinted at Freya. In his haste, he hadn’t given much thought to inviting her to join their discussion. After all the time they’d spent together the last couple weeks, it had only seemed natural. From Seymour’s lack of protest, he assumed the watcher felt the same way.

“Right,” he said at last. “That’s what’s had me stuck. I figured convincing the Enclave might be the first step toward revealing the truth. If we kept our intentions beneath Serenity Corp’s radar, we could slowly spread the word until it had disseminated too widely to contain.”

He paused and ran a nervous hand through his hair. Heartrender gave a mewl of encouragement from Freya’s lap while Lockrod scampered over to perch on his shoulder. With a rush of appreciation, he leaned his head against Lockrod. “Butthat could take years, giving Serenity Corp time to fight back.That’swhere the Diamond Cup comes in.”

“How does a tournament change any of that?” Freya asked, furrowing her brow.

Seymour studied him. “You mean to compete,” he said, half-incredulous and half-admiring.

His pulse quickening, Adrian nodded. “Freya said they’ve opened admissions to the general public. All we’d have to do is pass the qualifiers. There’s no way Serenity Corp will be able to suppress the rumors if we make our case before an audience of thousands.”

Seymour snorted. “You honestly think you can beat the best daemon masters in the League?”

“I don’t have towin,” he said, shoving down his secret ambition to do exactly that. “I just need to make it far enough to draw a crowd. Besides, I wouldn’t be the only one competing. Haven’t you ever wanted to prove yourself the best?”

Seymour didn’t respond, but the longing gleam in his bright green eyes spoke volumes.

Adrian pressed his advantage. “Not to mention the unique benefits the true bond gives us over the competition. We’ll have to avoid showing our hand too early so Serenity Corp doesn’t intervene. But even without all our tricks, our daemons’ independence, coupled with our greater ability to share aether, should give us the edge we need to win.”

“Speak for yourself,” Seymour grumbled. “I’m perfectly capable of winning on my own.” Despite his tone, Adrian could tell he had him hooked.

Freya chewed on her bottom lip. “Isn’t this plan of yours a bit…risky?”

“It is,” Adrian admitted. “The tournament’s in Haven, the largest city in the League, so it’ll be tantamount to walking into the heart of enemy territory. There’s a good chance we’ll end upcaptured and at Serenity Corp’s mercy.” Squaring his shoulders, he firmed his voice. “But we have to dosomethingbesides running or hiding. This is our chance to make a real difference.”

Silence followed his fervent pronouncement. Freya continued to work at her bottom lip while Seymour scowled at the floor. The watcher slowly looked up, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s say I went along with this insane plan. How do you intend to reach Haven in time to compete?”

Adrian hesitated. “I haven’t had time to work outallthe details,” he said, a touch defensively. “The qualifiers are still a couple months away.”

“And we’re on the opposite end of the spirit-cursed League!” Seymour retorted. “Even if it were possible to manage the journey on foot, we’d have to cross through dozens of towns, every one of which would risk exposing us to Serenity Corp’s watchers. There’s no way we’d make it to Haven undetected.” He stood, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Adrian. I want to expose Serenity Corp as much as you do, but this isn’t a plan—it’s suicide!”