Page 97 of Daemon Master

Aether suddenly tugged at his reserve. Without pausing to think, he reached out and twined the disparate streams of energy together despite their best efforts to tear apart. AnUnbendable Rodmaterialized in his hands just in time to catch Lockrod’s strike.

A greatdingrang through the chamber as the two rods collided. Adrian’s arms ached from absorbing the blow, but he kept them raised. Even amid his current maelstrom of emotions, shock rippled through him. He had done it—for the very first time, he’d managed a reverse Surge with Lockrod. Seconds passed, and he met Lockrod’s narrowed eyes with a defiant glare. The daemon’s weapon crackled against his own.

Then, Lockrod scampered back, dismissing hisUnbendable Rod. With a gasp, Adrian did the same. The aether he’d briefly joined with snapped back to Lockrod…but not before Lockrod’s unfiltered thoughts flooded his mind. Anger roiled on the surface, akin to what Adrian himself felt, but beneath it lurked happiness and hope intertwined with the pain of loss. And undergirding it all was a deep, abiding fear, along with an unwavering resolve to conquer it at all costs.

Determination, Adrian realized dazedly, staring at the daemon in wonder.That’s what Lockrod feels when he looks at me.He didn’t blame Adrian for what had happened. Instead, he…he wasworriedabout Adrian. And he wanted so desperatelyto help. Adrian glanced at Heartrender. Even without the deeper connection of a reverse Surge, he saw the same concern reflected in her eyes.They both do.

He broke down, covering his face with his arm and sobbing into it. Both his daemons reached him in an instant, snuggling into his sides. He wrapped his arms around them and pulled them close. “I’m sorry,” he said between gulps for air. “I won’t give up on you.I won’t.”

Maybe hewasa failure or some cosmic disappointment. Maybe he’d let Seymour and the Enclave and his own daemons down. But so long as others needed him, he owed it to them to soldier on. To fight.

When Adrian finally regained control over himself, his tears drying on his cheeks, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. Still, that proved preferable to his previous hollowness. He saw his despair now for what it was—an excuse. A convenient lie to justify the cold comfort of apathy.

But that was the coward’s way out. It was no different from how he’d been in Hillvale, resigned to his fate and going through the motions. Retreating from his training instead of persevering through it. Giving up didn’t help anyone, least of all himself.

Heartrender nuzzled his side, and he reached out to stroke her head. He still had his daemons with him, his aether stronger than he would’ve thought possible only a year ago. Therehadto be a way out of this mess. And he was going to find it.

Perhaps…perhaps he could still salvage their original plan? The specifics would need to change, of course, and reaching the tournament could no longer be their main concern. But they’d made it into the watcher fortress and would soon have access to an airship. Escaping on board might be their best strategy for putting as much distance as possible between them and their captors.

Holding onto that seed of hope to ground him, Adrian sat on the floor and tried to recall everything he’d learned about aetherforging. With less than ten days until the airship arrived, he no longer had the luxury of careful practice and refinement. If he was going to forge anything to aid in their escape, he’d need to do so quickly.

With that thought in the forefront of his mind, he bent over, breathed deep to marshal his focus, and got to work.

twenty-three

Quid Pro Quo

The next couple dayspassed in a sleepless blur. Watchers wordlessly provided Adrian’s meals while Jasper himself appeared every morning and afternoon like clockwork to try to coax him into conversation. The seeker obviously wanted something from him—why leave him his aether and daemons except to get in his good graces? But whatever game Jasper was playing, Adrian refused to play along.

During his long hours left alone, he ironed out a tentative plan to escape. However, it depended on his ability to aetherforge daemonic techniques, and that was going…not great. He’d only just begun to understand Kali’s relics and Crastley’s journal prior to the disastrous feast, and without any of the devices here to study, he had to rely purely on memory.

After two days of fruitless attempts, footsteps reverberated outside his cell. He shoved his current project beneath his cot right as Jasper swept into the room. Hands in the pockets of his billowing white coat, he gave Adrian a polite smile.

“Ah, Adrian! Good to see you.”

It was the same way Jasper had greeted him during his other visits. Always before, Adrian had stared at the wall until the seeker left. Today, however, he hesitated. If Jasper really was the head of Project Paragon, a research initiative focused on advanced aetherforging, he must be a preeminent expert in the craft. And he’d made it clear he wanted to talk. Could Adrian pick his brain for valuable information without tipping his own hand?

“G-good morning,” Adrian stammered. “W-what can I do for you?”

If Jasper was surprised to hear Adrian break his vow of silence, he hid it well. “I’d hoped to resume our earlier chat. I believe there is much we could learn from each other.”

Adrian bit back an angry retort. This had beenhisidea, after all. “Like what?”

Jasper raised an amused brow. “Nothing sinister, I assure you. I merely wish to satisfy my curiosity. You represent a fascinating enigma, Adrian—one I’m eager to unpack.”

Again, he hesitated, torn between acquiescing and telling the seeker to shove it. “You already have Crastley’s journal. Am I really so interesting?”

“Notes scribbled on a page can hardly compare to a firsthand account. I’m sure you’ve seen much to supplement Callum’s musings since leaving Hillvale.”

In other words, Jasper suspected Adrian was holding back secrets of his own. Which, fair enough. But was he willing to risk aiding Jasper’s heinous research in order to learn from him?

As if sensing his reluctance, Jasper sighed and held up his hands, palms out. “No lies or tricks. Think of this as your chance to convince me of the true bond’s merits.”

Adrian wasn’t fooled. The seeker cared about the true bond only in so much as he might pervert it for his experiments.But the last couple days had made it clear that Adrian needed Jasper’s know-how…even if it meant he risked falling into the seeker’s trap.

“Fine,” he said, attempting nonchalance. “Let’s chat. You were telling me before about the daemoforged devices you lent Kali. Were those your only prototypes?”

“We gave her some of our earliest and best work, but we’ve had other successes,” Jasper replied without missing a beat. “Though as you’ve seen, they tend not to last.” His gaze flicked to Heartrender. “Hopefully, that will change soon.”