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“You’re fucking with me,” he exclaimed, and Kael let out a huff of laugher, and shook her head.
“Sable speaks the truth.”
Rycon and I exchanged a glance. The thought of him in his panther form, coated in restructium was… deadly.
“Thank you,” Rycon said, meeting Kael’s gaze. It was clear that he meant it.
Kael dipped her head, smirking. “You are welcome. Though, Sable deserves much of the credit. It was her idea.” Kael, reached out, and draped her arm around Sable’s waist, looking at her with pride. “She comes up with the designs, I simply craft them.”
Sable laughed. “Humble words for the most renowned restructium smith in the Dominion.” Kale blushed at her praise.
“As always,” Amon said, “Your work has exceeded my expectations. Please, send the invoice to the palace so that we can make sure you are compensated accordingly.” He smiled politely at them. I suppose an order of this size would be more than the bundle of emerald shards he had on his person.
“Of course, Prince Amon,” Sable dipped her head at him smiling. “Always a pleasure.”
76
It was dark out, when we gathered in the common room, all of us dressed in armor. Despite the comfort of Elvira’s circlet on my brow, I was feeling uneasy. The memories of how poorly our last visit had gone surfaced, and I forced myself not to shudder. I would not allow that to happen again.
Conrad was experimenting with his new suit. He had followed Sable’s instructions and filled the suit with water, so that he could access it whenever he needed. The water flowed out from various small openings that Kael had added, and Conrad called the water to spill around him in thin ribbons. The amount of control Conrad had over his magick was always impressive to see.
Meredith had spent some time packing her suit as well. She was now armed with several vials of potions and drafts, satchels of herbs and various other ointments that might come in handy.
“Are you going to shift?” I asked Rycon, who was lounging in the pit, waiting for us to leave. I noticed his gaze kept sliding over to Kasha, who had been quieter than usual. He shook his head.
“Not unless I need to. It’s not the most pleasant experience.” He said. I knew it was relatively painful for him to shift. I had felt him do it through the bond once. I hadn’t realized that it was painful enough that he actively avoided doing it. “It’s fine once you’ve changed. Honestly, it's even enjoyable. Simpler. I know many who prefer to spend most of their time in their panther form. Although, there are not many of my kind that shift if they don't have to. Plus, on top of that, you fuck up a lot of clothes if you change too frequently.”
I let out a surprised burst of laughter. “So, I guess with this suit you won’t need to buy new jeans every time you shift.”
He smirked at me, “Yeah, definitely a big plus.”
“OK team,” Amon began. “Is everyone ready to go?”
Rycon hopped out of the pit, and we came to join everyone by the opening in the wall. Dossidian clapped his hands together, taking on the role of commander.
“Here’s the plan. Amon and Raven will shadow walk us to the south side of the palace. Conrad will use The Lens to uncover the hidden entrance, and Meredith, you will be the bearer of the Omnikey. Raven and Rycon will need to focus on defense. Elvira’s circlet seems to also extend its power to Rycon from what Raven has told me. So, Raven can field magical attacks, while Rycon acts as a scout, moving ahead and reporting back to Raven on what we can expect.” Dossidian looked to Rycon and I, to make sure we understood. I nodded and turned to Rycon.
“I’m going to unblock our bond, so it’s easier to communicate.” I informed him, and his lip curled up with a nod. For a moment, I thought of how far we had come from when I had first accidently bonded him to me. Something we had both originally wished had never happened, was now giving us quite a bit of an advantage.
“Once inside, Amon, myself, Conrad and Kasha, will guard Raven, and take out any physical attacks while she manages the magickal ones. Remember, we waited for nightfall, so that Ash Nevra will be busy holding court. There’s no reason for us to expect to see many daemons on our way from the dungeons to the throne room. She likely has most of her court with her in the Great Hall. However, if we come across anyone, we need to eliminate them quickly and effectively. We cannot hesitate.”
My stomach sank. I prayed we wouldn’t run into any slaves. The thought of killing someone being forced to act against their will was nauseating. Dossidian turned to Meredith, his eyes softening.
“Meredith, when you are done with your task for the key, stay close to Raven. You will need to focus on staying covered, so that if we need medical attention, you are free to provide it.” Meredith nodded gravely.
“I understand,” she said.
“Once we are in the throne room, Rycon will guard the door, while Raven plays the unfreezing tune on The Flute.” Dossidian continued. “Does everyone have their respective magickal artifacts?” Conrad, Meredith, and I all nodded. I patted my chest, where I had The Flute tucked away.
Amon nodded at us, before coming up next to me. “I saw you eyeing these, in the shoppe, earlier.” He said, before sliding out a long matte black box, wrapped in a glossy black ribbon. My eyes widened, and I looked up at him.
“You got me a present?” I asked and he smiled, nodding.
“It’s more of a present for me. I want you to be armed.”
I took the box from him and opened it. Lying inside, nestled in black silk, were the restructium blades I had seen on display. They were beautiful. The black handles had a large piece of onyx inlaid in each hilt, and the blades themselves were stamped with intricate patterns and whorls. The designs reminded me of my scars.
“Here,” Amon said, coming forward to help me strap the sheaths to my arms. He fastened them so they sat on the insides of my forearms, handles nestled against my wrists. I looked up at him when he was done.
