Legacy to Zero

33: Halcyon Daze

Lars

I twisted my earring and stepped into the room. It was a few floors up from where Royal Wren had given her speech, where the stained glass shined a fierce orange and red. The reflection became a thousand suns, all layered over the sorcerers gathered inside.

The mask of my suit was down, but I wore the rest of the getup, my gloves squeaking as I folded my hands together. Flutes filled to the brim with drinks took over the tables alongside the food; I placed myself on the other side of the room.

I'd already eaten beforehand in preparation. I didn't know for sure if there was anything for me to eat, and anyway, it was a variable I didn't want to worry about.

Most of the squadrons hung out around the tables or were circling the area, making conversation and showing off their threads. Closer to the wall, North stood with two sorcerers who I could only guess were the other members of Halcyon.

I weaved my way over to him. "North!" I said in my best over-the-top tone.

"Wilder!" He matched my enthusiasm, then laughed at himself when his voice cracked. "Made any progress yet?"

A few days had passed since Dex and Taylor had returned to Kingston, a few days since we'd placed the box in my room until we figured out how to pry it open. I hadn't, in fact, made any progress. Using my beak in bird form hadn't worked as the raven was simply too large. "I'll figure it out."

He frowned a little. I'd been hoping for better news too, and the speck of a chill washed over me. North swept his hands toward the two sorcerers, clearing his throat before he said, "You have yet to meet my squadron, right? This is Halcyon."

He tipped his thumb at the two sorcerers beside me. The shorter sorcerer in an army-style jacket and black pants tipped their head in greeting. "Hey. Imp. Or anything you want. I'm flexible. Nor refers to me as it sometimes, and that's actually pretty nice."

Each finger was covered in rings, ranging from silver to black. The stones on their thumb scratched my fingers as I shook their hand.

"Sick rings," I said.

Imp grinned, lifting both hands so that I could see all ten of them. "Good luck figuring out which one is bound to my thread."

"Oh, that's smart."

Leaning over them, North scanned the rings. "You got new ones."

"Yeah, I switched some out. I'm going to try out what they can do the next time I get to fight!"

Imp gave another tip of their head at the taller sorcerer. The two exchanged a grin. The taller sorcerer was dressed in a white shirt and jogging pants. His cheeks creased, and he shifted his weight from his forearm crutches to raise a hand toward me.

I did the same in return.

"And that's Wraith," Imp said. "My annoying step-brother, in case you were going to say we look similar."

"Eric is fine," Wraith said with a tilt of his chin. "Really wonderful to be with someone who is a w-inclined... wayfarer."

Imp rolled their eyes. "He's going to keep doing that all day. Great. For the record, at least six of those words don't start with the right letter."