A snarl ripped unbidden from his throat. “If you believe I am the one responsible, why would you appear to me?”
“Because we are very curious beings.”
“Very curious, indeed.”
“Setting fire to your people? Letting them burn among the smoke and flames? You must be truly desperate to summon an audience with us.”
A soft sensation fluttered at his ear as a voice purred, “Yes, Nyses. So very desperate.” Tender fingers traced a path to his neck, raising the hair on his arms.
In an instant, the fingers hardened and gripped his throat.
“Well, Your Majesty?”
“What is it that you seek?”
“Magic,” he spluttered, his fingers grasping at thin air around hisneck.
The invisible hand vanished, replaced by a deep chuckle. The air buzzed with the pounding of blood rushing back to his head. Distantly, he heard more beams crashing to the ground as the fire continued to destroy the temple.
“That’s what all of this was for?” the voice asked. “You desire magic?”
He massaged his sore throat. “Yes,” he ground out. “Magic to rival that of the Veridian Empire. Magicyougranted them.”
“Magic they earned, Nyses.”
“The Veridian Empire defeated your kingdom over a century ago.”
“They conquered the power we offered to both of your lands.”
“You asked what I sought,” Nyses said. “That is my answer. Magic to rule over my people. Magic to conquer my foes. Magic greater than what you have given our enemies.”
Smoke from the inferno billowed around the altar. When Nyses squinted, he thought he could see the form of three beings wavering in the haze, but they were gone when he blinked.
“We will grant your request, Your Majesty.”
He could have sworn his heart stopped. “You will?”
That same giggle from earlier tickled his ears. “You intrigue us, King Nyses. The handsome ruler who scoffs at our existence, yet sheds his blood on our altar.”
“But this will intrigue us even more.”
“What will?” he asked warily.
“Not only will we give you this magic,”
“We will bestow it upon your entire bloodline as well.”
“The great Grimaldis, gods among men.”
His breath caught, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. They were going to grant his life’s purpose. They were going to make him the most powerful king the world had ever known.
“But be careful what you wish for, oh great King,”
“For the time may come when you will see,”
“This magic is more than you thought it would be.”
Their voices blended together, and a pressure built at the base of his spine, working its way up his back and into his chest. Hispulse thrummed in every inch of his body. Anticipation, fear, and desire coiled in each breath that shuddered through his lungs.
