“It’s what came naturally.” I scowl. “I didn’t mean to coerce him.”
Ozias shakes his head, reining in a delighted smile. “Either way, using his desire against him will help you when the time comes. You’ll still need him to like you for your plan to work, so maybe less threats and more charm.”
My frown deepens. “I’m perfectlycharming to those I like.”
Ozias bends close to my ear as he moves behind me. “Then maybe you need to pretend to like him.”
“Iamtrying you know.” After Zhoric told me to leave him be, we didn’t speak the rest of the night, and I ended up sitting up against one of his many walls until morning came. I think at some point I fell asleep. At least when he wasn’t showing himself at all I was able to help myself to his bed.
“I know, but for this to work he needs to fall for you. That’s the only way you’ll be in a position of power. I fear he could be leading you.”
“To what end?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“He’d be a fool not to want your power,” he says, folding himself down on my bed.
I shake my head and turn until I’m standing in front of him. “What does it matter? You said I can break the bond.”
“There’s a little more nuance to it than that,” Ozias says, a slight grimace turning his mouth.
“Ah, of course there is. I’ll try to feign surprise—that should go as well as me pretending to like the Sar Dyeus,” I quip.
Ozias pats the space next to him on my bed, and I try not to think of all the things that one could do on a bed with someone like him as I take up his invitation.
“It used to be when we’d bond, it was completely reciprocal. Then, things began to change. Power shifts created new practices, evolving until whoever initiated a bond first was the one who held the power to break it.”
“You mean someone could get stuck in a bond they didn’t want?” My hand goes to my throat and a sudden, sickening realization comes to me. “Is that what happened to Zhoric?”
Ozias’s brows inch together. “He told you that?”
“I’m inferring,” I correct. “He mentioned someone who chose him being worse than Alixor.”
Ozias hums, then mumbles, “I’m surprised he told you that much.”
Horror swirls through me, fast and thick. “Did youknow?” I ask. How could someone know what was happening to Zhoric and not do anything?
Ozias’s eyes go distant. “His bonded was very powerful. There wasn’t much anyone could do for Zhoric once she chose him, under the blessing of their parents, no less. And those who could wouldn’t have dared for fear of her ire.”
The shake of my head is almost imperceptible. “That’s…awful. You’re saying not a single person helped him?” As much as I hate to admit, if I’d known how terrible Alixor was, and those who loved me did, too and chose silence, I might have wanted to let the world burn, too.
“Thrace did what he could. His elahi is a shield, and so that helped ease some of what I suspect was the worst of it, but even he was forced to keep his distance after a time.”
My throat is clogged full of emotion. I have to try several times to swallow it down before I can speak. “What will happen to Zhoric when I take his power?”
“He’ll return to his state prior to stealing the god scale.”
I cast my eyes down. “But people will come for him?”
Ozias lowers his head near mine, tucking his knuckle gently beneath my chin until I look at him. “Do I need to remind you what he’s done to your people?”
“Of course not.”
His finger trails up my jaw, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Then beyond you taking his power, and knowing he’ll live, there’s nothing else you need to concern yourself with in regard to him.”
I’m silent as unease runs rampant through my body, coiling my muscles tight.
Ozias catches my eyes again, concern and resolve settling in the lines of his face. “You’ll need to enact the bond first. His agreeing to bond means he believes he can control you. You’ve opened up another opportunity, but put yourself at much greater risk in doing so.”
I stand, to give myself some distance from the feel of Ozias’s hand clouding my mind. I meander over to the lone window, looking out into the thick forest that leads from here to the border. “So I’ve complicated things.”
