“I believe your feelings are accurate and should be heeded, Ember,” Rath said to me. Then he returned to his report, “Ember launched a collected elemental attack that swept the Corrupter up, coating him in Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.” He glared Nex into silence when he started to speak, then hurried on, “The combination of magic produced a strange effect. The Corrupter was coated in clay that hardened into a shell. He was briefly restrained by this shell, and while—”
“While he was a statue, the corrupted humans were freed!” Nex declared, unable to restrain himself any longer.
The Emperor leveled a grim stare on me and said the strangest thing I'd heard that day, “It's you.”
Chapter Five
“Sire?” Rath was scowling.
Nex made confused sounds.
I just stood there, frozen. Unblinking.
“Let's sit down.” The Emperor waved at a collection of seats near the fireplace.
“No,” I said.
“No?” The Emperor lifted his brows.
“I mean . . . what didyoumean, Your Imperialness?”
“It'sImperial Majesty,” Nex whispered. “What's so hard about that?” Then he grunted when Rath elbowed him in the gut.
“What did you mean when you said it's me, Your Imperial Majesty?” I rephrased. “What's me?”
“I've been waiting a long time for you, Ember,” the Emperor said gently. “Please, let's sit down. This is a complicated story.”
“All right,” I whispered.
The Emperor selected a chair beside the fireplace, one angled toward the others. As soon as he sat down, it went from being an ordinary armchair to a throne. He leaned against the high back, then waved at the couch and the other armchair. I sat down on the couch, Rath sat beside me, and Nex took the chair to our right.
“When the Corrupter first attacked our world, I ate the starfruit for the second time,” the Emperor began.
“The second time, Sire?” Rath asked.
“Yes. I first ate the fruit when I was a young man. I came across a starfruit tree and something inspired me to pluck a fruit and eat it. My soul left my body and ventured to the Goddess's realm. The Goddess was waiting for me. She urged me to unite Varr under one rule, and warned me that it was the only way our world would survive.”
Rath and Nex nodded as if they knew the story, but I didn't, and the Emperor seemed to know that, focusing on me as he spoke.
“She returned me to my body with a new magic—Spirit. That magic helped me become Emperor. Previously, attempts at uniting Varr failed because of distance. It's difficult to rule a continent thousands of miles away from yours, much less all the continents of the world. But with Spirit came the ability to fade, and that allowed me to not only assign rulers beneath me but to also check on them regularly. Our world finally knew peace. But then the Corrupter appeared, and Spirit wasn't enough to defeat him. So, after months of fighting him and his Corrupted alone, I became desperate for a solution.”
“You fought the Corrupter alone?” I asked.
“Yes. I had an army, but none of them could fade as I did, and the Corrupter used his Death Magic to appear all over Varr, leading armies he sent ahead. I never knew where he'd be, so even finding him became difficult. Finally, I turned to the Goddess for assistance.” The Emperor smiled softly. “I prayed and was inspired to eat the fruit once more. Just as she had the first time, the Goddess drew me to her realm. I asked for her guidance, and she told me to send men to her—warriors who were willing to face death and darkness to save their world. She instructed me on the procedures of training and preparing soldiers to seek her, and promised me that those she judged worthy would receive a dose of the magic she had once given me. I was disappointed when the first Wraith Lords were made. They were unable to unite the elements with Spirit, as I could. But they could fade, so I led them against the Corrupter, and that's when I learned that their Spirit Magic had aspects mine did not. They couldn't unite the elements, but they could clean the corruption from humans. In short, they were better equipped to fight the Corrupter than me.”
Nex and Rath exchanged wide-eyed looks. Evidently, this was a part of the story they'd never heard, but I noticed their surprise out of the corner of my eye. I was focused on the Emperor.
“So, the Goddess creates the Wraith Lords?” I asked.
“She gives the worthy Spirit Magic, empowering them to take wraithform, fade, and free the Corrupted, but she doesn'tcreatethem,” the Emperor said. “These men,”—he motioned at Nex and Rath—“underwent rigorous training in magical arts, warfare, and meditation before they were allowed to seek the Goddess. They forged themselves into the finest warriors on Varr, and the Goddess blessed them for it.”
I looked at Rath. “I see that.” Then I looked back at the Emperor. “I have not forged myself.”
“Nonetheless, the Goddess has given you magic, Ember,” the Emperor said. “You were born with it, were you not?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“And you've used it often?”
