“Control,” I whispered. “The Goddess is working through us.”
“Holy shit,” Nex said as he sat down beside Rath. “That's going to save a lot of time.” He looked at me speculatively. “Maybe I should think about sharing.”
“No.” I pointed at him. “I'm not ready for more lovers.” I looked at the lovers I had and added, “I may never be ready.”
“Ember,” Xae started to protest.
Rath shook his head at Xae. “Leave him be. He needs to come to it in his own time.”
“I'm not coming to or with other men, ” I said. “Two is enough.”
“Hardly,” Nex scoffed. “Ten maybe.” He seemed to consider it, then nodded, “Yeah, I think ten could do it. Then you could have five teams of two. Or one huge, ass-kicking team.”
“Ten?!” I shrieked.
“Nex, could you please shut the fuck up?” Rath asked.
“Hey, you need to be straight with him.” He grimaced when he realized what he'd said. “I mean, you need to bedirectwith him. He can handle it.”
“I can,” I said. “But not right now. I can't think about this now. I keep seeing the Corrupter smiling at me, saying my name. It felt wrong. As if we had done exactly what he wanted.”
“It did seem strange. But he's been your target before,” Rath said. “It makes sense that he would learn as much about you as possible. Maybe he returned to your village and questioned your neighbors.”
“Holy shit! Should we check on them?”
Rath nodded. “Probably. But eat first, Ember. They can wait.”
“I think we should see the Emperor first,” Xaedren said. “And if we're doing that, I need a shower.”
“If we go to the village first, we may have more information for the Emperor,” Rath argued.
“Oh, can I come?” Nex asked.
All three of us looked at him.
“What? I haven't been summoned for two days. I need an excursion.” He pushed out his lips in a dramatic pout.
“Fine, you can come,” Rath said. “Having an extra Lord with us may not be a bad idea. Let's eat, shower, and then we'll go to Ember's old village. After that, we'll visit the Emperor.”
Chapter Forty-Two
We needn't have rushed.
I fell to my knees in the cinders, the scent of smoke still heavy in the air even though the fires had long since been extinguished. No, not extinguished; they had died out. Because no one had come to help.
“They must have been hit before they could send a summons,” Xaedren said.
“Ember, I'm so sorry,” Rath crouched beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.
I stared at the remains of my old home. The house my father had built. The place where I'd been born and raised. Where I had my first steps and my first kiss. The place where I'd been loved. But it was also the place where I'd felt the most alone. I had barely known the people of Fress. But they were still important to me.
“This is my fault,” I whispered.
“No. This is the Corrupter's fault,” Rath said firmly. “He did this.”
I looked at Rath. “He took them, didn't he?”
“Either that or he tortured them here,” Xae said.
