“Xaedren!” Rath snapped.
“No, it's all right.” I stood up, bringing Rath with me. “I can't shy away from the truth. He probably didn't have to torture them to get them to talk about me. They had no reason to be loyal to me. But they didn't know much more than my name. They certainly didn't know about my magic.”
“He probably kept torturing them in case they were hiding something,” Nex said.
“Nex!” Rath growled.
“What?” Nex asked. “He said he wanted the truth.”
“Saying it and meaning it are two different things.”
“He's just saying what I'm thinking,” I said. I looked around at the complete devastation. “Fuck, there's nothing left. He burned Fress to the ground.”
“You humiliated him,” Xae said. “But the fact that the Corrupter felt so afraid that he came here and did this is a good sign. He thinks you can defeat him.”
“Wecandefeat him,” I said as I took Xae's hand.
Xaedren squeezed my hand, but growled, “If the fucker will stop running away.”
“Let's get to the Imperial Castle,” Rath said. “There's something we're not seeing.”
“Because there's nothing to see.” Nex waved his hand at the charred remains. “This is a terrible outing.”
Rath rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. The Corrupter is up to something. He doesn't do anything without a reason.”
“And we still don't know why he let me attack him today,” I said.
“Let you?” Nex's sharp gaze fastened on me. “You think he let you attack him?”
I blinked. “I don't know. That just came out.”
“I think your instincts are right,” Rath said. “I think he let all of us attack him.”
“Why the fuck would he do that?” Xae asked.
“To test us?” I shrugged. “Maybe he wanted to know how strong we are.”
“Could be.” Rath scowled, then looked at Nex, Xae, and me. “Let's go.”
“You know, I think I'd better let you three speak to the Emperor alone,” Nex said. “I'll see you back at the citadel.”
“All right.” I let go of Xae's hand and summoned Spirit.
Picturing the Emperor's antechamber in my mind, I let the magic take me and send me flying across Varr. Only when I felt solid ground beneath my feet again did I open my eyes. Xae and Rath stood to either side of me, and we strode forward together. Before we reached the door, it was opened by the same man as always.
“He's expecting you,” the man said.
“Thank you, Agal,” Rath said.
Huh. So the Emperor's manservant had a name. A bad name, but a name nonetheless. I nodded at the guy as I passed by him. Agal closed the door behind us, then led the way through the winding corridors. He took us to the Emperor's study, knocking before letting us in. No announcement.
It was the room I'd first met the Emperor in, the one with the solid desk at one end and the looming fireplace at the other. The Emperor was seated at his desk again. He looked up when we entered the room and waved at the chairs before his desk.
“So how did your first mission go?” the Emperor asked. Then he saw our expressions. “That poorly? What happened?”
We told him about the Corrupter, how he hadn't fought back, only fled and tried to take his Corrupted with him.
“You believe he let you hit him with magic?” the Emperor asked.
