“I'm all around you, Ember. I've caught you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I cast my spell the second you arrived. You're not really there. Well, you were for a moment. But now, you're here.”
“I'm always here,” I growled. “No matter where I go, here I am.”
The Corrupter chuckled and as he did, the city disappeared. I was still standing on stone, but instead of a sidewalk, it was the floor of a long corridor. Before me, several feet away, was the Corrupter. I instantly reached for my magic.
“I wouldn't do that.” He lifted a quelling hand. “Kill me, and you'll never get free.”
Fear slithered down my spine as my magic sank. “What do you mean? Where am I?”
“In my castle. In particular, below it. You're trapped and hidden within a ward. No one can reach you here. No one but me.”
“Then killing you should free me.” I lifted my hands again.
The Corrupter pushed back his hood and smiled sadly. “So, you'd rather kill me than hear the truth?”
I hesitated. “The truth about what?”
“Me, you, the Emperor, this world.”
I just stared at him.
“Ember, I could have killed you just now, but I didn't. You're special. In more ways than you know.”
“My magic is tied to yours, isn't it?”
His pale brows lifted. “Very good. Yes, though 'tied' may be the wrong word for it.”
“Then what's the right word?”
“If you want answers, you'll have to make me a promise.”
“What kind of promise?”
“That you will listen to all I have to say with an open mind and heart. Then, after you've heard me out, I will release you.”
“You'll just let me go? Or is that code for 'you'll kill me?'”
The Corrupter chuckled. “No. I will release you alive and well. I swear it.”
I paused, considering my options. Then I accepted that I had none. “Very well.”
“Wonderful!” The Corrupter turned around and started walking up the corridor. “Come along. I have a meal prepared. We can have a civilized conversation over dinner.”
I stared after the Corrupter, in a sort of daze, hardly believing what was happening. Had the Corrupter really just invited me to dinner? Then I shook my head and hurried down the hallway. I caught up with him just as the corridor changed from a bleak, stone passage to something bright, lined in polished wood paneling. Glancing behind me, I saw the lanterns go out, leaving the rest of the passage in darkness. The casual display of power had my hands trembling. I didn't trust the Corrupter's promises. The only thing that gave me hope was the fact that he hadn't tried to kill me yet and I still had access to my magic.
I stared at the Corrupter as we walked. His cloak trailed over his slim shoulders, a dark contrast to his pale hair. Those golden locks gleamed with health despite the dark magic that ran through him. I recalled how skeletal he had appeared when he used Death Magic and wondered if that was the reason for his slender physique. Maybe he was just a naturally thin man. Not that he looked bad. The Corrupter was one of the most beautiful men I'd ever seen. When he wasn't using magic, his physique wasn't skeletal, it was delicate. Almost feminine. His face was something from a dream, hypnotic in its soft lines. Only his eyes betrayed his strength, the icy blue reminding me of Xaedren. But Xae's eyes had long ago ceased to be cold for me. It was like comparing a bright summer sky to its wintry counterpart.
“I am just a man like you, Ember,” the Corrupter glanced at me to say. “Not a monster.”
“You are not a man like me. I'm mortal.”
“Very well. I'm a man like any other Varraen. Just with a bit more power.” He winked at me. Then he waved me into a room. “Please, take any seat you like. So long as it's one to either side of mine.”
He grinned as he moved past me and pulled out the chair at the head of a vast table. The other end of the table was lost to shadow, but this side was set with fine porcelain plates, silverware, and crystal glasses. Platters of steaming food waited in the center of the mahogany expanse with serving utensils beside them. The Corrupter waved to the chairs to either side of his, both had plates before them. I chose the one closest to me so I wouldn't have to step around him.
