“The key to ending the war,” I whispered. “Wow. It sounds a lot different when you say it.”
“Isn't it interesting how intent changes things?” the Corrupter drawled. Then he went grim. “But you've attracted Death sooner than I'd thought you would. And now, it will be searching for you.”
“What does it want from me?”
“For you to wield it, of course,” he said. “It showed you what it could give you, Ember. It's seducing you. And your parents are just the beginning. Spirit Magic is bright and pretty.” He grimaced. “It makes Death look scary. But it's not. It is only the other side of the coin, and believe me when I say, this side is better. Death doesn't put restrictions on your desires. You can achieve anything with it. Gain whatever you wish.”
“No,” I whispered and got off the bed to stand beside it, preparing myself for a fight. “I'll never use Death Magic.”
The Corrupter got off the bed on the opposite side and held up his hands. “This is why I didn't want you to attract Death so soon. You're not ready. And that's all right, Ember. It will show you its secrets now that you've welcomed it. I don't have to—”
“I haven't welcomed it!” I cut him off.
“Haven't you?” He lifted his pale brows. “You are the one who drew your parents here. Their souls. You gave them form. Did you touch them? Hold them?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
The Corrupter nodded. “You did that. You used the Death Magic.”
“But if they're spirits, wasn't it my Spirit Magic that drew them?”
“Spirit Magic is about life. It usesyourspirit, not others.”
“But I used Spirit Magic to join my soul with others.”
The Corrupted cocked his head. “Your lovers. Yes. Your Spirit Magic is stronger than most. But it is still a facet of life. You wouldn't be able to bind your soul to that of a dead person.”
“But when I die, my soul will still be bound to my lovers,” I said, deliberately leaving their names out. I didn't want the Corrupter to know them.
“Perhaps,” the Corrupter said, not at all annoyed by my persistence. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. “But that is only because you bound them in life. I'm sorry that this upsets you, Ember, but only Death Magic can draw the dead back to the realm of the living.”
“No.” My shoulders fell. “I didn't useanymagic. I know what magic feels like when it rises in me. That didn't happen.”
“Don't look so scared. You didn't feel it inside you because it isn't there yet. You haven't accepted it yet. That was only a taste. The magic wanted you to know what you could do with it.”
“I don't care what I can do with it.
“Very well.” The Corrupter held up his hands and shrugged. “I'll leave you to get what sleep you can in what little of the night is left.”
Watching him leave, I finally noticed the line of Corrupted standing outside my room. They stared blankly ahead, and one look at them told me that his story about empowering them for their own benefit was a lie. No one would want to live like that.
The Corrupter glanced back and saw me staring at his minions. “They carried you back here for me. Aren't you going to thank them?”
“As if they'd even hear me.”
He tsked me. “These are your people, Ember. You should be kinder to them.”
“No, they're your people now.” I grimaced as I looked at them. Then, despite the futility of it, I spoke to them, “Thank you for bringing me back here.”
“You're welcome,” they said in unison.
I flinched. “Holy shit, they really do talk.”
The Corrupter chuckled. “Not as mindless as you thought?”
“Where did you find me? I collapsed in that room.”
“You were lying in a hallway. Elise found you.” He waved at a woman. “She immediately fetched me.”
