“They're stupid. Ridiculous. I dream about a house full of men. I can barely move. I'm always touched. Fucked. I'm exhausted. They all stare at me in accusation because I can't make any of them happy.” I finally looked side to side at the men. “I can't make any of you happy.”
“That's not stupid,” Rath said. “It's been weighing on you. That's why we've been scheduling time alone with you. And what weighs on the mind often makes its way into dreams.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
“It does make sense,” Taroc said, then stretched his neck, the popping sounds urging me to do the same.
Oh, yeah. That's what I needed. I kept rolling my neck but finally noticed that my lovers were staring at Taroc.
“What?” I asked.
“We're waiting for Taroc to go on,” Rath said. “There was an unspoken but.”
“Was there?” I teased. “I didn't hear it. You know, because he didn't say it.”
Rath rolled his eyes, then shifted them toward Taroc.
Taroc shrugged. “Ember told me about the visions Death gave him while he was imprisoned.”
I blushed, my mind turning instantly to the sexual scene even though I hadn't told Taroc about that. Rath lifted a brow at me, obviously going there too, and I subtly shook my head at him.
Rath looked back at Taroc. “What about it?”
“I've been thinking about Death.” Taroc glanced at me.
At any other time, that statement might have produced sympathy and concern for Taroc. But he wasn't talking about dying. I waited with the others for him to go on.
“You've been forming a bond with him,” Taroc continued. “Not like the bond with them.” He nodded at my lovers. “But still, a connection. And he's entered your mind before.”
“Only when I've given him permission,” I said.
“I'm just saying, it wouldn't be farfetched to think that he's influencing your dreams.”
“Why would Death give me nightmares about bonding . . . with . . . Wraith Lords?” I finished in a whisper. Processed. Then looked back at Taroc. “You think he's still supporting the Corrupter. That he's a type of spy.”
“Ember, if Death is with you, he can tell the Corrupter where you are,” Taroc said.
“I don't think it works like that,” I argued. “He can be anywhere at any time. He doesn't need a connection to me to see where I am.”
“If that's how it is, he would have been advising the Corrupter through the entire war,” Kel said. “No, it can't be. He's not a god, no matter what he says. I don't think he can be everywhere at once. I think he's a consciousness. And if he is, he must focus on one person or place at a time.”
“And right now, he's focused on Ember,” Taroc said.
Xaedren looked from Taroc to me. “It often feels as if the Corrupter is one step ahead of us.”
“All right.” I held up my hands. “Let's say you're right and that Death is on the Corrupter's side. Why teach me to use Death Magic? He's making me as strong as the Corrupter.”
“Or maybe he's grooming you to help the Corrupter,” Kel said. “Or to be the next Corrupter. Maybe he's telling the truth about not wanting to help the Corrupter, but that's only because he thinks you'll do a better job.”
I let out a long breath. “Maybe the risks of using Death Magic are too great. I really thought it could be a way to end the war faster. But now, I don't know.”
“You are all fools,” Death said.
“Convince us of that,” I said.
“And, big surprise, he was listening,” Kel said. “Just as a spy would.”
“You kept using my name,” Death snapped. “It's like a summons, Lord Keltyr. If you heard someone calling your name, you'd pay attention too. And, for your information, even gods cannot be everywhere at once and hear every conversation happening at once. No one, no matter how great, could do that.” He made a scornful sound. “The way you think of gods is laughable.”
