Oziel’s brow twitches up as he tilts his head to study me. “Do you take me for a liar, Miss Sinclair?”
“How can I take you for anything if I don’t know you? And from my experience, you can be harmed anywhere by anyone. Even by people you should be safe with.”
Oziel doesn’t reply immediately. The pregnant pause ticks by agonizingly slowly as I dare a glance over at him. His lips are pursed together, jaw slack. His demeanor feels…heavier. Like he’s consumed by his own thoughts.
Just as I write him off, thinking he won’t respond, Oziel says, “I suppose you would know how to handle yourself pretty well.”
It’s my turn to hold my tongue. Oziel doesn’t know my reason for signing the contract, according to Ender, so he would have no way of knowing just how accurate his statement is. I’m not afraid Oziel will scorn me for what I did.
I fear he’d enjoy it too much.
We walk the rest of the way in silence. I recognize the place he takes me to immediately. The courtyard where we met, the one filled with strange-looking statues. Perhaps it’s my mind playing tricks on me, but there appears to be more than before. Two new statues surround the forgotten fountain. Both wear a similar expression of pain and confusion.
“You really like your statues,” I murmur, reaching out to touch one. My fingertips glide over the cold stone, enthralled by how lifelike it is. When my fingers trail over the statue’s chest, something pulses, sending shockwaves into my hand. I gasp at the unexpected sensation and pull away.
“You felt it, didn’t you?” Oziel’s voice comes frombehind me, hot breath singeing my neck. I shiver, though there’s no chill in the air.
“What was that?” I move away from the statue as if it burned me. My back hits a solid chest of well-defined muscles. An impenetrable force. Oziel.
“The curse.” Oziel makes no move to pull back. Instead, I feel gentle fingers against my hips. Gentle and Oziel don’t seem to go together, but his featherlight touch scorches my skin.
“C…curse?” My voice comes out far too breathy, and Oziel takes notice because a deep laugh reverberates in his chest, churning something low in my belly.
“You know nothing of why you are here, Miss Sinclair, do you?”
My face flushes. “I’m here to help you win a war.” Even as I say it, the words don’t hold the conviction I want them to.
“A war you know nothing about.” His tone is that of scolding a child.
My face heats in embarrassment. I pride myself on being knowledgeable, understanding every angle of a situation. When I went to Ender, my mind was occupied with a murder plot. Still, perhaps I should have paid better attention to the finer details. What use am I if I’m ignorant to the problem?
Ender also wasn’t forthcoming with information, so he’s partially to blame.
“Demons like torture, Miss Sinclair.” Oziel pulls away from me. I immediately feel the absence of his warmth. “We’ve perfected the art of torture. So good, in fact, other kingdoms send us their vilest creatures for us to playwith. And you know what makes our power against them even stronger?”
I shake my head.
“Possessions. Any possession of any value to the poor soul we are torturing. We can easily get the job done without any item belonging to them, but it’s so much more fun when we have it. You should thank me for burning your things. Best not to tempt fate.”
I ignore the last comment, still planning his murder for what he did to my possessions. “Why are you telling me this?”
Oziel’s head snaps up at my question, once-golden eyes now black. “Because you must know.” Even though we are outside in the courtyard, his approach feels like the world is crashing down around me, and I’m rooted to the spot. He stands a foot taller than me, and I have to tip my head back to see him.
“Six months ago, I received a strange item at my doorstep. A vase full of roses. A vase that once sat atop my dining room table. Curious as to why it was there, I picked it up and brought it inside. I felt an odd, albeit weak, power emit from the flowers. At first, nothing happened, so I lost interest. Admittedly, I forgot about the entire thing.”
“But?” I hear myself asking.
“But.” Oziel hums, bringing his hand up to my chin, tipping it up even more. “Then the first petal fell. The server bringing my dinner turned to stone right before my eyes. And then it happened again. Another petal fell?—”
“And another turned to stone,” I finish for him, looking up at the statue near us.
“Clever girl.” Oziel drops his hand from my chin but doesn’t move away. “Theywereonce alive, and now…they’re trapped in stone. When you touched the stone, you felt the pulse of their heart, didn’t you? That’s how I know my demons are still alive, trapped in a stone prison. I couldn't imagine a worse fate. To be frozen but able to see and feel the world around you. These deadly roses are a reminder of the curse they cast upon our kingdom.”
“Who are they?”
Oziel’s handsome face contorts into something hideous and nightmarish. Cold fear works its way through my body, reminding me I’m no longer among humans. No, this man before me is a demon, the king of demons at that, and he’s showing me just how powerful he can be.
“Are you afraid, Miss Sinclair?” His voice is low and gravelly, more monstrous than before.
