“What—”
“They told me of you,” he laughed, a manic thing that had me flinching back. “Yes, they whispered of the power given to you. When all the others were murdered for the gift, onlyyousurvived. Such a very odd thing, don’t you think?”
He moved closer, a gnarled hand reaching for my hair, for the black strands loose and flowing in the soft breeze from the little window. “You hide in the darkness. Hidden from those who wish you harm, but can’t you see,” his voice grew softer, reverent, “what you believe to be a weakness is yourpower.”
My blade hissed through the air and he pulled back, quicker than I thought he could move with a maddening laugh. “Do not touch me.”
His smile turned to a sneer, an ugly thing that had a shiver racing up my spine. “So prickly, you are.”
My lips thinned. “Why did you call me here?”
“To speak,” he answered, as if it should be obvious. “Your little quest is for naught, can’t you see? You will fail, from the very start you were doomed.”
My head shook, hands trembling. “What do you mean?”
“Liars upon liars,” he crooned as his neck craned from side to side, eyes drifting to the pendant upon my neck. “A little Prince of Flame and Sun who wishes to save his kingdom, what lengths do you think he would go to, shadow-cursed? The same as a girl striving to keep her very existence hidden and quiet?”
“I can taste the treachery that follows you all,” he hummed, pausing to sniff the air. “So delicious, so delectable. Every lie, every half-truth I hear and I know it. They come to me day and night, the sins of you mortals. The guilt you feel when you speak it, I revel in it. I grow drunk on it.”
“Why must everything be spoken in riddles? Speak plainly, demon.” I snapped, exhausted and tired. Fear pulsed through me, bright and tangible.
“I was once a God too,” he hissed, crawling closer as his face twisted with rage. “A God with powers your simple mortal mind could never dream of. Temples were erected in my honor, sacrifices given to appease my wrath. Be careful how you speak to me, mortal.”
“But a God you are not,” I declared as my head tilted, eyeing his mangled form. “For evenyoucan fall from grace.”
“You run from the fate you are destined to meet and yet you scorn me,” he cursed, his lip curling. “Ask your prince what things he hides. Fate for fate, he speaks lies the same as you.”
“What do you know of Kairen?” I asked, my resolve crumbling bit by bit. His smile returned, haunting and terrible.
“What will you give in return if I tell you?”
“What do you want?” I asked. He scuttled closer, quicker than I anticipated. His breath reeked of death and rot.
“The prophecy he gave is not the full truth.” His red eyes bored into mine, manic and excited. “For there is a part he did not tell you. Let me say it now and I will take my prize after.”
I moved to protest, but he was already speaking, his voice lilting and quiet.
”But know that if you wish to succeed,
the ill fate of another you must breed,
a life for a life, little Princeling.
One of your five will die
an end you cannot defy.
The shadows lay in wait,
and they will never forget this fate.
So think carefully,
on those you wish to take.”
My breath caught, nails digging into the hilt of my dagger as I shook my head. “You’re lying. You’re trying to sow division in us.”
“I cannot lie, for that is my fate. A Prince of Treachery who can never again speak a word that doesn’t ring true. Now for my prize.”
