“Information for information then,” I conceded, if only to make Kairen and Roan settle whatever was brewing. A smile spread across Wraith’s face before he sauntered to a chest, flipping open the lid. He pulled two small corked bottles from it, an orange liquid swirling within.
“Let us make a game of it then, I do love to play.” He approached slowly, offering one of them to me from his dangling fingers. “Do you know what this is?”
I eyed the liquid, uncorking the bottle and taking a hesitant sniff. It was rich and citrusy, notes of rose buried within.
Veritasvenenum. A truth potion.
He saw the light in my eyes, perhaps even the fear that danced there and grinned as he made his way back to his dais.
“Secrets will spill, girl.” His tone was nearly teasing, a playfulness that left me uneasy. “Choose one to stay and send the others out. I know a woman with things to hide when I see one.”
My eyes caught Roan’s for merely a moment, guilt weighing heavily in my gut. I wanted to voice how desperately I wished it washim.My gaze drifted to Bran and he steppedcloser, his arm brushing mine.
I turned back as delight lit those eyes, taunting as he took in the tension. He drank in the discomfort that settled over us all, before he zeroed in upon Roan. “So protective and yet she did not choose you, blood whisperer. How utterly devastating that must be.”
I swallowed thickly, the bottle clenched within my grip, my gaze fixed to the floor. I couldn't look at him, could not see the disappointment I knew would be waiting. My self loathing was a hot flush across my cheeks.
Wraith motioned towards his two men. “Leave, and take them with you.”
My eyes lifted for only a moment, catching the promise of violence that swirled within green and silver as he eyed the man once more picking up his pipe. Wraith only smirked in response, a fiendish thing that had my feet shifting.
When the door shut, only three of us were left. I glanced at Bran and he gave a reassuring nod. I watched with wary eyes as Wraith brought the bottle to his lips, never breaking our stare and swallowing it all in one go. After a moment of hesitation, I did the same.
I had never consumed Veritasvenenum before, had rarely even brewed it. As I drank, I felt it slide all the way down, as if I had swallowed bottled lightning. The muscles in my throat contracting and sparking with flashes of hot, bright pain. A gasp and I was finished.
“There now,” he murmured, tossing his bottle, the shattering of glass startling me. “That pain you feel is only a fraction of what shall happen if you attempt to lie during our game. If you try to deceive me that white-hot pain will rip up your throat again and again until you speak the truth, do you understand?”
I nodded, hands shaking. “He can still hear. Through water, he can hear what is said.”
“That is no issue.”
Within seconds the room was a ravaging of whirling sand, the granules pouring in through the cracks and crevices. It was so loud my hands reached for my ears, yet it did not touch my skin nor Bran’s, as if we were caught in the eye of a storm.
“You’re Goddess-blessed,” I stated.
“Yes, to control the very sand of this land is a rather significant blessing when one lives in a desert,” his lips curved. “Was that your first question?”
My head shook as he stepped closer, my nose filling with the scent of opium as he puffed once more. “Then ask.”
“What do you know of the origin of The Fever?”
Smoke blew through his nose as he gave a small, disapproving laugh. “You have to be more specific, girl. I could tell you many truths in that regard. I could tell you that I know what everyone thinks, that it is a curse of Lua’s dark magic—a truth. I could tell you of the rumors of it being cast by the Demon Princes, another truth.” He paused, a fiendish smile curving his lips. “I could tell you whatIbelieve, but I fear it is now my turn.”
My teeth gritted.
“What is the name of your mother?”
My body froze, my nails cutting into my palms. My throat constricted, a burn beginning as I spit out, “Marianna.”
He circled me now, a predator waiting to strike. I flinched when he reached out and Bran started with the movement, but he stilled when Wraith only touched the chain around my neck.
“Show me what you hide beneath your shirt.”
“I believe it’smyturn.” He conceded, stepping back once more, taking another pull of the opium.
“Very well then.”
“What doyoubelieve caused the creation of The Fever?”
