I release a breath the moment that monster’s grip leaves me. He takes two steps back, but I can feel his eyes on my body.
“What was your goal in the dungeons? What is hidden there?”
“Nothing.”
“Lies!” she hisses. “Tell me or we will peel the skin from your bones, slowly consuming your flesh while keeping you alive to feel every moment of it. Or perhaps, I’ll start with one of your friends. You’ve always thought us monsters; well, I will show you how right you truly are. You stand in the way of our righteous retribution. From the acclimation of the Ancient One. So, you will tell us. You will never get the peace of death until you do so.”
Nausea hits me like a blow, and I double over. I barely understand their religion, but surely I’ve done nothing so wrong as to hurt their Ancient One?
“I wanted to help her,” I say through gritted teeth. “There was a girl. She was taken for stealing food and kept in that terrible place, and all I wanted was to help her.”
The priestess stands up straight. “I could almost believe that,” she says flatly. “A pathetic girl like you, so caring and naïve. But considering you killed her, I find that story a bit farfetched.”
“No,” I cough. “No, I didn’t kill her?—”
“Stop LYING!!” Her scream shakes the very foundation of the mountain, shuddering the walls. The rush of her power slams into my chest, sending my hair flying back. What the hell is she? What even is this place?
“Haze killed her,” I choke out between panicked breaths. “He stabbed her. I was trying to save her.” I’m sobbing now, though I don’t know when I started.
The cold and cruel magic drops to the floor like water and then hisses as it returns to her claws. “Haze?” Her voice is so calm. Smooth, like a lover’s croon.
“I told you,” Ivar says again.
This time, the priestess smiles sweetly as she looks up at him, still clinging to me. She brushes her fingers over his cheek, a soft caress. “Tell me.”
“She means something to him. He’s been protecting her. It’s the only reason he took the vow. He doesn’t mean it. He’ll break it at the first opportunity. She is his weakness.”
The priestess returns her attention to me, her eyes narrowed.
“Do you love him?” She begins circling me with slow, careful steps, examining every inch.
“No,” I bite out. “I hate him.”
She chuckles. “More lies. You’re good at those. Better than expected.”
“It’s not a lie. He was… he was kind to me, but he’s no different than the rest of you. He took me from freedom. Hekilled my friend. He killed the girl in the dungeon. He is a monster.”
The priestess freezes behind me, but I don’t dare turn toward her. “She believes that,” she says quickly.
Ivar stomps. “It doesn’t matter what she thinks or feels. It only matters whathedoes.”
“No, it certainly matters.” She finishes her circle to face me again. She taps her finger against her lips. “Perhaps you’re right. Where is Haze?”
“I stabbed him,” I finally say. I barely understand what’s happening.
She again freezes. “Excuse me?”
I blink rapidly. I can still feel the crunch as the blade entered his chest. In the same place he prompted me to hours before. I can feel his blood. I can feel his hands on my body, intimate and warm.
“He killed the girl in the dungeon. So, I… tried to kill him.”
She huffs out a laugh. “You did not kill him. You are not capable,” she explains. “If Ivar’s theory is true, it makes for a very interesting turn of events. We are going to play a game, Little Mouse. If you survive, you’re going to become a Drak priestess. This time, you will not have the opportunity to reject the call. We will suffocate you in the fire until your soul is gone entirely. You will be Nihilian like your lover. When the Nihil owns your body, you will stand beside me on the altar and feed daily pieces of your body and soul to the Ancient One.”
That doesn’t sound like a prize I’d like to win. “Why?”
Her smile sends a jolt of uneasiness through me. “Because it means you have power we seek. If you win, you will be the key to our final victory.”
The priestess grabs my arm and jerks me with her. I stumble forward, dizzy. I try to keep up on my weak knees as she half drags me into the inner sanctum. But there are no seers here togive me a reading. The candles and torches are all out, leaving an empty, shadow-filled room with the smell of dust and mildew.
