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“You have one cycle, Temptress. Learn his secret, get us the information, and we’ll come fetch you. When you leave here, you’ll be taken directly to Elèor.”
“Or a grave if you don’t comply,” Nèrvanya said with a serpentine grin.
I shuddered, nodding at the blatant threat.
Learn the Condemned’s secret or die.
“Good. Everything you need is inside. When you know the truth, use this.”
Kiranon handed me a small whistle, carved of glass, in the shape of a wing.
“When you blow on it, we’ll soon arrive. Don’t delay, Un’Sèlie. He likes to play games.”
Dèravhen snorted. “I hope you like riddles.”
The others chuckled, turning back to their chariots.
“Wait!” I called.
Without another word, they were gone. I looked back at the tower, tilting my head to take in its grandeur. It looked as resplendent as the distant towers I could see in Avari. I shook off my nerves, gathered my skirts, and began walking the length of the cloudy ground towards the front door.
How hard could this actually be?
I paused.
The door was open. It hadn’t been when Kiranon was still here.
He likes to play games.
What kind of games?
Fear struck me like a whip. I began walking again, much slower, peaking into the darkness beyond the open door. I caught a shift in the curtains to my right. The drapes moved and danced. Someone had just been there. Was it the Condemned?
I took a careful step toward the front. As I reached the yawning opening, the hairs all across my body rose. I had a moment to see two blinking eyes, one amber and one like honey, watching me. Then razor sharp canines glowed in the darkness, and the shadow roared.
Daliah
Terror engulfed my bloodstream as I stumbled backwards from the door. If I ran, how far would I make it before getting caught? Where would I go?
The roar echoed through my body, my bones. I trembled, my anxiety spiking. The way the Sky Watchers had spoken, I’d assumed the Condemned was an angel. But what if they’d tricked me, sending me here to live with a monster?
Heart pounding in my chest, I stood in front of the tower, contemplating what to do. Did I stand here and rot? Or go in and possibly be torn to shreds by some manic beast?
I slinked towards the doorway, my slippers padding against smooth stone. A gust of frigid wind made me shiver. I lifted my hands to the stone of the tower. A whisper in a foreign dialect slipped past my shoulders, tickling the curves of my ears. My nails brushed against the ridges as I sensed a pulse within the actual stone. I couldn’t explain what I felt, but it gave me enough courage to poke my head over the threshold and peek inside.
Amber-pale eyes locked onto mine. My heart rate increased. Summoning my courage, I flipped my hair over a shoulder and sauntered into the tower, shoving against the heavy doors until they swung wide open. I took a quick glance around the foyer and gawked. The tower was remarkable. At least I wouldn’t be living in some dump. I looked for the source of the roar and found it. I kept my eyes on the beast hidden in the shadows.
“Are you an angel or a dog?”
The roaring ceased. The head of the creature tilted. I was too far across the foyer to guess what it could be. The shadow remained quiet.
“Have you no tongue? I’ll ask again. Domenent or dog. Which are you?”
A snort. Then.
“The arrogance is new. Where did they find you?”
I stopped in my tracks. The responding voice was more intelligent than any I had heard before. This was no dog, nor beast. I rearranged my mouth to answer when the shadows shifted. A clap like thunder boomed and light exploded in the wide hall. When my eyes adjusted, I was left speechless.
