Page 127 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

“Listen to me, dick!” Torin barked from behind her. “We know you didn’t come here—an insufferable, insignificant human—to slaughter magic wielders at their annual uplift because a girl rejected your proposal.” Clearly, Gideon had filled Torin in on her past. “So let me make this easy for you. I am going to give you two options. One, you tell us why you are really here and then I rip your heart out with my bare hands; or two, which is my personal favourite, I just get straight to it and rip your fucking heart out.” Torin stepped closer into the challenge with a feral smile and a storm brewing in his eyes. “Choose wisely, human.”

“Emara, I am talking to you, not to your pet dogs.” Taymir shot a look over the Blacksteels. “Tell them to play nice or I will tear another hole through this room with my new friends here.” He gestured to the demons that had now lined up like a military unit.

There was no way Taymir could be controlling the demons. He was human. Wasn’t he? How did he have the power to control these creatures? Unless someone else in this room was controlling them for him? Was he alone?

“Taymir, what do you want? This is not about us, so don’t dare say it is.” She winced at the sound of her own voice. “Innocent people have been murdered because of you.”

“No, my darling. That is where you have it all wrong. I am here for you. The Witches had to die so that they couldn’t reinstate the wards that were shattered. Call it collateral damage. It allowed my little friends to come in and start this party properly.”

The demons in the room stirred with impatience. Impatience to devour everything in this room and in this world. If Taymir snapped his fingers, they would show no mercy and begin the slaughter of innocents.

“Why are you here?” she roared, her full body trembling, her hand tightening around the spear. She couldn’t stand these games any longer. Enough was enough.

“Because I was sent for you.” He walked around his stage, over the people he had slaughtered, glorified.

“None of what you are saying is even making any sense, Taymir.” As she looked at him, she couldn’t place what was different about him. The young man she had entertained and had known most of her life, was no longer present. “Please, if you ever loved or cared for me, please stop this and go. Please go.”

“Emara.” He let a patronising grin form on his face. “I never loved you. It was never about love. It was about me. It was about what I could gain from you.” His cruel laugh barked into the air. “It was about who you truly are.”

Torin moved forward again, but Emara pushed out her hand to command him to stand down.

“That’s a good boy, do what she tells you.” Taymir winked, and she heard a growl from behind her.

“Stop the riddles,” she seethed. “If you were sent for me, then why not tell me who sent you?”

She didn’t care that the room was full of eyes watching her desperately trying to make sense of it all. Surely no one else was following this outrageous outburst of insanity.

He was insane. He had to be.

“I think the crowd is growing bored of you, my darling,” he sneered. “We must go. Put the spear down and come with me and no one else will be hurt.” Taymir unfolded his hand melodramatically.

She had to give it to him, in a room full of magic wielders and people who killed for a living, Taymir Solden was commanding the room like he owned it.

“Who sent you?” Emara demanded to know. Still, nothing made any sense; he hadn’t given her anything to work with. “Go with you where?” she said again through her teeth.

It was about who you truly are.

She took a step forward.

“No.” Gideon moved his body towards her so that his gaze was solely focused on her. She could feel his heartbeat from his chest pressed against her shoulder. “Don’t you dare.” His voice was desperate.

Emara closed her eyes. She couldn’t think.

She needed to think.

What would cause the least damage?

“We can work something out,” Gideon begged.

“You will see where we are going when we get there,” Taymir provoked, unfazed by his audience. “I am not going to harm you. The king’s instructions.”

He wasn’t going to harm her? She still remembered the sting of his hand on her face as he attempted to take her virginity without consent.

At that moment, Emara’s blood ran cold at a memory of what the demon had said to her grandmother before he had killed her.

You know we can’t touch her, on the king’s orders, but we can rip out the living from this kingdom until we find what we have come for.

The King.

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