Page 225 of The Wishing Game

I purse my lips, narrowing my eyes at him.

He places the books back in their place on the bookshelf before redirecting his attention to me.

"Since when did you know I was here?"

"The moment I entered the room." He shrugs.

"Did... Did the others know, too?"

"No. Do you think they would have spoken freely with a human within earshot? I shrouded your presence from them."

"Why? Do you not care about what I overheard?"

"No. Not particularly," he says, and he surprises me by taking a seat on the floor next to me, sliding his legs through the empty spaces between the balusters.

I blink at him in confusion.

He's dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black loose pants, his sword faithfully at his waist. His dark hair is tied at his back, emphasizing the presence of his face tattoos.

"You will need to understand the politics of this world at one time or another."

"Maybe I don't want to," I grumble under my breath.

That somehow elicits a half-smile from him as he watches me from the corner of his eyes.

"The situation is as dire as you heard, Luce. And it does not only affect Aperion. In fact, I would wager that Aperion would bear the least brunt of it." His voice is serious, his features tight.

"What do you mean? I know there's a demon problem, but I thought there's always been one?"

"Yes and no. The universe relies on balance. There is no way to truly eradicate evil. But this goes beyond a mere demon problem. You heard me mention the Seven. They are Primordial beings born of pure evil who were barely vanquished eons ago. They cannot be killed, but they can be contained. Currently, they are imprisoned in the most secure prison ever designed—Tartarstasis. Just like the name implies, they are contained in a stasis-like state, perpetually frozen in time. But it seems the demons are trying to find a way to free them."

"What would happen then?" I ask as I mimic his position, sliding my legs between the balusters and letting them dangle in the air.

Ze's lips flatten.

"The universe would not stand a chance. The only ones who could fight against them are the other Primordials. But they have not been sighted in hundreds of thousands of years. No one knows where they are."

"So the best bet is tonotallow the Seven to escape their prison. Got it."

"It has been so long since anyone thought of them that they have become something of a myth. Certainly, no one would have believed the demons would attempt something like this since their attacks have been rather uniform over time."

"I know I should have asked this before, but how does one become a demon?"

"There are those who are born—the Sons of Tenebreis. They are the descendants of the Seven just like the Supremes are the descendants of the Primordials. But after the Seven were imprisoned in Tartarstasis, the Sons of Tenebreis took it as a personal affront, and they declared war on Aperion. If I am completely honest, the war never ended. But seven thousand years ago, a Supreme sacrificed herself to lock Tartareia so they could not go out anymore. Unfortunately, it was not a permanent solution, and the seal has been weakening. I suspect that the artifact they now have in their possession hastened that process and it might be how they are able to walk freely out of Tartareia." He takes a deep breath, sneaking a glance at me.

I watch him raptly, utterly entranced by his words.

He swallows hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he clears his throat.

"But there are also those demons that are made. They are souls that have become corrupted. When the Sons of Tenebreis realized they could not escape Tartareia, they needed someone else to do their dirty work. That is how the firstdemonsappeared. The Sons of Tenebreis found that a corrupt soul can grow in strength if it consumes other pure souls. The more souls a demon consumes, the more powerful it becomes. You have already seen an ascended demon. It was monstrous. That is only a middle state. If it consumes more souls, it becomes humanoid in shape. These demons will never be as powerful as a Son of Tenebreis, but they are a handful to deal with when they blend into a world and terrorize people from the shadows."

I nod slowly, taking all of it in.

"Why justsonsof Tenebreis? Are there no daughters?" I blurt out.

He turns to stare at me.

"I just told you about demon hierarchies and your only question is why they are calledsons?" he asks in disbelief.

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