Page 57 of The Ascended
This hadn't been about preparing me for the Trials. This hadn't been about survival or strength or any of the other justifications Xül had offered. This had been about seeing how much pain I could endure before shattering.
A test. An experiment. Entertainment.
I pushed myself upright, legs unsteady beneath me.
The corridors of black stone seemed to bend around me as I walked, my reflection fragmented in polished surfaces.I barely recognized the woman staring back—eyes too bright, jaw too tight, wildness and danger radiating from within.
Good.Let him see what he's created.
When I reached Xül's study, I didn't knock. I simply pushed the door open.
He sat at his desk, not bothering to look up as I entered. "There are proper protocols for entering my private chambers, starling."
"Look at me." The words escaped through clenched teeth.
His eyes flickered up, assessing me. "You're upset. How predictable."
My composure shattered.
"Is that what you wanted?" I moved closer, my voice low and dangerous. "To tear me down?"
"You confuse necessary preparation with cruelty. The Trials will demand worse of you than anything I've required."
"This wasn't about the Trials." I slammed my palms on his desk, scattering parchment. "This was about you. Your sick need to control, to dominate, to make others suffer."
"You know nothing of me." His voice remained level, but his eyes held a threat.
"Let me take a wild guess, then." I leaned closer, refusing to be intimidated. "You hide behind that cruelty because you're terrified someone might actually see you. You push everyone away before they have a chance to reject you. You treat people like pieces on a game board because it's safer than treating them like people who might matter."
"Careful, starling." Each syllable cut like ice. "You tread dangerously close to insolence I cannot ignore."
"Go ahead." I spread my arms wide. "Punish me. Torture me. Kill me if that's what you need to feel powerful again. But we both know it won't fill that emptiness inside you."
He stood in a fluid motion, power rolling off him in waves. "You forget yourself. You forget who I am."
"No." I met his gaze steadily. "I see exactly who you are. Yourperfect mask doesn't fool me because I've worn one my entire life. I know every crack, every seam where the truth bleeds through."
"I am death itself," he hissed, his face inches from mine.
"Perhaps." The words scraped past my lips. "But you’re also afraid."
His fingers twitched momentarily, as if he would grab me. But no. He stepped back as if burned.
He turned away—a gesture so uncharacteristic it momentarily silenced me.
"You think you know me." His voice was different now, stripped of its cold perfection. Raw. "You see fragments and believe you've assembled the whole."
"Tell me I'm wrong." I challenged, circling to face him.
He moved to the window, shoulders set in a rigid line, and for a very long moment, he didn’t say anything at all. "Report at dawn for training. We have work to do."
The dismissal was clear, but as I turned to leave, his voice followed me, carrying an undercurrent I couldn't quite identify.
"You're not what I expected, Thais Morvaren."
I paused at the threshold, not looking back. "Neither are you," I replied, and closed the door behind me.
Chapter 16
