The red carpet stretched beneath my feet like a wound that had been carved through the world.
The chamber was exactly as it had been the last time I was dragged here. Grand, silent, and annoying in that special way only heavenly things could be. The walls still bore the carvings of warriors that looked like they had fought wars before stars had names. The throne still stood at the far end, massive and oppressive, not because it was large, but because everything around it seemed to agree that it should be obeyed.
And in front of it stood the Enforcer.
He no longer bothered with the form that could make mountains look like pebbles. He had shrunk himself down to my height, almost human, almost approachable, if not for the fact that every instinct inside me was screaming that the thing in front of me could crush my soul with the same effort one would use to blink.
He looked at me calmly, hands behind his back, posture relaxed.
How irritating.
