...Had he wanted me to figure out... just to feel this exact crushing helplessness?
It seems like I'd outsmarted myself right into a checkmate.
Ossian continued watching me as understanding dawned on my face, the violet light in his sockets gleaming with infinite amusement. He leaned forward, the shadows coiling around him like affectionate serpents.
"You know," he whispered, the sound slithering into my ears. "At the start, I was genuinely not going to harm you and your friend. I would have let you leave with the precious relic, with your 'gifts', your hopeful hearts intact. You would have been my hearlds, my unwitting liberators, and I might have even felt a flicker of gratitude. But you..."
His voice dropped to an intimate, chilling pitch, full of mock regret.
"...You just had to be 'clever'."
...He's insulting me, right?
But I didn't have time to get emotional. I need to continue with the plan.
"...Then, are you going to kill us now?"
"..." A beat of silence.
