(Lureh POV)
"What is your decision?"
My shoulders tensed at the sound of his voice. It was colder than before, so different from the way he had spoken only minutes ago that it made something tighten in my chest.
I lifted my gaze slowly, forcing myself to look away from the ground. Nerak and Belash lay where they had fallen, their bodies motionless, or what remained of them. They were both dead, and their blood had spread freely across the dirt until it nearly reached my knees.
I had not even noticed how close it had come.
For a few seconds, I simply stared at them.
I still could not believe it, and the more I thought about it, the more stupid I felt for thinking I had figured him out.
"I do not have much time. Make your choice… now" he said.
I drew a slow breath and raised my eyes to him. He had not moved. He was still watching me, waiting, as if my answer mattered more than the bodies at his feet. Two golden points stared back at me, the same eyes I had noticed the first time we met and even liked. Now they felt cold.
A chill ran down my spine as the questions finally surfaced through the shock. How did he know the key? And more importantly, where was Lady Liraya?
I closed my eyes.
Of course I knew.
Those short blades in his hands were unmistakable to anyone who had spent enough time beside Lady Liraya. If he was holding them now, there was only one explanation. She was most likely dead as well.
I opened my eyes.
He kept channeling spiritual energy into the blades. The runes that usually shimmered in gold now pulsed in crimson. The color matched the blood dripping from them, falling in slow, heavy drops onto the ground.
I exhaled slowly.
I am tired.
"I will not say anything. Would you let me go?" I asked softly, even though I already knew the answer.
"No," he replied without hesitation. "You already know the alternative." His eyes shifted toward Nerak and Belash.
Why does it always have to be like this?
I am tired of this world. Tired of situations like this. Of standing in front of someone who believes he has the right to decide what happens to my life.
But… I don't want to die.
I need to calm down.
Did he really kill her? He had her blades, yes, but that alone was not enough for me to risk breaking the oath.
"I need to be sure she is dead" I said carefully. "Otherwise, I cannot make the oath."
He looked at me without blinking. I searched his face for something, any reaction I could read, but there was nothing there. After a moment, he gave a short nod and lifted one of the blades, pointing it toward me.
"We're going to the warehouse." he said coldly. "Walk ahead. And do not do anything you will regret."
I nodded once.
Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet and began walking toward the warehouse, the very place we were supposed to protect her if something went wrong. I could hear his steps behind me. He followed close enough that I did not need to look back.
I did not want to make another pact, but did I have any other choice?
On the way, I found myself remembering what had happened just a few minutes ago.
-A few minutes earlier-
"Is it true that Darim is alright?" Zimesh asked, clearly worried.
I smiled at him. He reminded me of how I was when I had just been chosen, confused and too naive for my own good.
"Yes. Don't worry" I said gently. "She is not as bad as she seems. Her methods are… questionable, but the child is fine. We will go to him once the lady returns."
As we walked, I moved a little closer to him and finally had the chance to look at him properly. He was tall, with black hair longer than usual, as if he had let it grow without thinking much about it. He was handsome, but what caught my attention the most were his eyes.
They were golden, something extremely rare.
Only one other person was known to have had eyes like that. I could not help but wonder if there was some connection. After all, Ishtal had been protecting him.
But more importantly, he was exactly the kind of man I liked. How long had it been since I had gone out with someone? Too long.
"I am Lureh" I said, turning slightly toward him. "You said your name was Zimesh, right?"
"Yes" he replied softly.
He still looked unsettled, even if he tried not to show it. "Really, do not worry" I added. "Darim is safe. And if you ask her, she will protect him from now on."
Zimesh nodded.
We reached the place where the lamp had been set down. Nerak lay back on the ground and stared up at the sky without saying a word. Belash sat nearby and closed his eyes. I sat down as well, then looked at Zimesh just as he was lowering himself to sit beside us.
Just as I was about to speak again, two short blades appeared in Zimesh's hands.
For a split second, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. He had been lowering himself to sit, his body slightly bent forward, and instead of settling on the ground he used that same motion to launch himself toward Belash.
Everything happened too fast.
By the time my eyes fully widened in shock, one blade had already pierced Belash's throat and the other his heart. His body jerked once before collapsing.
"What the hell—" Nerak shouted, his voice breaking in confusion.
He did not even manage to reach for his bow. Zimesh was already beside him, covering the distance in a heartbeat. He repeated the same attack he had used on Belash. Nerak's words ended in a wet choke as the blade pierced his throat, blood spilling out with the broken sound before he collapsed.
I had been halfway to standing. My legs gave out beneath me, and I dropped to my knees instead.
I watched as their blood began to spread slowly across the ground, pooling outward inch by inch. Without realizing it, my gaze lowered to the floor. He had just killed both of them in a matter of seconds.
I was the weakest among us.
My heart pounded violently in my chest as I waited for it, for the sudden pain in my throat or the sharp pressure in my chest. I almost expected to feel the blade before I saw it.
My hands would not stop shaking. I am not a fighter, so what am I supposed to do? Why do things like this always happen to me?
"Do you know why I did not kill you?"
The question froze me. He was not going to kill me?
"Why?" I asked, my voice trembling as much as my hands.
"Because I want you to make a divine oath and serve me" he said coldly.
For a moment, I could not even breathe.
-Present-
I stepped into the warehouse, and she was there.
Lady Liraya.
The woman I had served for years. In many ways, I had been little more than her servant, almost a slave to her will, and yet the sight of her body still made something tighten inside me. It hurt more than I expected. She had not been kind, but she had not been entirely cruel either.
And him.
What did I actually know about him?
Nothing.
The idea that he was some young and ignorant chosen, as we had believed, was clearly a lie. Had he killed Lady Liraya without any of us realizing it? Had he been playing us from the beginning? Even his name was probably a lie.
He was experienced. There had been no hesitation in the way he moved.
I let out a slow breath.
I could only hope he was not as cruel as he seemed.
"What kind of oath do you want me to make?" I asked, aware that he was still standing behind me.
"The same one you had with Liraya. Do not change anything" he said from behind. "Trust me. I will know."
He will know?
Does he have some kind of divine artifact that can detect lies from a distance? Or is it one of his runes?
The thought bothered me, but at least the condition was clear. If the oath remained the same, then so would my limits.
At the very least, I would keep the same freedoms I had before. I turned slowly to face him and forced myself to meet his eyes.
"In the name of Enki, god of the waters and hidden wisdom, whose edict binds me and whose will guides me…"
A symbol ignited in blue-green light above my palm, formed by a winding line that curved downward and split into two smaller arcs, surrounded by four small star-shaped marks evenly spaced around it.
"I swear by his eternal name that I will be loyal to the man before me. I will not betray him or abandon him while he lives, and I will follow his orders, except those that would force me to harm myself or strip me of my dignity."
"I swear that I will keep his secrets and never reveal what he entrusts to me."
"I will remain bound by this oath until he releases me from it or until he dies."
"Let Enki bear witness."
The symbol flared brightly for a brief moment before dissolving into the air.