Iliana came for them in the morning. Unlike the day before, she seemed relaxed when David opened the door to find her. Two soldiers stood behind her, stiff-backed as if in preparation for an attack. She gave David a nod and stepped back, giving him space to come out to her.

  Chloe was still sleeping, and David didn’t want them in the room anyway. He was sure he could fight them if he had to, but being blocked from using essence made him feel too ordinary, on his back foot.

  “You have been summoned,” Captain Iliana said. Her eyes searched David’s face, looking for answers to report, perhaps. David gave none. He nodded and turned to go back in for the others.

  A few minutes later, they were walking through passages of polished stone and high, arched roofs. Guards were stationed at every curve and path. They glared at David and the others, especially Elisha. David had suggested that he undo the armor, but his brother had declined. The armor was his greatest defense, and he didn’t trust the people of Balorn.

  David couldn’t argue with the sense in that. He didn’t trust them either. The people stared with wary eyes, suspicious of their every step. The soldiers and guards were no better.

  David drank in his surroundings as they walked—counting the bends, marking the different walls and faces they passed. The drapes on the walls. He committed it all to memory while hoping there would be no need for all that he had gleaned.

  He would hate to fight these people—with or without his arsenal. He hadn’t asked, but he was sure Vith could break whatever restraints they had put on him. Perhaps he could push through it himself. But that would alarm them, and he didn’t want that.

  “What is this war like?” Zoey asked. David turned to lock eyes with her. She shrugged, looking past him.

  “It has been on since we found the gate. At first, we warred against the Qael Dorei to let a few of our soldiers enter. It was hard, and we lost all who entered. Then we realized that it was better to lose people in one war instead of two.”

  “What do you mean?” David asked. A duo straightened as the group bent into a passage. The guards bowed to Iliana, but she ignored them, walking past without even a nod. One of the two other soldiers walking beside David whispered something in a harsh tone. The language was crude, and David knew the word was a curse. He wondered if it was meant to be for Iliana or the soldiers.

  “A truce,” Iliana said.

  “Captain,” the man beside David hissed. Iliana waved at him.

  “They have made their decision, Obarin. They will be told anyway. And this is not a secret. We do not fight outside the gate anymore. We guard it, making sure the Qael Dorei do not keep us out of it. But we do not fight.”

  “Then let it be told from the right mouth, Captain,” the man she called Obarin said. David frowned at that, unsure of what to make of the interaction. But the captain didn’t tell any more stories until they got to the doors David assumed led to the throne room.

  Here, he sensed something even stronger than what he felt from Lord Riggins' ring. Power flowed freely from within. It was familiar, and yet it was not.

  “Vith, what is this?” David asked as Iliana told the guards they were expected inside. Vith answered with silence and a rush of annoyance that told David he was supposed to figure it out himself. The problem was that he didn’t know how. His senses were clipped, as if he were locked in the dark and tied to a chair. He couldn’t understand the power these people carried. He sensed none of it on Iliana, but when the doors were opened, it rushed at them like a small avalanche.

  “You felt that?” Elisha whispered. David nodded subtly. They were not the only ones affected by the power, either. Obarin went stiff, his back straightening even harder than it had been before.

  The opened doors unveiled a sun-drenched chamber. Rays of light splashed about, illuminating the scrubbed stones. The pillars had been cared for to hide the waning that spread all over the city.

  It was the air that pleased David. It was clean. The scent of burning incense wasn’t heavy here. He could perceive it, though, noting how subtly it seemed to flow through the chamber. Carvings shaped the pillars. Faces and beasts David had never seen.

  Iliana and the two guards lowered their heads as they approached the throne. It sat atop a raised platform. The throne itself was high-backed. From where he stood, David could see the cracks on the grey stone.

  [You have entered a sanctified space!]

  [The First Hand of Ishkar welcomes you in good faith!]

  “Thank you,” David said to the woman standing a few steps below the throne. Her robe of purple spread all around her. She nodded, her veiled face lowered in a bow to David.

  Lower still were three men—lords, David guessed. They were dressed in ceremonial robes, with swords strapped to their waists. David recognized Lord Riggins, but the other two were new.

  The King, he left for last. The man was unimpressive. He looked frail, and even more tired than Lord Riggins had been when David first saw him. But even with his frailty, he carried his station in the way he stared down at them.

  “You will bow to the King,” one of the lords yelled from where the lords stood. David turned to the man. His left hand was on the hilt of his sword. David felt the quick sparks of Ignis’ irritation rise within him. With some effort, he pulled back on the dragon’s emotions before it overwhelmed his own. He was better at it now. With more insight, he seemed to resonate better with the father of dragons.

  “Silence, Dagon,” Lord Riggins said beside the man. The other man glared at him, eyes filled with rage—feigned or real, David couldn’t tell. In fact, he couldn’t be sure the whole thing wasn’t an act to see how he’d react. He decided to do nothing, waiting instead for the First Hand to begin.

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  The king’s crown, Ignis said, a sneer in his voice. It vibrated in David’s head. The displeasure was a bitter taste in the back of his throat. The dragon was annoyed. He grunted his understanding. He had sensed the power coming from the king, too. It was akin to what he noticed in Riggins’ ring.

  Stronger, though. So much stronger.

  Yet, none of them held a torch to what David could sense from the First Hand. She was a furnace, where the others were small pyres dancing to the wind. Her power was contained, calm, and fierce. He wondered what she knew, how much of his story the warden had shown her. And if what he was about to do was smart at all.

  “Lord Dagon,” The First Hand called, her voice soft, and yet every sound carried a reprimand. “You do not know who stands before you.”

  “And yet, they stand before the King of Balorn,” Lord Dagon said, his voice taut with rebellion. David’s brow shot up. More and more, he was beginning to see that the city wasn’t the only thing fractured and decaying.

  “A clash within?” Aza asked. He’d been quiet since the day before. David had thought he was in agreement with Vith. That he be left alone to undo the obstacles before him without aid. “Perhaps Balorn isn’t as together as they claim?”

  They never claimed that to begin with, Ignis added. They were both right. You will have to be careful, David. Dealing with a broken kingdom is not as easy as you think. You might think you are allies, but you will make an enemy of one faction

  David stepped forward before the First Hand could reply, pulling their attention to him. Iliana gasped, her eyes still planted down, staring at her feet. With a small flourish, David bowed to the king. He lifted his head to find the old man’s gaze perched on him. Alive, after all, David thought.

  “I hope that satisfied you, Lord Dagon,” David said, looking at the three. They met him with silence, so he continued. “First Hand, by her grace, perhaps we can continue?”

  “Yes, Lord Ruler,” the First Hand chorused, her voice carrying the subtle weight of an apology that David didn’t need. She drew herself up, as if waking up to her original form. David heard Iliana and the others take a step back.

  And the First Hand spoke.

  The voice was the same, but there was authority in it now. One so vast and different from what he’d heard before. It caused no physical change in the chamber, but it stirred something within David. The hold was smooth, almost unnoticeable. Then it washed past, moving as if he’d been weighed and found worthy.

  The King of Balorn sat up, his eyes fierce and his slouch gone. He was a monarch once more. The blue gems studded on the rim of his crown pulsed with that unnatural power.

  A puppet king? Ignis asked. David shook his head.

  “What is your decision, Tower King?” The contempt in his voice was shocking, but easy for David to ignore. Understanding flowed through him. He’d worried that this place carried its own magic, negating the one he was familiar with. The truth was clear now. The answer was so terrible he almost laughed at himself.

  “You want us to fight against your enemies on the other side of the gate,” David said.

  “Yes,” The First Hand said. If she wanted, with the power he knew she had, she could tear down this hall. It was strange that the warden would give a human this much power. Yet, David couldn’t let himself be distracted by such questions.

  “We will accept,” David said. “On the condition that whatever we find—whatever is kept on the other side. If it is made to help us progress up this tower, we will keep it for ourselves.”

  The chamber was silent for a moment. The King sat up, his eyes carried a miniature storm. Nothing compared to what David had seen since his journey began. He held the king’s gaze. The power animating him surged, and David expected a wall of aura to blast forth. But he was disappointed.

  The king smiled, then. He looked to the First Hand and gave a subtle nod. David sighed, relief flowing through him. He’d expected this to be the most difficult part of the morning.

  He was almost sure that whatever they found would take them to the next floor—or domain. The uncertainty tore into him. Balek’s tower was much different from Amareth’s. He didn’t let that disturb him, though. His mission hadn’t changed, and of all the towers he wanted to tear down, this was the one he hated the most.

  “Then we agree,” The First Hand said. “But I would like to make certain our fates, Lord Ruler. You wouldn’t mind an oath of allegiance, yes?”

  David contemplated it. With his powers unrestrained, he could break out of the oath anytime he wanted. But Ishkar would know that, which meant the warden’s priestess would too.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “David,” Zoey called from behind him. David turned to find his sister’s eyes filled with worry. Gis seemed a little better than she was the night before, but she seemed on her guard. Whatever the Questioner did to her had left a mark. Carlos stood protectively in front of her.

  “It’s alright,” David said, hoping she heard assurance in his voice, and not the worry he felt. To the First Hand, he said, “I would like this done quickly, can we do this immediately?”

  “Yes, Lord Ruler.”

  She stepped down slowly, her robe dragging along her as she walked the steps regally. Her veil was sheer enough to see her lips move when she got close to him. She stretched out a pale, slim hand. Her fingers were long, beautiful. This close, he could perceive the incense on her clothes and skin. And even more, the power within her.

  “Say the oath, Lord Ruler.”

  David sighed. “You can call me David. That whole thing with the title gets old after the first few times.” He held out his hand to her, and she grabbed him. Her lips spread into a smile behind her veil when David grabbed her wrist, too.

  “You are Ishkar, aren’t you?” David whispered. The woman’s smile widened, but she said nothing. The moment stretched taut until David gave up and said the oath.

  “I pledge to stay by this oath or die by it,” David said, improvising. She let go of his hand, and David took a step back, expecting the oath to take hold.

  [You have sworn an oath of alliance!]

  The slow thread of the oath’s magic wormed underneath David’s skin, around his heart. It was strange, feeling it slither within him. It caused no real pain, only the tightness of its binding. The sensation lasted for two, then three breaths before it faded to nothing. Around his wrist, a thin serpent tattoo inked itself into form. It writhed until it was curled around its own tail.

  “The farther you stray from the oath, the closer to death you shall be,” The First Hand said. “And now, to hold our side of this bargain. You are free.”

  With those words, David felt as if something within him had broken loose. A dam he hadn’t even noticed before. It shattered, and the storm of essence crashed about in him, so fiercely that he thought he would drown. But he had mastered himself long enough to have absolute control. He held the smile on his face as his power roared. David reined it all in, making sure to establish control.

  [The Warden has broken her hold!]

  [Your status has been restored!]

  [You have found the Warden’s avatar!]

  “You should have broken out of that yourself,” Vith said, her disappointment clear in her voice. “This wasn’t about you being weak. You let her manipulate you.”

  And you didn’t help, Ignis challenged.

  “And stunt his growth?” Vith asked, dripping venom with every word. “What kind of master will he be then?”

  [Your mantle has been restored!]

  David took a deep breath, relishing the new flavor in the air. He turned to face the warden’s avatar. She still had the smile on her face, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes now.

  “You swore,” she said. David nodded.

  “And I will keep my oath. But after this is done, I would like to meet you. The real you.”

  Essence bloomed over his skin, crackling. David drank the power with all the greed of a thirsty beggar. Vith was right. He shouldn’t have let himself be played like a fool.