"The sixth?" I looked back at the throne, which had gotten silent. "Why is it swallowing people?" I wondered aloud, turning to look at Ethan.
He shook his head, not because he didn't know the response. He knew it, I could see it in his eyes, but he kept his lips sealed, acting like he didn't know what I was asking about.
"You know, don't you?" I pressed, desperate to get a reply. "You can tell me. I almost lost my life, so it's only proper for you to tell me about it."
He exhaled, resigning himself to his fate. "Let's take a walk."
He stepped out, and I followed him. Before the lock clicked back in place, I heard the whispered "Sera" from the throne, sounding more heartbroken than ever.
I ignored it, thinking of what would have happened if Ethan hadn't rushed in before I touched it.
Wait a damned minute, why was I terrified of dying? I frowned, furrowing my brows. I had come over here to die. It was the reason I asked to be sent to the demon king. Why am I now scared of dying?
I looked at Ethan and knew it was somehow related to the kings. They were changing my mind, and the thoughts scared me.
I followed down the hall until we left the palace. It seemed that out here was his favourite place. While Athan loved to spend most of his afternoon in the garden, Ethan enjoyed sitting out in the cold.
I rubbed my palms on my arms, yawning from the cold. He turned to look at me, frowned, and flicked his fingers. Oddly enough, the cold disappeared. The place now felt just as warm as my room.
He sat down, and I joined him, looking up at the barren sky. For a minute, I imagined what it would look like, dotted with stars and the moon. Just thinking about it made me sigh.
"What's wrong?" He turned to stare at me.
"Nothing."
He frowned again. His gaze lingered a few seconds on my face before he nodded.
"So…" I let the word hang, waiting for him to pick up on what I wanted without having me spell it out.
He cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the sky. "It had been that way since we were born," he whispered, his voice so soft, so unusual. "We were…" He inhaled. "We haven't sat on it before."
"We? You and Athan?"
He nodded.
"I see." I nodded, even though I didn't understand it. "What about the women it ate? Who are they?"
"They tried to touch it even though they shouldn't have, and got sucked into the throne. We haven't seen them ever since, and we know we won't. Each time the throne takes a life, it becomes fresher, but it doesn't last. A day or two, and it will return to what it had always been. Dried."
"So it wants to eat me?"
"It would have if you touched it."
"Isn't there anything you can do about it? Like a step you can take it to get it to stop eating people?"
He shook his head. "I doubt. No one knew if the prop — it's nothing. The throne will remain that way until our death. That's all."
Just like he did before, he omitted some truths instead of answering them straight.
"It spoke to me," I whispered.
"What?!"
This time, when he looked at me, he looked more shocked than he did when he saw me with my hand towards the throne.
"It called my name. It knew me," I continued. "It asked me to touch it."
He blinked. "You are not lying, are you?"
"Why will I?" I frowned, lifted my knees with my feet planted on the floor, and hugged them. "It woke me up from sleep, led me down the corridor and towards the throne room. That was why I went there," I explained, in case he still thought I was lying when that wasn't even necessary.
"This is a first," he whispered, more to himself than me. "It hasn't spoken to anyone since our mother died."
"Your mother?"
He nodded. "She was the queen after my father, and the throne recognised her. It blossomed with fresh leaves and fruits. The kingdom wasn't cu — was not way," he corrected himself, another suspicious slip.
"What are you hiding?"
"Me?" He blinked, as if there was someone else with us aside from him. "Why do you think I'm lying?"
"It's in your eyes," I pointed out. "It keeps twitching each time you change the subject. It was how I knew you were lying."
"Some things are better left unsaid." He expelled a breath. "It's just better if you know a little about us. Too much information might not be good for you."
"Who's to be the judge of that?" I shuffled closer towards him. "You can tell me everything, Ethan. I will listen, I promise. I'm good with that."
I was hoping he would fall for my words and tell me everything I needed to know without me begging him to.
"It's unnecessary." He shook his head. "What was the voice of the throne like?" He asked, expertly changing the topic. It was obvious he didn't want to tell me any more than he had already done, and it made me curious to know what was going on with the kingdom.
"It's a woman. The voice is soft, just like a smooth caress." I could still feel the pull, the softness, as it urged me to come to it. "It didn't sound dangerous."
He nodded, his attention rapt. "Did you feel any evil intent when you got near?"
"Not at all. It became softer. And then…" I contemplated telling him about her promises before I decided against it. I needed a secret of my own, since they have theirs. "That's all. I doubt it would have hurt me. It just wanted me to touch it."
"You can't trust just anything." He looked serious. "The softness in the voice might be its way of luring you to your death."