The Devil's Broken Doll
Long enough for Cael’s to do the same.
“If you fall,” he added, almost conversationally, “you stay down. If you break, you break honestly.”
His eyes locked on hers, molten and unblinking. The stare wasn’t just looking—it was being measured for a crown that might double as a noose.
“Now,” the Devil said, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, “Defend yourself.”
The wards flared again — not in defence, but recognition. Old words, long stripped of their ending, stirred faintly in the stone. Two flames stand. The third waits. The phrase slid through Adelaide’s mind like a prophecy trying to find purchase.