"Azath," says Bazroth, upon my arrival in his throne-room. I kneel to him, chin lowered. "Rise."

"Majesty," I say, hefting myself up to stand before him. "I come with reports."

I'm not sure how else to describe what I'm bringing Bazroth today.

Yesterday was a whirlwind. Meeting Dru, being hypnotized by her, then abandoning her at that tavern...

A new emotion brews in me as I perch before my master, about to feed him knowledge to better help him ruin the world.

Regret. Or maybe it's guilt. A mix of both. It's strong enough that I worry my king will feel it and reprimand me.

What I did to Dru, ditching her like that...it's not sitting with me. At the time of taking off, I was confident in my actions. But now? I feel awful.

She was so perfect, so willing, and I got her hopes up.

That's how heartbreak starts. How I'm programmed to function. Seduce, indulge, destroy.

Dru will be no exception.

"Yes." Bazroth gestures to a chair he made appear with a wave of his hand. "Sit and tell me all you've learned."

His voice booms through the large but empty hall. There's little color here, little to see outside his palace. Prickly vines and dirt, a few sun-deprived trees with branches scratching up towards the ceiling of thick earth that separates us from the surface.

It's much better up in Exivaria proper, for sure.

I sit, and my mind still swarms with images of Dru, of her beautiful figure and glowing face, of the feelings she spurred in me after we kissed.

I didn't stick around to see her reaction, but I'm sure my departure was a tormenting experience. Humans of Exivaria aren't stood up like that. I can't imagine she's in a great state of mind.

Earlier, I didn't care about that...but now, it's irking me. To envision her suffering, it's pinching at something inside me that I don't understand.

Pinching at my heart.

I have to set all that aside to relay information to Bazroth. I have a duty, and it must take precedence.

"The upper world is bright." I squint, to demonstrate how it felt to peer up at the blue sky, to sense the sun basking on my face. "Overwhelming."

"Yes," Bazroth motions with his hand, "I've been up there before. Spare me those details. Tell me about the humans."

"The humans." I gulp, recalling their friendly faces, their happy laughs, the delicious food they shared with me. I flush at the memory of their bodies, the soft flesh I got to touch and taste, the pleasure they taught me to enjoy.

"Were they disgusting?" Bazroth wrinkles his nose, his eyes shading with darkness. He adjusts his bulky frame, tilting sideways on his enormous throne. "Infuriating? Too damn in love with their own selves?"

Bazroth has his own lasting image of humans. Though the goddesses locked him up, it's humans he has the biggest grudge against.

"They were interesting," I say, struggling to find the appropriate word.

My experience in the upper world wasn't as negative as Bazroth had implied it'd be. He'd implanted in me all these horrible ideas of humanity; screams and finger-pointing and mockery, annoying noises and disgrace and cruelty.

But I'd gotten none of that. Some turned away, repulsed by my size, yes; but everyone else welcomed me, the foreigner, as if I'd always belonged.

Especially Dru.

"Ah," Bazroth snickers, "you met someone."

I quirk an eyebrow. "How did you know?" My body tenses, my brain going blank.

I don't want him to know about Dru, the most exquisite creature, and that she's absolutely perfect for my task. He'll want me to ruin her. To use her.

I haven't decided if I agree with that yet.

"Your heart." His lips down-turn. "Yes, I can read it, like you can read others. How else do you think I was able to give you that power?"

I freeze, wondering what he sees in my heart. I hadn't realized it was showing anything. The beats are steady, and I sense no lust or adrenaline pumping through me.

Bazroth must have picked up on my suppressed desire for Dru, and he'll use it against me.

He'll make sure she's the one I break first. And he's not wrong. She is the best option to start his plans of world-domination via heartbreak and pain.

But do I want to be responsible for that? Do I want to break Dru?

"You met her," he says, gripping the armrests.

"Her?" I try not to gulp, not to show any trace of fear.

How is he aware it's a her? What is he picking up on in my demeanor that's telling him this?

If he knows about Dru, about how I almost succumbed to her...

"Your target," he says. "The one you're meant to use to start spreading the disease. I'm getting sensations from you, Azath. Notions, emotions...she's a woman? Someone you came across and who stood out to you?"

"Right." I incline my head in a quick nod. "A woman. My target."

Maybe if I don't get into specifics, he'll move on to what I'm to do next.

"Your target." Bazroth sighs, leans back in his elaborate seat. "I knew you'd explore a little, taste a little, and I won't hold that against you. Curiosity is normal. But then you'd meet someone with whom you know you can begin the process. Someone with power."

"Literally," I say, then cover my mouth as I realize what I've done—I've revealed Dru's special nature.

Dru is magical, for sure; but I don't know if I wanted to tell my king about that.

His eyes widen. "Oh, that kind of power?" His lips purse, then tilt into a slight smile. "She's not fully human?"

I hesitate, but if I don't respond, he'll grab me by the face and dig into my skull and extract the answer.

"As far as I could tell. I don't know what she is, though."

I won't tell him my theory of her being a goddess. If he finds that out, he'll have me kill her, not seduce her.

"Interesting," he says, tapping a finger to his chin. "Then she's a more worthy target. If she's magical, she'll spread the disease even faster. Her pain will attain a larger number of people. Good, Azath, good."

"She won't be easy," I admit. The air around me thickens and grows darker. "Her power is strong, whatever it is. It took all my might not to succumb to her right away."

Something sparks in Bazroth's eyes; almost like recognition. Like my words have reminded him of something.

But he shakes his head, clearing away any strange expression. "Explain her to me."

I bite my tongue; why do I keep revealing things that I don't want to?

But also: why do I keep trying to keep Dru to myself?

She's my target. I established that seconds after meeting her. She's the one who will help me accomplish Bazroth's goals.

But in the past few hours, I've wondered: is that what I want?

And does what I want matter?

"Her heart," I say, my voice softening. "It was so pure, it blinded me. I had difficulty perceiving it, but I sensed it was unlike other hearts I'd read up there."

Bazroth's sneaky snarl curdles my blood. "Swell. She is the target, then, this confirms it. I urge you to pursue her."

I knew he would order this, but it pains me, nonetheless. "Yes, Majesty."

"You must concentrate on her. Woo this woman to the point of making her grovel for you. She must want nothing but you." Bazroth sounds so swaying, so confident; but his face shows disgust as he discusses love and lust.

He hates such emotions and asking me to go through with applying them towards Dru is making him sick.

"And then," he clutches at his stomach as if about to retch, "you take it all away." His unease dissipates as his voice turns sinister again. "You shatter her heart to pieces. Give her one night only before disappearing without a trace."

I'd planned that night. But I'd hoped to spend more than one night with her. That body...it'd take more than a few hours to get to know its curves, to indulge in all its flavors.

I want more of Dru, but Bazroth wants me to accelerate the process.

"Others will follow suit. She'll wail about her pain, and it'll infect anyone around her." Bazroth's smile is wicked. He steeples his fingers, eyes aglow with a nastiness worthy of the king of Hell. "The disease will take its root in Hazelvale, and soon enough, it'll make its way across the entire continent. Then the world."

I nod, but on the inside, I'm uncomfortable. My gut is knotted, my heart rate rising.

I was built for heartbreak, and I wanted to disarm Dru, at first. But now that I'm away from her, and missing her...I don't like this.

Of course I want to sleep with her, and possibly use her desire against her later. But to destroy her? To make her the first victim in my master's race for destruction?

There has to be a means to keep Dru around longer. To play with her, take everything I can from her before I dispose of her as if she were a soiled rag.

I know there's more to her than just being a target. That magic in her, the energy she radiated...it's different.

"What is she, Majesty?" I peer at him, weighing my words. "Her power...I don't know what it is."

He fidgets in his throne before standing up. "Not sure." He brushes his cloak off, then descends from his dais, signaling for me to get up. "It's been eons since I've been up there. It'll be up to you to figure out what she is, and you can report it to me. Now go." He points at the grand doorway. "Return upstairs and finish what you started." His gaze narrows. "Make me proud."

As I turn away and march towards the doorway, I'm not convinced. Bazroth's reaction is shifty. Why do I feel like he knows what Dru is, and she's much more precious than he lets on?

She is a goddess, then.

Something more is at play here. Something Bazroth isn't sharing with me.

He's my king, and I'm sworn to obey him, but I get the feeling there's so much I need to know before I go through with his plans.

I may have to delay his mad rush to spread heartbreak, to get my answers.

Bazroth is on a deadline to sully this world. But I don't know if this world deserves to be so sullied. The banishment of demons was harsh, the goddesses' rule is tyrannical, and the balance is unstable...but now that I've visited the upper world, I'm enamored with it.

I see the beauty there, the appeal. And I'm not positive I want it all destroyed.

Wordcount: 1,780
TOTAL: 15,859