"The craving of fire... is never quenched," Spheris said as he slowly approached him. Thorin was barely hanging on, he felt extremely human, out of breath, heart pumping with voracity, bones weak.
"That is your Consequence is it not?" Spheris asked. "Inferno's Hunger."
Thorin's eyes widened instantly and he fell to his knees in shock. "I... I never said." He panted even louder. "How did you find out?"
"The same way I found out that you were the one who had emptied Cerene's flagons."
Thorin's face fell in realization. "My... shadow."
"Your shadow," Spheris repeated. "It was hard for me to master. I woke up at nights, having hard conversations with them. Everyone's shadow wasn't easy to convince, but yours... yours was the most difficult of all. He believed in what you were doing, but I had to persuade him... and I did. Now he is loyal to me."
Thorin's eyes shook uncontrollably. "When you're gazing at us... at our feet... you're actually...?"
