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“Damon has a plan,” Lyr says. “He has been promised the title Warden of Vashti. He thinks Selim might permit him to sin in Vashti and he would be free to make love to me. Zai is not so strict there.”

“If Atticul has any sense he would allow that to happen. Let Damon disappear off to Vashti so people forget about him. Sadly, he has no sense at all. He will probably try and prevent anything that makes Damon happy. Has Selim said he is willing to grant him such a thing? That he would allow Damon to bed you in Vashti?”

“I think so, or Damon says so, but only because he wants information. From me. But the problem is,” Lyr looks down. It’s so dark now he can barely see his legs, stretched out in front of him. “I don’t think I can give it to him.”

“Why not?”

“Because they want to know where Jareleezi is.”

“And you don’t know?”

“I do know,” says Lyr. “I know she travels to Ismagaar.”

“So why don’t you give the information to Damon so he can take you to Vashti and make love to you by Miracle Lake?”

Lyr pauses. “Because Jareleezi sent me here so I would change Damon’s path and lead him to her. If I tell him where she is, that could be the thing that sets him on that path.”

Opeth nods. She says nothing but she clearly expects Lyr to tell her more.

Lyr swallows, speaking fast. “She wants Damon... Jareleezi. She has always wanted Damon. Damon Darekul. She needs him for something, some prophecy. I don’t know exactly, perhaps she wants to use him for one of her rituals, like the ones she used me for. Perhaps she needs to carve things onto his body. But it’s always been him. About him. Everything she did to me, the magics she performed on me were all about Damon, to ask her Gods to guide her, to discover the right path so she could find a way to capture Damon.”

“You think she will kill him?”

Lyr shakes his head. “All I know is, the Gods said she will capture him because of me.”

“Perhaps the Gods were wrong,” Opeth says.

“They have not been wrong before. Everything happened in Pellex exactly as they said it would.”

Opeth touches Lyr’s knee. “The future is yet to come.”

Lyr shakes his head. “Should I run away and leave him? Would that protect him from what will come? I do not want to. I want to be with him.”

“If the Gods are always right then it doesn’t matter what you do. If you truly think Damon’s fate is sealed, you should enjoy what you have. And if you believe you can change things, go to Vashti with him. That is as far from Ismagaar as it is possible to get in the Azurian Empire.”

“But to get to Vashti I will need to give him information.”

“Information you have.”

“But how can I tell him I know where Jareleezi is? I know she has gone to Ismagaar because her Gods told her I would lead Damon to meet her there. And what if he asks me how I knew where to find her and pieces together what I am for? If Damon finds out I was sent by dark Gods to lead him to a Hevelikar witch, he will never touch me again.”

“That part is simply solved though,” says Opeth lightly.

“Is it?”

“Of course. If you need to tell Damon you know where Jareleezi is without him wondering how you knew, tell him you found out from someone else.”

“Who?”

“Someone from Jur-Mattan. Someone who makes it their business to know all sorts of things.” She smiles sweetly. “And someone who is owned by Atticul. That would make the knowledge even sweeter, I am sure.”

“Oh,” says Lyr. “Of course. Because you’d know, wouldn’t you? You know everything.”

“I don’t. I didn’t actually know where Jareleezi went.”

“But you could have. Damon will believe you could have. But what if…” Lyr frowns in the dark. “But I can’t.” It comes out a whine. “I can’t. What if Emperor Selim sends him after her and that is how it happens?”

“You should make him swear,” says Opeth simply. “Make him swear to you he will not chase her.” Opeth strokes Lyr’s cheek. “You deserve happiness. You did not choose to be part of Jareleezi’s rituals. You should take your pleasure while you can.”