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But there is one stain that weighs most heavily upon him. One he must address.

“I wish to,” Perl says solemnly. “I wish to formally apologise to Lyr.”

Damon looks sour. This is not the right moment. That is clear. But he can delay this no longer. Damon says, “For giving him to Jareleezi? That Hevelikar witch tortured him for years? Do you really understand what you did?” He points to Lyr with a thick finger. “Tell him, tell him what was done.”

Lyr looks quite uneasy. “He knows. He knew when he told her to take a Klishian youth what she would do to me.”

“Is that correct? Did you know?” Damon speaks it sharply, narrowing his eyes at Perl.

In a quiet, but firm tone, Kerik says, “You will not speak to my love so, Damon Darekul.”

“Be silent,” Damon snaps back and Perl feels Kerik tense beside him.

Kerik flexes his fingers against Perl’s arm and Perl feels a tingle there. Kerik has some power here in the north. The Amber Forest and Ismagaar are close enough. “Do not test me, Damon.” Kerik says back. A clear threat.

Perl turns to him, “Please, Kerik, let me do this. I wish to make this right.”

Kerik says nothing. Kerik has a deep power over him, Perl knows. Power he has only used for bed pleasures. But if he commanded Perl to step aside, or to allow Kerik to speak on his behalf, Perl could not deny him. But Kerik does not do that. Perl can feel the frustration in him, but he simply nods that Perl should continue.

“I told Jareleezi that a Klishian could be used as a receptacle for magic. She was finding it hard to use magic in the mortal realm without it. Klishians have a power in them from the residual power left when the Bellator sank Pia and Prim.”

Damon runs a hand up Lyr’s arm. His arm is ringed with circles, cut there to enhance his power. “Did you know she would do this?” Damon says.

Perl swallows. “I am of the fae. I cannot lie. I speak the truth when I say that, no, I did not. But I knew that cutting or burning the skin was one way to use the power of a Klishian. I cannot deny that I knew it was a possibility. And, although I did not know the details of what she was doing, there was a time when I relied on the information she gleaned about what was to come. And I chose not to explore how she had enhanced her magic so well by using a mortal vessel.”

Perl thinks that perhaps Damon will kill him now, for such a confession. Draw his sword and take his head. He is probably weak enough to be killed by a mortal with a sword.

They could still beat Ur-Durik without him.

Excepting that Kerik would never forgive Damon, would likely smite Damon with magic in response and then the whole battle would be over. He’d never thought the most difficult thing he had been tasked with was stopping these five brothers from destroying each other.

The tension breaks when Lyr says softly. “But you needed it. You had to defeat Ur-Durik?”

Perl nods. His emotions feel too high inside him to speak.

Kerik says, “You need to understand this, Damon. Perl gave his life for us. Turned away from his home and spent a hundred years in The Waste uncovering the writings of Batreous — his own father who he witnessed killed by the savage fae of Vylenor. He ensured all of us were born. He is the bravest of all of us. You should pay respect to all he has done.”

Perl still cannot speak.

Lyr says, “If you are the reason Damon was born I think I would have to forgive you anything.” He reaches up and touches Damon’s chin, turning the face to his own and smiles sweetly.

Damon’s stern expression seems to melt a little as he gazes at Lyr. When he looks back to Perl, he says, “It is Lyr’s transgression to forgive. If he forgives you then you have committed no crime against me.”

“Then I forgive you,” Lyr says. “Jareleezi is dead and I am here with the man I love. All because of you.” Lyr holds out his hand to Perl like a maiden.

Perl takes it and kisses it. “You are the strongest of us all, Lyr of Klish.” He looks up at Damon.

Damon says, “My One Man Army.” And he kisses Lyr on the head.

They stand like that for a beat. And Perl feels a soft warmth. A sensation that all his terrible deeds could truly be forgiven. Be just.

Finally, he says, “Then we need to make our plan. We should leave on the morrow. It will take us three nights to travel to Attar. And we should be there as soon as we can to find a way to free Lukas and retrieve Jemel. Atticul will have full control of the empire when he ascends. The ritual is declared for Fris moon. That moon is risen. We have nine days.”

Damon nods, “You are right. We cannot leave Attar in the hands of that monster any longer.”

“You mean Atticul or Ur-Durik?” says Kerik.

Damon gives a small weary smile.