Chapter 63

IMPORTANT: Please the whole chapter, in order, and the ending note if you find yourself getting upset about this chapter.

“And you’re sure you don’t mind?” Sarah asked her father for a third time.

Festus nodded. “I trust you Sarah, and he’s a prophet, and there are many others on the Argo.” He glanced up at the airship still anchored above the inn, then at Ethan.

“There’s a ladies’ area in the bow; no men allowed.” Ethan said. “I promise I won’t do anything with her that I wouldn’t do in front of you. Well, at least until we’re married.”

Festus nodded. “Then I give you my permission for Sarah to travel with you, though it ain’t exactly the normal way of doing things.”

“Thank you!” Sarah gave him a huge hug, her heart nearly singing in joy.

After that, the long process of her saying goodbye to everyone started while the Argo’s crew began climbing the long ladder up to its weather deck. She hugged her father and Rindrin, and then gave Amy one final hug by the Argo’s ladder. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Her friend said as she hugged her back tightly. “Visit as often as you can, as often as it’s safe.”

“I will.” Sarah promised, gave her an extra squeeze, and then let go. At this point, all of the Argo’s crew were already aboard except for Ethan and Myla. Sarah cocked her head to one side as she realized that wasn’t true; she was now part of the Argo’s crew.

She smiled.

Myla said goodbye to Falkaan and then started climbing up the ladder’s wooden rungs, though the rope to which they were attached swayed quite a bit. As she did, Sarah watched Falkaan approach Ethan, her betrothed.

Her betrothed; that thought made her smile wider.

“Prophet, would you have use for an extra airship or sword hand?” The dark elf asked Ethan.

“Um, probably?” He scratched the top of his head, then glanced up to where Myla was still climbing, then back at the dark elf. “Found a good reason to stick around?”

“Quite possibly.” Falkaan replied, but didn’t say anything else and his expression was hard for Sarah to read. The attention he’d been paying to Myla since the two of them were introduced was very easy to read though.

Ethan chuckled. “I certainly don’t mind, though we’re heading to the Gulf of Sayora for a little vacation next, if that’s someplace you wouldn’t mind going.”

“Then the Midnight Sun will fly in formation with the Argo at least that far, if you will allow it.”

“Sure, be my guest.” Ethan replied, a knowing smile on his face. “In fact, you’re welcome to spend the rest of the day on the Argo if you have a reason to.” He was clearly suppressing a smile as he glanced up to where Myla was climbing onto the Argo’s weather deck.

“Then I am again in your debt.” He gave Ethan a head bow and began to climb the ladder, leaving Sarah and Ethan at the bottom with Amy and Sarah’s father.

Sarah gave both of them one last hug and goodbye, then started climbing the ladder as well. Below her, she saw her father talk to Ethan for a moment before her betrothed -- she loved calling him that -- spread his wings and flew to the Argo’s weather deck. Sarah finished the several-story climb not long afterward and looked around at her new home.

She beamed.

“What did my father want to talk to you about?” She asked her betrothed.

He chuckled. “He had a rather pointed warning about what might happen to me if I took advantage of you before our wedding.”

She felt her cheeks go warm. “I know you wouldn’t though.”

“True, but damn, do I want to.” He gave her a look that would’ve been scandalous in the right company.

She blushed.

“Don’t worry, you’ll soon grow immune to his teasing.” Rachel said with an apologetic smile.

Ethan looked at her and moments later, she turned bright red.

“Immune huh?” He teased the redhead, whose cheeks were rapidly approaching the color of a radish.

“You can speak to each other telepathically, right?” Sarah asked as all of Ethan’s wives plus Selene, Victoria, and Thea gathered around in a circle. Myla was talking with Falkaan nearby after the dark elf had signaled his airship to follow the Argo.

“We can, and you should be able to also as soon as we bond.” Ethan grinned.

“Actually, maybe sooner.” Victoria said with a thoughtful expression.

“Really?” Ethan and Sarah said at the same time.

Everyone laughed, then the platinum blonde continued. “You all built mental tunnels so no one else could hear you or eavesdrop on your conversations, right?”

Ethan and his wives nodded.

“The reason you need to be bonded is to find the other person’s mind, but you have four telepaths on the ship.” Victoria continued. “There’s no reason that we couldn’t build the tunnels between your minds. They would be weak and someone could knock them down, but as long as they were up, Sarah should theoretically be able to talk to the rest of you.”

Ethan grinned at her. “If we were married, I’d kiss you!”

“If we were married, you could do a lot more than kiss me.” Victoria replied with a sly smile.

Everyone stared at her.

“What?” She said without even a hint of defensiveness in her tone. “My mother isn’t here to scold me, so why shouldn’t I flirt?”

Ethan chuckled and shook his head, then looked at Sarah. “Are you interested?”

“In flirting?” She replied, feeling a wonderful lightness to her whole being.

Ethan laughed.

It was a deep ‘from the belly’ sort of laugh that she really liked.

“I meant in being able to communicate telepathically now, before we--”

“Yes!” She interrupted in her haste to agree.

“Good.” Ethan grinned.

“Let’s give it a go then; no time like the present.” Victoria said, then looked at Thea.

“Let’s do it.” Thea nodded, and then she waved Myla over.

“Okay, what should I do?” Sarah asked.

“Just open a window in your mental defenses, we’ll take care of the rest.” Victoria replied.

Sarah did, though it took her a moment to figure out how. The next ten minutes were rather boring since the telepaths were apparently at work, but she couldn’t see what they were doing. However, she could tell that as the minutes wore on, their expressions seemed to get less positive.

“It’s not working.” Selene finally said as all four telepaths opened their eyes.

“We tried building a tunnel between your minds, but it wouldn’t stay connected.” Victoria said.

“After this experimentation, I do not believe it is possible to establish such a private communication channel between two persons who are not bonded.” Myla said in her slight Southern Lands accent. “Unless perhaps if all participants were telepathic.”

“What they said.” Thea nodded, then looked at Sarah and Ethan. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault.” Ethan replied. “Thanks for trying though.”

“Yes, thank you.” Sarah agreed, hesitated, then asked the obvious question. “How did four telepaths end up on the Argo since it’s such a rare gift?”

“Maybe we should swap stories?” Selene suggested. “We’ll tell you all about how Robin Hood here got the Merry Band together, and then you can tell us what happened to you?”

“Robin Hood?” Sarah looked quizzically at Ethan.

He chuckled. “I’ll explain, but I’d love to know what happened to you right after we tell you our story; I think Selene has a great idea.”

“I would love to know how you all came together.” Sarah smiled, though she wasn’t looking forward to repeating what had happened with Lady Ekthros. The memories were still painful, but she wanted them to know what had happened.

“Okay then, story time.” Ethan smiled.

Fiona took a deep breath and clutched her husband’s arm a bit tighter as Timarou’s flagship approached, finishing its final docking procedures at the airship dock on the highest level of Karnas’s castle. Opposite the dock from Timarou’s flagship was Narlotten’s own flagship, and the contrast between the two was quite interesting. Timarou’s flagship was blue with white trim in many places, while Narlotten’s was black and red. They were both roughly the same size, but Narlotten’s flagship seemed slightly more aggressive in its design, while Timarou’s was more elegant.

Fiona was standing with the welcome delegation and trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. This would be her first official meeting with the leaders of another lorddom and she said a silent prayer to Illuminar that she wouldn’t cause a terrible diplomatic incident. Behind her, her bodyguard Tabitha was standing silent and watchful.

“You need not worry.” Lord Delmar said to her quietly. “By reputation, Lord Kalus and his wives are not the sort to easily take offense.”

“Thank ya for saying that.” She whispered back, then took another deep breath as the sailors on Timarou’s flagship dropped the gangplank into place.

A man who could only be Lord Kalus stepped onto the gangplank and strode across it, stopping just before he reached the end and looking at Lord Delmar. “I, Lord Regent Kalus of Timarou, formally request entrance to Narlotten’s most noble castle in Karnas.”

“I, Lord Delmar of Narlotten, welcome you to our castle and invite you and your family to dine with us in the great hall tonight.”

“Thank you Lord Delmar.” Lord Kalus replied, then stepped off the gangplank onto the dock. Behind him, an ash-blonde woman and a woman with amber-colored hair stepped onto the gangplank, accompanied by several children. There were six of them, ranging in age from perhaps seven or eight down to two or three. All were clearly the lord’s children. Behind them, several Timarou officials were following.

The introductions were made for everyone and Fiona tried her best to commit the names to memory. Sadly, with the lord’s family and all the officials, there were simply too many and she knew she would fail miserably. She just hoped that she could manage to carry on a conversation without using names.

No sooner had the introductions been finished than the ash blonde came right up to Fiona and looked her square in the eye. “You look about as comfortable as a mare with a horsefly that won’t stop biting.”

Fiona felt herself freeze slightly.

The ash blonde smiled. “Relax, I felt the same way at my first state meeting. Too many names to remember and too many rules of etiquette, am I right?”

Fiona nodded mutely.

“Don’t worry, if a teenage rancher’s daughter with no formal training can do it, I’m sure an elegant woman like you can.” She looked at Lord Delmar. “Right?”

“I have never seen any evidence to the contrary.” He replied.

“You have a baby, right?” Lyra asked.

“I do.” Fiona smiled.

“Well, let’s go get our kids introduced, that way it won’t be awkward if we get along horribly.” Lyra grinned. “My eldest is dying to hold any baby that she can get her hands on.”

“Mo-ther!” A girl of about seven whispered urgently and pleadingly. Her hair color was halfway between Lyra’s and Lord Kalus’s and she looked aghast.

Fiona smiled.

“Come on, let’s go find ... Conner, right?” Lyra asked and Fiona nodded, so she continued. “Let’s leave Shar and the men to talk about the boring ‘running a lorddom’ stuff.”

Fiona nodded. “Okay, I can be doing that.”

Lyra steered her towards the only stairway leading away from the dock, and Fiona felt a lot more at ease as she followed, Tabitha right behind them.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief when Ethan and his wives finished their story; it all made perfect sense. She hadn’t told them what Lady Ekthros accused him of, but their story answered everything perfectly. She also could feel her heart grow heavy for Fiona and Sean, since it seemed like the necromancer who brought Ethan to the Ten Kingdoms had tricked the Narlotten guards. She could feel the impulse to tear up when she thought about them and their widows.

“Well, that’s our story; how about yours?” Ethan asked.

“Right.” Sarah nodded, not looking forward to telling certain parts of it, especially the parts while she had been imprisoned by Lady Ekthros.

“I’m gonna kill her.” Ethan growled, trying to resist the urge to stop pacing furiously and hunt the woman down after what Sarah had just told him. “I’m gonna find her and rip her limb from fucking limb.” He growled again.

“Ethan, you’re scaring Sarah.” Selene said firmly.

He stopped and looked at his new betrothed, which meant that she was almost his wife here in the Ten Kingdoms. That thought helped calm him down, but then he remembered what Lady Ekthros had done to her and ... A low growl escaped his throat without him meaning to make it.

All of his wives plus Selene, Victoria, and Thea were sitting in a circle listening. Myla was standing next to Falkaan on the periphery and both were also listening intently. Talven and Salma had come up from the lower decks after Tee had told them Ethan was about to tell his story, and they were listening just as intently as anyone else while their children played on the deck.

Because of the audience, they had omitted the fact that Lord Delmar was a dragon. He, his wives, and Selene had talked about it telepathically and decided that was the best move for now. He made a mental note to tell Sarah later, assuming he remembered once he had calmed down.

More than once during Sarah’s story, she’d been interrupted by one of his wives for a hug or other consolation for how things had gone, the most recent one being only moments ago. He was glad they were so caring and Sarah obviously appreciated it.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down before addressing his betrothed. “Sorry.”

“I’m okay.” Sarah said, her voice quiet. “It was awful, but I’m okay. That’s not the worst thing that happened though.”

Everyone stared at her.

“She cut out a piece of your arm without anesthetic!” Ethan said incredulously. “It gets worse?!”

Sarah nodded darkly.

“Mommy, he smiled at me!”

Fiona couldn’t help but smile as Lyra’s oldest daughter, Liza, started beaming with excitement as Conner smiled at her. They were in the nursery with Lyra’s three children, though her two youngest were passed out sleeping on the couch in the room. Tabitha was in the room as well, and Fiona was starting to get used to having the bodyguard around. She was almost like a shadow she was so inconspicuous and unobtrusive, but yet would act bubbly and cheerful whenever anyone other than Fiona was around.

“I see that.” Lyra beamed at her daughter. “Just make sure you keep supporting his neck.”

“I will.” Liza looked down at Conner with a dreamy smile on her face.

“There, see? Kids make everything less awkward.” Lyra said to Fiona with a reassuring smile.

“Aye, I’m seeing that.” She smiled back. “Thank you for being so kind; I feel like I’m lost being the First Lady.”

“Honestly, you’ll probably feel that way for a few years.” Lyra replied. “I did, but you get used to it like anything else. Like my husband says, ‘If you do not apply yourself, you will not improve’.”

“Wise words.” Fiona replied.

“Can I ask a question that’s a bit personal?” Lyra asked a minute later.

“Aye, you can be asking, but I might not be answering.”

“You and Lord Delmar; how did it happen?” Lyra asked. “I’m not looking for specifics, but he seems somewhat ... aloof even though you seem quite enamored.”

“I am.” She smiled. “He’s a good man and good lord, but he’s still hurting from his first wife dying.”

Lyra nodded slowly, glanced at where her daughter was still entranced with Conner, and then lowered her voice. “I gathered that he wants an heir, but if I can be so bold as to ask: in the bedroom, is he looking to produce an heir or enjoy you?”

Fiona felt her cheeks grow warm at the topic and glanced towards Liza, who wasn’t far away.

“She never pays attention to anything else when she’s holding a baby.” Lyra explained, her voice still low.

“He’s ... uh...” Fiona hesitated, not sure how much to say.

“I thought so.” Lyra gave her a knowing smile. “Do you know what Shar and I do when our husband has had a hard day?”

“I’m having no idea.” Fiona replied, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the answer would make her blush.

“When he comes to bed, we make sure that he enjoys himself as much as possible.” She said, still speaking quietly. “He often protests, but there is very little that can cheer a man up faster than a wife who is determined to make him enjoy himself in the bedroom.”

Fiona had been right; she could feel her cheeks growing warm.

“That’s part of what a wife can offer her husband.” Lyra continued. “She can create a sanctuary where he can relax from whatever happened during the day. Men sometimes need to be reminded that the world doesn’t need to be hard and harsh all the time; it can have beauty and softness too. Lord Delmar seems like the kind of man who could use a reminder of that.”

Fiona nodded her head in concession.

“You can be that reminder for him.” Lyra smiled encouragingly. “You can make your marriage a place where he can relax and unwind; you can make it a refuge and sanctuary from the struggles of the world.” Her smile turned sly. “And if you make the bedchamber a place where he can enjoy your beauty freely, fully, and to his heart’s content, you might be surprised how much his heart will soften, and how fast it will happen.”

Cheeks feeling downright hot, Fiona eyed her with a frown. “Are you being sure about that?”

Lyra nodded. “I have known more than one woman with a crusty husband who softened when she became more enthusiastic about sharing herself with him in bed.” She paused. “It works best on good men, but you already said he was a good man, so...”

“I wouldn’t be knowing where to start.” Fiona admitted.

“I guessed, so I thought I’d give you your wedding present away from prying eyes.” Lyra reached into an unobtrusive pocket of her flowing dress and pulled a small, thin, leather-bound book out. “I wouldn’t read that with anyone else around.” Lyra said as she handed it to Fiona. “That could get ... embarrassing.”

“Why, what’s in it that’s so--” Fiona had flipped it open to look and then snapped it shut as her cheeks suddenly felt even hotter.

“Told you.” Lyra chuckled.

“Those drawings are...” Fiona tried to think of a word but couldn’t. She was half tempted to throw it in a fire before someone saw her with it.

“They are barely sketches, and just enough so the description makes sense.” Lyra said quietly while making sure that Liza was still preoccupied with Conner, and she was. The girl was slowly walking back and forth on the other side of the room, singing a soft lullaby to the baby.

“There’s a description too?” Fiona’s cheeks were beyond hot at this point.

Lyra nodded. “I recommend page fifteen, but then again I grew up with horses so I’ve always been partial to...” She looked Fiona directly in the eyes...”riding.”

Fiona was pretty certain that if it was possible to die of embarrassment, she would have.

“Ethan?” Sarah asked tentatively after she finished recounting what Lady Ekthros had done as Sarah was leaving Karnas. Her betrothed had stood up with one fist clenched -- his other hand hadn’t regrown enough to have a fist yet -- and he was taking deep breaths. Lots of them. Long, slow, deep breaths with a heavy and forceful exhale.

“Just...” He took another deep breath and spoke in a forcedly even tone. “ ... just give me a minute.”

“He always gets like that when it comes to one of us getting hurt.” Beth explained.

“I remember what you said happened when you left Gralden.” Sarah nodded. She’d initially had trouble reconciling the kind man she knew with the savage dragon that his wives had described him sometimes becoming. Looking at him now, it was easier to believe.

“I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Her.” Ethan finally said, not sounding the least bit like he had calmed down. If anything he sounded more angry, but it was a more settled kind of rage. This wasn’t an outburst, this was more like something that had been heating for a while and had only now hit a rolling boil.

“Drago, remember that you-know-who called in a favor about her.” Kendra pointed out.

“I don’t give a shit.” Ethan said, his tone calm and deadly. “If Adrian Kossel wants her alive, he can take her alive his own damn self.”

“Wait, Luminar Kossel’s first name is Adrian?” Sarah asked, suddenly remembering something that she had forgotten to tell them about.

“It is.” Alana confirmed.

Sarah’s jaw dropped. “While I was imprisoned, Lady Ekthros called out the name ‘Adrian’ in her sleep, and it sounded like she was worried about him.” She paused. “Didn’t you say he’s a luminar in Arcanum?”

“Yes, why?” Taloni asked with suspicion in her tone, and Sarah got the impression that the Fey teen didn’t like her very much.

“Because when the sun hit her that one time, when her eyes went lighter gray, she mentioned that there was a luminar in Arcanum that she thought was a good man.” Sarah replied. “She said he would help me if I was ever in trouble, and that she would trust him. Then she implied that she wouldn’t trust anyone else.”

“Oh!” Selene’s head snapped up as her jaw dropped, then she clapped her hand to her forehead. “Oh!”

“What?” Ethan asked.

The caramel-haired beauty looked around, then hesitated. She frowned, then her eyes went slightly unfocused for a moment. A moment later, Ethan and all his wives nodded.

“I’m not sure I should tell anyone except Ethan and his wives, obviously including Sarah as one of his wives.” Selene said a moment later.

“Victoria and I can wait here.” Thea volunteered.

Victoria frowned but nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” Selene said. “I’m pretty sure that I can tell Ethan and his wives, but I’m not sure about others.”

“I’ll find out eventually then.” Thea winked.

Victoria rolled her eyes but chuckled.

“To the captain’s cabin?” Alana asked her husband.

Ethan nodded, then led Selene, Sarah, and all of his wives into the captain’s cabin. Ethan and his wives all sat on the bed while Selene and Sarah stood. Sarah just wasn’t comfortable sitting on the bed, even though she wanted to. It looked like Selene felt similarly.

“So, what is it?” Ethan asked Selene in a low voice.

Then Selene explained about the biologist that Yvonne had mentioned who had flirted with Luminar Kossel, the tiny grave, and what Adrian had said beside that grave. When she finished, everyone was staring at her.

“Are you saying that Lady Ekthros is married to Luminar Kossel?” Beth asked with her eyes wide and mouth open.

“And that she lost a baby?” Taloni asked, looking sad.

“If Sarah is right about her eyes changing color in the sun, that actually makes a lot of sense.” Rachel said, and next to her, Alana nodded.

“Why?” Selene, Sarah, and Ethan all asked at the same time.

It was a mark of how serious the conversation was that no one laughed, or even chuckled.

“Well, obviously using dark mana turns someone’s eyes completely black.” Rachel began to explain. “Sunlight has a repressive effect on dark mana though, which is why necromancers tend to prefer very dark spaces to work. Perhaps Lady Ekthros used only a little dark mana so her eye color only went halfway to black? If so, since sunlight represses dark mana, perhaps her eyes become a little lighter in the sun because of sunlight’s repressive effect on dark mana?” She cocked her head to one side. “Now I wish I’d paid more attention to her eyes growing up.”

“You don’t remember her eyes changing color?” Beth asked.

Rachel shook her head. “Not really, but again, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“That could either be the will-breaker ring, or simply not noticing something about someone who’s always around, even if she is evil.” Selene mused.

Rachel looked at Sarah. “Didn’t you say that she seemed less evil when she was in the full sun too?”

Sarah nodded. “She did, and she was more kind, but being in the sun didn’t make her change her plans.”

“That makes sense.” Rachel nodded and made a thoughtful sound. “Sunlight doesn’t eradicate dark mana, just represses it slightly. If she only used a little bit of dark mana, it would make sense that sunlight slightly represses the dark mana’s effects, including the eye color darkening. That fits what Sarah described and is the only thing I can think of to explain it. Gonorran’s eyes didn’t change color, but he was obviously fully corrupted. I suppose it’s possible that Lady Ekthros only used the tiniest little bit of dark mana, and thus wasn’t corrupted completely.”

“Like hell.” Ethan retorted. “She’s as evil as they come.”

Selene shook her head. “They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Maybe she really does think that ‘the ends justifies the means’, and if her end goal is good enough, then she might think that no means is too evil.”

“She basically said that to me.” Ethan frowned.

“And if she used even a sliver of dark mana, that explains the grave.” Alana said, putting her hand over her womb.

Rachel nodded, then took her hand.

“How so?” Ethan asked, and Sarah was glad he had asked because she wanted to know as well.

“Because dark mana comes from death and thus is diametrically opposed to life.” Rachel said, her eyes sad. “If Lady Ekthros was pregnant when she took in dark mana -- even the tiniest sliver -- I’m virtually certain it would almost immediately trigger a miscarriage.”

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat.

Lady Ekthros had lost her baby and her humanity at the same time? Despite how terrible the woman had been to her, Sarah couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“Master, when I was with Luminar Kossel while he was writing Myla’s divorce certificate, he said that I reminded him of someone he used to know. Someone whose ‘way was lost for her’, and he said she had noble intentions with unforeseen and tragic consequences.” The Fey teen’s wings drooped. “I think Luminar Kossel wants to save his wife.”

Everyone looked around at everyone else for several long seconds.

Finally, Rachel spoke, her voice skeptical. “Lady Ekthros was once like Taloni?”

“It’s possible.” Kendra replied. “I’ve hunted a few necromancers and every once in a while, we hear that one was a good man before he started using dark magic.”

“But Luminar Kossel can’t be trying to save his wife -- if Lady Ekthros actually is his wife -- because there’s no coming back from that; there’s no cure and no way to remove dark mana’s taint.” Rachel replied.

“True, but then again, I’ve never heard of anyone only using a sliver of dark mana and then never using it again.” Kendra replied. “There are rare reports of people only using a sliver and not completely succumbing, but they always go back and use more of it and then are completely corrupted. I’ve never heard of someone stopping at just one use; not until today. Maybe there is something he can do since she’s not completely corrupted?”

“If she’s ‘not completely corrupted’, I would hate to see what she would be like completely corrupted.” Ethan said after a moment.

Sarah nodded.

Her head was still spinning from hearing Ethan’s story and now this? She didn’t know what to make of it. She didn’t know how to make sense of everything she’d just learned.

“It makes sense though.” Ethan said after a minute, his temper looking somewhat deflated. “Actually, it explains a lot.”

“What do you mean Master?” Taloni asked.

“Well, when I talked to her, she seemed genuinely angry that -- in her words -- she had been ‘forced’ to do what she did to Sarah.” He replied, then looked at her. “Sarah, you said it looked like she was truly sorry too, right?”

She nodded. “And she apologized to me and the girl that she killed. She really did seem sorry. I thought she was just being mean at the time, but maybe she wasn’t?”

“That would make some sense.” Rachel interjected. “Dark mana twists someone’s moral compass. She might have moral goals, but not see why murder and kidnapping are wrong if done in the service of those goals. Or maybe she does see it, but thinks that her goals are good enough to justify such evils, and even worse ones.”

Ethan flopped backwards to lay flat on his back with his legs hanging off the bed, then puffed out some air. “Wow, what a mess. She’s still thoroughly evil, but...”

Sarah didn’t know what to think.

Ethan looked up at the ceiling of the captain’s cabin, trying to make sense of what he’d just learned. What an absolute mess; a quagmire of moral stickiness from which he didn’t see a way out. Sure, Lady Ekthros was evil, but it sounded like she had used that tiny sliver of dark mana for a noble reason. In their conversation, she had even said that she hadn’t known the cost and would never use it again. Apparently, it was rare that someone stuck to that.

Lady Ekthros had.

But she was so incredibly evil. The things she’d done and the lives she’d ruined...