His action stemmed the rising tension, reminding them there were several lives at stake. Finger-pointing and blame could wait until afterward.
Harlow inclined his head. It was the best apology Graydon was going to get.
There was respect on the faces of the oshota around them. Joule's actions had cemented his place among them. They would not soon forget his loyalty to a daughter of their House.
"Who was it?" Harlow asked.
"Aeron." Joule seemed almost hesitant as he added. "And Loudon."
There were small sounds of dismay from those around them. It turned to grief and acceptance as Graydon stood.
"It looks like you've finally uncovered the traitor of your House," he told Harlow.
The Overlord's face was frozen as grief and rage battled for supremacy. The emotions flickered and guttered, extinguished as they left nothing but an implacable determination behind.
Graydon rose. "Stay with Veer."
Joule lurched, his expression earnest. "I can go with you. I can fight."
Despite his intentions, the boy looked on the verge of collapse. Escaping the trial before it was finished would have likely sapped all his reserves.
"You can barely stand," Harlow said. "You've done enough. It's our turn."
Dejection settled on Joule's face, a naked vulnerability that Graydon couldn't walk away from. He picked up Joule's arm, turning it so the boy could see.
There, carved in blue and silver lines, was the mark of the broken, proof Joule had passed his trial. The boy probably hadn't even felt the emblem rise to the surface in the fury of everything that had happened.
"Congratulations," Graydon said.
Joule gazed down in shock. "I don't understand."
"There are more ways to fight than with en-blade orki," Graydon said. "You recognized that. The trial has rewarded you."
Joule traced the lines of the emblem with reverence.
"Watch over him," Graydon ordered Veer. Harlow’s oshota gave him sharp nods of respect. To Solal, he said, "Find the human male. I have a feeling we're going to need him."
Harlow considered Graydon. "Why?"
"A hunch."
Harlow dipped his chin, well used to Graydon’s hunches. He strode toward the courtyard and the cliffside exit, saying over his shoulder, "There is no time for the long way. Let's take the short cut."
*
Painful howls, the type one might make if their soul was being ripped from their body, greeted them as they stepped into the trial.
"Mea'Ave guide us," Indya whispered.
The screams held an agony so deep it broke the person you were before, leaving behind a pale shell.
It'd been a long time since Graydon had heard screams like that. Not since the Sorrowing when so many had lost so much.
Graydon doubled his speed, careful to stay quiet. Alerting the enemy to their arrival would destroy the advantage of surprise.
While dropping down the cliffs and then using the undersea entrance had cut a lot of time off their journey, it wasn't enough. Every second counted.
Graydon and Harlow's oshota moved quietly with them. Their passage nearly silent as they headed for the sounds of agony.
