Martin spun around.
A brown-robed priest threw back his hood.
Dmitri.
Chapter Forty-one
Peterstaredintoaswirling liquid pool.
“Look more deeply,” Gaveth said.
Peter strained his eyes in the low light. The shimmering took on form: a man lying on a bed. Martin!
“How does he look?” Gaveth didn’t peer into the pool but stood a few feet behind Peter.
“He appears to be asleep, but is he dead?”
“You are the one who sees. What do your eyes tell you?”
The man on the bed stirred, lips moving. Hope rose in Peter’s heart. Martin. His Martin. “Am I seeing true? Is this actually happening?”
“It is.”
“He’s alive! And appears sound.”
Peter heard the relief in Gaveth’s voice. “Then he is. Xariel took him, didn’t kill him, so has plans that involve him being alive.”At least, for now,remained unspoken.
“Who is Xariel?” Peter asked.
“One of the two heroes my people thought were destined to defeat Thomoth.”
Thomoth. The creature Peter once thought of as the Lady. The reason his mother died. He balled his hands into fists. “What happened?”
Gaveth’s voice remained calm, only a slight tremor betraying his sorrow. “We were losing the war. Those of us who were guardians on our world fought in the battle, created a portal, and brought the remainder of our people here, thinking Thomoth would be content.
“Xariel refused to leave his home and swore an oath to see Eallarial returned to its former glory by whatever means necessary.”
A chill raced up Peter’s spine. “Which included sacrificing other realms.”
“Indeed. His bond mate disagreed and fled with their daughter to this realm. She bonded with a mage of your realm and hid in the mountains.”
Damnation. A sinking feeling in his stomach, Peter asked, “What happened to her?” Didn’t he already know?
“Thomoth’s disciples captured her and her mate and brought them to E’Skaara to be drained of their magic.”
“They had a son?”
“Yes. His parents sacrificed themselves to keep him hidden. The villagers accused him of magery, but with no evidence. I’m told that village is no more.”
The tale told around the fire at the tavern. The village that had been laid to waste. Had that been Martin’s former home? “The demons destroyed his village looking for him, didn’t they?”
“Yes. Their master had need of him.”
“And they killed innocent people.”
“Not so innocent. Those villagers might as well have killed Martin’s parents themselves, and they would have killed him if his magic hadn’t intervened.”
“Arkenn.”
