I beckon Alastor over. “I know there are no guarantees with a bearer trained to block sensic magic,” I say to him. “But I would like Alastor to ask you a few questions.”
Sophos looks at Alastor warily. “What kind of questions?”
“We just want to know if you’ve been telling the truth about what you’ve told us,” Damia says sternly. “If you have, then you have nothing to be afraid of.”
“And if you haven’t, then prepare to beveryafraid,” Leon rumbles.
Sophos shifts in his seat, like he suddenly regrets this whole idea.
“Youmade contact with us,” Harman reminds him. “You must’ve realized there would be a price to pay for our trust.”
“Of course,” Sophos says. “But forgive me if I’m not completely comfortable with the idea of someone rifling around in my head.”
“They’ve all been there,” Alastor says with a shrug, gesturing to us. “You’re not really one of the gang until I’verifledaround.”
“Very well,” Sophos says. “It seems I don’t have much choice.”
The fizz of magic fills the air as Alastor meets Sophos’s gaze. The bearer straightens, appearing to fight the magic for a moment, but slowly his expression eases, slipping into a contented smile. It looks odd on his face, but for a moment, I glimpse someone much younger and more trusting underneath the bearer’s mask.
“Why did you make contact with the Hand of Ralus?” Alastor asks.
“Because I wanted to warn the princess of two pressing matters. First, that the Grand Bearer planned for the Morelium to assassinate her when she was in Filusia. Second, that he had succeeded in using the solari children to increase his reserves of celestial magic,” Sophos replies instantly.
We all exchange a look.
“At least he’s thorough,” Corrin says.
“You don’t get to be Caledon’s number two without being meticulous,” Harman points out grimly.
“When did you decide to betray Caledon and join his enemies?” Alastor asks.
This time Sophos hesitates. “I cannot say for certain.”
“He’slying,” Tira snaps from the doorway.
Alastor throws her an annoyed look. “No, he’s not. It’s difficult for people to answer questions like that truthfully. Often, they don’t know themselves why they do the things they do. I’ll try something else—look.”
He clears his throat as Sophos blinks blearily through Alastor’s magic before falling back again under its spell.
“Do you think Caledon is evil?” Alastor asks.
“Yes,” Sophos replies instantly.
“Why?” Alastor presses.
“Because he is a hypocrite. He lies for his own gain, and he does not care who gets hurt. He has no respect for the gods’ creations, yet he claims to be a godly man. And he murders children,” Sophos’s voice hardens on this last sentence, his relaxed face twisting into anger. “He kills people’s babies just so he can have more power.”
“Did you always think this way?” Alastor asks.
“No,” Sophos says.
“And why do you want to help Princess Morgana?”
“Because I believe she is likelynotevil, and is our best chance of stopping Caledon from destroying this world with his greed.” He pauses. “And that means she is my best chance of keeping the only two people I love safe.”
“Love?” Tira whispers, disturbed.
“His sister and her son,” Corrin explains. “His nephew is a solari. We’re helping to hide him from the Temple.”
