“Kill you? You want me to promise to kill you?” A wave of dizziness struck and Kaevin reached out to steady himself against the wall.
“Yes, promise me. Please. I have no one else to ask. You can’t imagine how sickening it is to have Vindrake’s evil controlling your body.”
“Still, I don’t believe I can make that promise.”
“Kaevin, if you don’t I’ll eventually kill someone… Wesley. Brian. Karen. Alora.”
“It may never come to that. Perhaps Vindrake won’t locate the portal. Or we may find a way to eliminate the bond. The council plans to search for a way to dissolve the soulmate bond between Alora and me; we may discover some method to remove your bond with Vindrake as well.”
Why do I suddenly care so much for Daegreth’s life?
“I would like that.” There was a hint of hope in his voice. “But if not, can I count on you? I would recommend killing me while I’m still bound.”
Kaevin recoiled even further at the idea of slaughtering him while he was helpless to defend himself. “I’ll not sink so low—”
“Kaevin, you can’t take the risk of setting me free. Not if Vindrake has control of my body. Don’t you understand? I won the tournament—the entire tournament. I might as well be a wendt. I’m nothing more than a foul creature, honed and trained to kill at Vindrake’s will. You must promise you’ll execute me before I can kill anyone else. Please.”
Kaevin locked gazes with him, and saw the fear in his eyes. Not a fear of death, but of a fate far worse. “Fine. I’ll promise to do it. I’m certain it won’t be necessary.”
Daegreth smiled as Kaevin freed his wrists and feet from the chair. He stood and stretched before moving to lie on the bed, extending his arms over his head to be secured to the scrolled metal frame.
“I wanted an opportunity to speak with you alone tonight. However, next time we should have several men present when I’m unbound, for safety’s sake. Thank you for your promise, Kaevin. And don’t be concerned… If it becomes necessary, I’ll make your task easy. I’ll taunt and curse you and help you feel angry. That much I can do with Vindrake’s bond in control.”
Somehow Kaevin didn’t think a few derisive words from Daegreth would make the task painless. He now felt sorry for Daegreth, and the feeling didn’t sit well with him at all. He struggled with a need to make amends for his previous unsympathetic attitude. “Daegreth. About before . . . I’m sorry I judged you harshly.”
Daegreth opened his eyes wide. “You may have demonstrated disrespect to your father, but why should you apologize to me? You only spoke the truth about me. I might wish it otherwise, but it is truth nonetheless. You judged correctly that I am malevolent and your enemy, not to be trusted.” He closed his eyes again. “If I may depend on you to end my piteous existence should the need arise, I’m content. I’ll sleep better tonight than I have since I can remember.”
“But you’re not a vile person,” Kaevin insisted.
For a long time, only silence answered him. When Daegreth replied, his voice was so soft Kaevin had to lean close to hear his words. “I wanted to be a hero… When I was a little boy, I thought I would grow up to be a great warrior and fight for my people—like you and your father and Morvaen. I wanted to save lives, not destroy them. I detest what I’ve become with every ounce of my being. You’ve given no insult to me that I haven’t already given to myself.”
“But still—”
“Good sleep, Kaevin. Thank you, again. I’ll hold you to your promise.”
*****
“You’re really not anything like your brother, are you?” Alora plopped onto the couch beside Wesley, who’d been conspicuously quiet for the past three hours since his brother’s arrival.
Steven’s dark curls bounced as he spoke with animated eloquence, explaining everything he understood about the universe, which heretofore had not included parallel realms. Tall and thin, his fingers appeared even longer with his emphatic gestures.
His muscular twin—for the two really did appear almost identical in their facial features—sat on the couch, his hands and feet bound with zip ties. Daegreth wasn’t secured in place, a condition to which he only agreed because Brian was carrying his loaded gun.
“No, not at all,” Wesley said. “I totally took after Dad, and Steven took after Mom. Dad likes to hunt and fish like me. Steven and Mom were always the intellectuals in the family.” He spoke without taking his eyes off his brother.
“Makes sense. How old is he?”
“He’s twenty-four—seven years older than me. By the way, where’s Beth? She hasn’t come over since Daegreth got here.”
“Still grounded until tomorrow.”
“For going to Laegenshire without permission?”
“I think so. I don’t know for sure. She gets grounded a lot.”
In a surreptitious motion, he pointed his nose toward Steven and Daegreth. “But it’s kind of creepy, isn’t it? How much they look alike?”
Alora nodded. The resemblance, contrasted with their disparity of body types, was the stuff of sci-fi movies. Both had dark curly hair, though Daegreth’s was longer, and he sported a sparse beard. She centered the two on the image of her phone and snapped a picture, sending it off to Beth with a caption: Twins? What do you think?