23. Sarilian #2
“Do you honestly believe that an Infernal would just turn on his own people like that?” Darius scoffed. “No doubt he had his own agenda. Perhaps he is angling for Pelorak’s seat. Schemes within schemes—that is the Infernal way.”
A tremor coursed down Sarilian’s tensed back. He opened and closed his fists in his lap. “You don’t know what you’re talking about! Malorg is a good person. I know him far better than you do, and he would never knowingly do anything to hurt me.”
Too late, he realized what he’d said. He swallowed and looked away. “Apologies, sir. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”
“It’s quite all right, Sarilian.” Sarilian didn’t like the shrewd look in Darius’ piercing golden eyes as they assessed him.
“I appreciate your passion…even if it is sometimes misplaced.” The Aspect leaned back in his chair with an air of feigned casualness that instantly put Sarilian on edge.
“I received an interesting report today.”
“Oh?” he asked, doing his best to mimic Darius’ carefree attitude.
Darius nodded, turning toward Sarilian’s open balcony. From here, not much was visible beyond bright outlines of Daybreak’s majestic spires in the distance. “Apparently, the Dusk Emissary has been arrested for treason.”
Sarilian’s feigned disinterest vanished in an instant. “What? When?”
“I’m not sure. Word only just reached us, though I suspect it happened not long after we canceled the Accords. It sounds like the Dusk Council wishes to make an example of him. They claim his collaboration with Celestials against his own kind led to the end of negotiations.”
Panic thrummed through Sarilian. A buzzing sound filled his ears as his heart throbbed far too fast, his breathing growing erratic. He ignored Darius’ concern, unable to focus on anything except the Aspect’s news.
Merciful Light, how had Sarilian not anticipated this? Of course Pelorak would blame Malorg—Malorg had hinted at as much in his tale. The Infernal had known exactly what relaying the truth to Sarilian would cost him…and he had done it anyway.
“What will happen to him?” Sarilian asked through the growing lump in his throat. “Are they going to…to kill him?”
He exhaled a breath when Darius shook his head.
“No, no execution. Even the soul of a traitor is too valuable here for that.” His budding relief evaporated at Darius’ next words.
“They’ve sentenced him to a thousand years of torment for his crimes.
According to our intelligence, he’s to be held in the Dusk Citadel’s dungeons for the duration. ”
A thousand years…
Such a length of time was impossible to comprehend.
Would Sarilian still be alive a thousand years from now?
Merciful Light, would any of them? And what of Malorg himself?
What would be left of the brave Infernal after so much time in isolation?
Malorg had sacrificed his freedom, his life, his everything—all for Sarilian.
And I’ve spent the past few weeks quietly resenting him for betraying me.
Sarilian’s dawnflame flared around him as he surged to his feet. “We have to help him!”
Darius remained stoic in the face of Sarilian’s urgency, and it was only belatedly that Sarilian realized Darius had anticipated the impact his news would have. If he hadn’t known everything before, he certainly did now.
A month ago, this revelation would’ve stricken Sarilian. In the face of Malorg’s suffering, however, the Aspect’s potential judgment felt next to meaningless.
“The Dawn Council could never approve such an act,” Darius said.
“Celestials aiding an enemy of the Dusk Council within their own territory? It would be a clear violation of the Covenant, tantamount to a declaration of war. Within a year, we might be fighting each other with as much ferocity as we fight the Void.”
“But we have to do something!” Sarilian opened and closed his hands as he paced the length of the room.
“Without Malorg, we might never have uncovered Pelorak’s ploy.
You and the rest of the Dawn Council owe him.
” He spun and glared out at Daybreak’s gleaming spires.
“Maybe you can negotiate a deal for his release. Offer him sanctuary.”
A flicker of emotion Sarilian couldn’t interpret filtered over Darius’ otherwise impassive face.
His shoulders tightened. “I already spoke with the other Aspects. We agreed that it would set a dangerous precedent to grant asylum to an Infernal. What if others decided to follow suit? The potential security risks are too great.”
“Security risks?” The muscles in Sarilian’s jaw ticked. “Malorg gave up everything to help us, and you’d abandon him out of cowardice?”
Dawnflame flared around Darius as he rose, his eyes blazing. For the first time since the conversation began, he appeared every bit the Dawn Aspect he was.
“Do not forget yourself, Sarilian. While you might someday come to occupy my seat, for now I remain the Aspect of Justice. Do you think that I and the rest of the Dawn Council haven’t already given this decision proper consideration?
Even setting aside the possibility of more Infernal trickery, what of the logistical difficulties involved in housing an Infernal in the Dawnlands indefinitely? ”