Page 59 of The Immortal Covenant

Sarilian bit back the retort that leaped to his tongue. Like Laurent, Darius was not his enemy—merely an innocent caught in the crossfire of his malcontent. “Is there a reason for your visit today?” he asked, straining to keep his voice polite.

He must have only partially succeeded because Darius barked a laugh, his eyes twinkling. “My point exactly. You sound like you want to hack my head off. You haven’t been yourself since we ended the Accords. Nothing that happened is your fault—you know that, right? It’s the Infernals who violated our trust and attempted to take advantage of our kindness.”

Though the words echoed Sarilian’s earlier thoughts, they did little to soothe his guilt. “Perhaps. But their deception was only possible thanks to my naivety.”

Darius inclined his head. “As you say. Yet, you cannot hold yourself responsible for the moral failings of others. The Infernals have earned their reputation as liars and manipulators. Let this be a painful lesson: hope is a powerful tool, so much so that we acknowledge it as one of our driving tenets. But Hope alone isn’t always enough. Humility, Sacrifice, Serenity, and Justice must also guide your hand if you wish to forge a brighter future. The Accords, while a noble endeavor, always had a slim chance of success.”

Fresh remorse twisted Sarilian’s gut. “You’re saying it’s okay I failed because everyone expected me to anyway?”

“Not at all. I’m saying that, no matterwhatyou did, it would have taken a miracle to convince anyone to accept revisions to the Covenant…the Dawn Council included.”

Darius’ admission rubbed Sarilian the wrong way, causing indignation to prickle his skin. “If the Dawn Council never believed in my mission, then why did they approve it?” Dariusshifted in his seat, appearing mildly uncomfortable, and the missing pieces of the puzzle snapped into place. “The Accords were just as much a charade for you as they were for the Infernals.”

Darius frowned, his lips drawing together into a thin line. “That’s not fair. Had the Infernals treated with us in good faith, then the Dawn Council would have welcomed peace. But we have dealt with Infernal trickery enough by now to remain pragmatic. Their kind would rather backstab one another into oblivion than make concessions for the greater good.”

Shock widened Sarilian’s gaze as he stared at Darius.Merciful Light, Malorg was right to despair.“That’s precisely the sort of narrow-minded thinking that divided the original Immortals and brought us to the brink of annihilation! We should be striving to follow in Malorg’s footsteps and unite our peoples so that we can focus on our true enemy.”

“The Dusk Emissary is hardly innocent in all this,” Darius replied with a snort. “He’s been the Dusk Council’s puppet since the beginning.”

“Without his knowledge!”

Darius shrugged. “So he claims.”

Sarilian thought of his last visit to Malorg’s apartment—of howrighteverything had felt in Malorg’s arms…and of how utterly it had fallen apart soon after. At the time, Sarilian hadn’t known what to think about Malorg’s confession, the Infernal’s partial betrayal stinging. Now, however…

He tightened his jaw. “Malorg is the one whowarnedus about Pelorak’s scheme. Had he not, we’d still be playing right into the Aspect of Ambition’s hands.”

“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—thatis 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? OfcoursePelorak 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, wouldanyof 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!”

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