Shadows Return

is Ilar í Sontir.”
    For a long moment Alec felt numb. Then the pieces began to fall into place. “Then…why is he still alive?”
    Seregil sighed. “When I figure that out, I’ll let you know.”
    Alec barely heard him. He jumped to his feet, sword drawn, and advanced on the cowering slave. “Ilar?
Ilar?
You bastard! The spoon, and those walks…You played with me and lied to me, and all the time…”
    Seregil caught him before he lunged at Ilar, locking his arms around Alec’s chest as he fought to get loose. “Listen to me! Right now we need to find somewhere to hide before the sun comes up.” Seregil held him fast and brought his lips close to Alec’s ear. “Trust me, too, talí.”
    Alec lowered his sword, but any compassion he’d felt for his false protector was gone. Ilar was now his betrayer, too.
    Seregil took Alec by the arm and drew him away from the others.
    “Let it go, talí,” Seregil whispered. “Ilar’s a silky customer, and always was. Whatever happened between you—”
    “You think something happened?” Alec sputtered, stung by the notion.
    “I saw you two down in the garden, by the fish pool,” Seregil told him, sounding pained to have to speak of it.
    Alec took his hand. “He tried to seduce me. Even though I trusted him then, I wouldn’t betray you. I wasn’t even tempted.”
    Seregil raked his fingers back through his shorn hair, the way he did when he was particularly uncomfortable or exasperated. “It’s all right. But I remember what he was like—what he’s still like.”
    “And yet you didn’t kill him?”
    “You stopped me, remember?”
    Alec clenched his fists in frustration. “And now we have to anyway, or keep dragging him along so he doesn’t betray us.”
    Even in this light he could make out Seregil’s strained little half smile. “I’ve never been much for killing in cold blood, and neither are you. I suppose we’re stuck with him, at least until we’re far enough away from Yhakobin that it doesn’t matter.”
    “I still don’t understand. You always said you’d kill him on sight!”
    Seregil shook his head. “I’ve seen his scars, talí, and what’s been done to him all these years. He’s not the man I remember. He’s—broken.”
    “You
pity
him?”
    “You’re no more surprised than I am. But what could I do to him that his life here hasn’t done already?”
    Alec paused, trying to take that in. “Were you with him, all the time we were apart?”
    “No, not for the first part. There was an old woman who looked after me while I was sick.”
    “I saw you, on the ship. At first I thought you were dead.”
    “I damn near did die from the magic they put on me. I don’t know how long I slept, or what he did to me while I did, but when I woke up it was just the old woman for a long time. Ilar showed up later, after he made sure I saw you two together in the garden.”
    “That bastard!” he hissed. “How was he with you?”
    “He had me at his mercy, and he enjoyed it.”
    Alec thought he caught just the slightest hint of uncertainty in his lover’s voice. “Did he force you—”
    “You saw what they did to him. But if that had been what it took to get to you, I would have, without a second thought.” Seregil pulled him close again. “Would you have hated me for that?”
    Alec looked deep into his own heart. “No,” he murmured, and felt Seregil’s sigh of relief.
    “Besides, I attacked him the first chance I got,” Seregil added, clearly pleased at that. “After that, he knew I’d kill him the minute he let his guard down. Whatever else Ilar is, he’s no fool. Come on, now. We’ve got to find someplace to lie up before the sun rises.”
    “How far to the Strait?”
    “I’m not sure, but if we turn south tomorrow, we’re bound to strike it.”
    “And then?”
    Seregil gave him a crooked grin. “We take what the Lightbearer sends. Hopefully in the form of a nice swift little boat, eh? Luck in the shadows, Alec. It hasn’t failed us yet.”
    “And in the Light,” Alec murmured, hoping the Immortal in question was listening.
             
    As they moved on, Seregil half expected Alec to drop the rhekaro and attack Ilar again.
    Instead, when Ilar fell behind, Alec resumed their earlier conversation. “So, who do you think betrayed us to Yhakobin in the first place? The queen, or Ulan í Sathil?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe both. But having had a good long time to ponder the matter, I’d say that if