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sorcerer himself to get information on us, on you. This
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morning, Byram told him he had three days to kill you and
bring your body back to the stronghold at Thrythgar."
"Get a grip, Jax. How could you come in here and make up
such a heinous fairy tale."
"A fairy tale? Is that what you think this is? The only fairy
tale is the one you've been tricked into believing." Jax
stepped closer to Gaige and before Keiran could stop him,
pressed a hand against Gaige's head. He muttered,
"Rehvellian," in draega. The word was used to unveil magick
and return whatever the magick was used on to its original
state.
Before Keiran's eyes, Gaige's hair slowly turned from its
usual light brown to a pale white blond, as did the stubble on
his face, and the hair on his arms.
When Gaige opened his eyes and looked up him, Keiran
was struck by what he saw. White-blond hair, striking pale
blue eyes...
"No," he breathed.
"He's not just any spy," Jax said, sneering. "He's the son
of General Rizik and the captain of Byram's High Guard. The
White Panther himself."
Something inside Keiran's chest began to crush. He took a
step backward. How could this be?
No, he wouldn't believe it.
He glared at Jax. "You did something to make him look this
way. Stop trying to manipulate me!"
Jax placed a solid hand on his shoulder. "I've done nothing
but reveal the truth." He pointed down at Gaige, who'd
squeezed his eyes closed again, a tortured look on his face.
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"The only one who's manipulated anyone is him. He was
going to kill you, Keiran. That was his assignment. And we
both know the White Panther is ruthless and cold. He would
have done it without a second thought."
"No." The hoarse sound came from Gaige.
His mind spinning, his chest still feeling as if it were caught
in a vise, Keiran looked down at the man who'd been his
lover.
"I wasn't going to kill you. Or betray the camp." Gaige
coughed and his face pulled into an agonizing expression as if
the coughing hurt him. Jax had probably bruised a rib or two
with his kicks. "I was going to tell you the truth this morning.
I told you I had something I needed ... to tell you. I was
going ... to ask ... for your help."
Keiran wanted to reach out to him. He wanted to believe
the quiet sincerity in his voice.
"Don't believe him," Jax snarled. "He's gotten this far
because of his ability to spin tales. This is just another one to
earn back your trust. The moment you offered it, he'd stab
you in the back."
Jax knelt and jerked Gaige's hands behind him. He pulled a
length of rope from the bag he always carried with him and
tied Gaige's hands together with a brutal sense of enjoyment.
Gaige didn't protest or fight. A sign that, for some reason,
made Keiran believe in his guilt.
"Why?" Keiran asked, barely able to stand the agony in his
chest now.
"I would never have betrayed the camp or hurt you,"
Gaige repeated.
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"Shut up!" Jax punched him in the face again. This time
Gaige's eyes closed and stay closed while his body went limp.
"Stop beating on him," Keiran growled. For all that Gaige's
lies and apparent betrayal weighed heavily on him, he
couldn't stomach Jax's treatment of him. Gaige was still a live
being who deserved at least a modicum of respect. And in
spite of knowing his true face now, you're still in love with
him.
He shoved the thought away. He couldn't go there.
"It's no more than he would have done to you, Keiran. He
deserves whatever he gets. We should string him up in front
of the entire camp and let them do their worst to him before
we hang him."
Keiran turned to face his old friend. "Stop it. Don't touch
him again. What gives you the right to abuse him like this? Is
this what the draegan race has come to now? All those years
of hating and fighting the repression and torture and terror
Byram's caused and now you think we should take his
methods as our own? That we should stamp out people's
rights, passing judgment and doling out punishment and
death without question, without taking the time to find
truths?"
"We have his truth. I told you ... I saw him in the forest
speaking to Byram. Byram ordered him to kill you and turn
over the location of the draegan camp so everyone in it can
be burned. How much more truth do you want, Keiran? Do
you want to wait until your lover has plunged a blade into
your heart? Or until Byram's troops show up here and murder
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our people? Why would you want to treat him with anything
except the disdain and cold calculation he's used against us?"
"I'll tell you why. If we do what you want, then we cross a
line that the draegan have never crossed. Our people have
been persecuted by Byram and the humans he managed to
sway against us. But in all that time, we held to our own
truths and our own code. And our code demands we treat
other beings with respect. Our code demands we take the
time to ask questions, to investigate, and then to offer a fair
trial before we pass judgment. We will not, after thousands of
years, alter that code now because you and your personal
anger at the high sorcerer and any humans who follow him
demands it."
Jax opened his mouth to speak, but Keiran held up a hand
to stop him. "As for your comment that Gaige has treated us
with disdain and cold calculation ... no matter his agenda, one
thing he has never done these past weeks is treat anyone in
this camp with anything less than full respect."
"You don't even know if Gaige is his real name. And the
way he's behaved was all part of his plan to make us trust
him," Jax interjected.
"No matter what his plan was, Gaige has never once hurt
or disrespected a single inhabitant of this camp. I dare you to
ask around and come up with one. You won't. Because there
isn't one. So you will not touch him again. Nor will anyone
else in this camp without my leave. If you or anyone else
violates that, I'll have you locked up until you can keep your
temper under control. Is that clear?"
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