“You are not being reasonable.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  The arguments at the beach did not last long. A few tried to convince Eri otherwise, but his mind was set on his folly. Another attempt was made to persuade the imperial commander to assist him, but this time, Amber adamantly refused.

  “Even suicide missions have limits. I have five hundred men here. I can’t throw them all away to save a single life, especially one with zero tactical importance,” Amber had said. “I’m not sorry for this decision, but I am sorry for your loss, and I understand your feelings. For what it’s worth, I value our cooperation, and I will not stop you. Do what you have to do.”

  Eri had gone off after that, ignoring the protest of his comrades. None followed him.

  None but Dulcina.

  “I know what you are feeling right now,” Dulcina said quietly, watching him in the corner of his room as he quickly packed his gear and notes.

  “Do you?” he murmured.

  “I lost my mother. I lost my sister, Justinina, as well. The death of familial love… The despair, sorrow, and anger are all too familiar to me,” she replied evenly. “That need to do something, to grasp even the slimmest hope of seeing them again… I know it far too well.”

  Eri closed his eyes. His hands would not stop shaking. “Then you know why I need to do this.”

  “A lot of us are depending on you. This decision could kill us all.”

  “No, it won’t. All of you are staying here. Like everyone said, my decision is irrational, so I’m going alone. I’m not so selfish as to get all of you killed for my own stupid recklessness. I’ll only take one of the schooners with me. That barely affects the strength of the war fleet, and I can operate it alone. I need to go fast, anyway. Any more will just slow me down.”

  “I’m not leaving you to go on your own, little brother.”

  Eri finished packing his schematics and maps into his spatial pouch. His temporary quarters in the fort now emptied, he turned around, planning to walk out the door.

  Dulcina moved to block the exit, placing a hand against his chest to stop him.

  They were the same height now, Eri realised. She had seemed so unreachable when he was younger. Even with their familial bonds and interaction, there was always something unfathomably distant in their relationship, as if both of them had always held themselves back in some way.

  She had grown more beautiful over the years — all snow-skinned and golden-pale hair; a true daughter of the North. Looking at her as he grew up sometimes stirred uncomfortable emotions in him.

  There was none of that attraction now, even as she stood close enough for him to see the candlelight reflection in her silver-grey eyes. Seeing her clear concerns for him made him realise that, at some point, they had both grown to genuinely care deeply for each other.

  “I’m not letting you go off to die by yourself,” Dulcina said, her serious gaze not leaving his eyes. “I’ve lost enough family to last a lifetime. Even now, you… You might be the only one I have left.”

  Lord Draevan had already gone missing for months. Even after long weeks they had spent in the Slaver Isles, the expedition had yet to find any news of him.

  The possibility that he was already dead was not ignored, even as they held out hope.

  From his spatial pouch, Eri took out something. “I wanted to give you this.”

  Dulcina blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. She eyed the item in his palm with curious hesitation. “A brooch?”

  It was an elegant thing, carved of polished silver and a startlingly beautiful grey opal that glimmered even in the faint candlelight. The sight of it took her breath away. Such jewellery would be the pride of any gemstone craftsman in Kaldreach.

  “I wanted to apologise about Cedric,” Eri said numbly. “I made this in my spare time. It's just a useless trinket, though. I was planning to add a few runes to it, but… We are out of time.”

  A cold pit formed in Dulcina’s stomach. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s as the commander said: this mission of mine is purely selfish and suicidal,” Eri said calmly. “Don’t mistake me. I’m not doing this to kill myself or anything inane like that. I’ll be going in with full intentions to find Elen and get us both out alive. But I cannot deny that the risk of failure is high, and that it will jeopardise the expedition’s objective. The least I can do is make sure the rest of you aren’t affected.”

  “You are a fool if you think I will let you go,” Dulcina retorted, her voice a little strained.

  “And you are overestimating yourself if you think I can’t slip away,” Eri replied evenly. “Besides, I think you are writing me off as dead a little too quickly. I’ve beaten the odds before, haven’t I?”

  “But you need not do it alone. You have friends and family. Trusted retainers and faithful allies. You don’t have to do everything by yourself anymore,” Dulcina pressed. “We can help you.”

  Eri chuckled. “Trust? Even after the reveal of my demons today?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Dulcina hesitated.

  “Joarris’s group won’t come. Neither would the dwarves nor the elves. This was one betrayal too far, I think,” Eri said, smiling. “I don’t blame them. Besides, everyone else is needed here. If this expedition is to continue, I can’t take any of you away from the imperial forces.”

  “You haven’t even spoken to them yet. Do you really think so little of us? Do our loyalties and friendships mean nothing to you?”

  “They mean everything to me.” Eri exhaled. “But Elen means more. I will not abandon her.”

  “I am not asking you to. I’m telling you to take us with you.” Dulcina hesitated. “Be honest with me. Is your hesitation to bring us along because of our weakness? Are you worried we will slow you down?”

  “You are not weak,” Eri immediately said. “None of you are.”

  “We are weaker than you. None of us can craft weapon designs like you can, or face down a Jewelled-Core Chosen singlehandedly, or—!”

  “That doesn’t mean you are weak,” Eri interrupted. “I’ve seen how hard you train, how hard all of you can fight. You are stronger than you think — so much stronger at your age than other Chosens — and all of you have helped me more than you know.”

  “Yet you are leaving us behind now,” Dulcina stated. “Because we are not as strong as you. Because we will only be a burden.”

  “No. If all of you come with me, the odds of my success in saving Elen will be higher. I’m not all-powerful. I can’t do everything alone.”

  “But?” Dulcina pressed.

  Eri hesitated. He sighed. “But the odds of someone dying are high, too. None of you should die for me. Not for my selfish reasons.”

  “That’s not for you to decide.” Dulcina stepped closer. “You say we are not weak, but you look down on us all the same. You do not value our trust or our strength. You believe yourself superior.”

  “That’s not what I—!”

  “Even before talking to us, you already judged us craven enough to abandon you, despite all that you have done for us,” Dulcina pressed, her eyes blazing. “Even before we venture forth or plan for our next step, you already believe us to be dead should we come with you.”

  Silence. Eri didn’t know how to deny her accusations.

  What Dulcina said was true. A part of him already deemed his allies lost. He did not believe any would join him in his mission, nor that they could survive if they did.

  “It’s better this way,” he said, trying to convince himself. “I’m… I’m better off alone.”

  “You are arrogant enough to think only you are worthy of deciding how we spend our lives,” Dulcina said. “Did you not think, for once, that the people outside are willing to die for you, just as you once risked yourself for them? Joarris’s group. The twins. Me. We owe you debts.”

  “I didn’t save all of you before so that I could cash in on favours.” Eri shot back. “Besides, it wasn’t as if I saved all of you out of the goodness of my heart. I had selfish reasons.”

  Looking back, if the System had not offered him boons for saving them, would Eri even have bothered? The incident at the port, Dulcina’s kidnapping, or even all the way back to the Goddess’s Trial.

  If Eri had not been incentivised by the Quests’ rewards, would he have saved them?

  “Selfish or not, a debt is owed. And besides, you are naive if you believe our loyalties lie solely on the foundations of friendship, either.” Dulcina reasoned. “Remember, if you die, our odds of success and survival within the Slaver Isles drop. Not to mention all the benefits that are tied to you — benefits we will lose if you die. The weapons, your training powers… Even the elves and dwarves have their own selfish reasons for protecting you, too.”

  “Selfishness has limits,” Eri murmured. “When demons are involved, greed can only go so far.”

  Everyone saw how the demons obeyed him. Even if they were unlikely to suspect the full truth, Eri’s relationship with the Damned was exposed.

  His lies and deceit had already weakened the veneer of trust they had for him throughout their journey. With this revelation, the Living’s hatred for Hell would do the rest.

  “News of this will spread. After today, after what I did… Any further association with me would be incredibly dangerous. Powerful people will hunt me down. You can’t believe anyone would follow me anymore,” Eri said.

  “I would follow you.”

  Eri looked at Dulcina. To his surprise, he saw no deceit in her eyes.

  She meant what she said.

  “Don’t be stupid. You could lose your House over this.” Eri sighed. “You can still spin a story. Tell them I tricked House Elathion, along with House Dervaine and all the Imperial troops. With so many people involved, as well as Joarris and Officer Amber’s support, you will have a strong case against the Church’s inquisitors from excommunicating you.”

  Faced with such threats, Dulcina remained unfazed.

  “I already knew the risks well when I saw you that night you saved me. There was no mistaking the power you used, not with such hellish corruption pouring from your blood and flames,” the Heiress said. “But I kept your secret. Even when common sense dictates I slit your throat as you lie unconscious before me, I stayed my hand and held you close.”

  Eri was growing frustrated. “Why?”

  “Aside from the debt of you saving me? I wanted to use you.” Dulcina admitted openly, taking Eri aback. “You were powerful and an unknown quantity. I thought you could save my House from disaster. And I was right. You pulled us out of the mire, beyond my greatest expectations or hope. You were everything I prayed for and more.”

  “So why do you still want to follow me, when my usefulness is at its end?” Eri demanded. “I can’t stay with you or House Elathion anymore. Not unless I kill every witness on this island. You will die if you follow me, so why?”

  “Because you aren’t just someone ‘useful’ to me anymore, not after those years we spent together. Not after everything you have done for me,” Dulcina said sincerely. “I don’t want to lose the people I care for anymore.”

  Eri looked at her for a moment. He sighed.

  “It doesn’t matter. You aren’t coming.”

  “And if I follow anyway?”

  “I’ll… I’ll sail off and then throw you overboard later.”

  Dulcina snorted in amusement. “Cute. But I have a better idea. Come, I must have stalled you long enough already. The others must be ready by now.”

  “What others?” Eri frowned. “Did you not hear a single word I said? No one is going to follow.”

  “I’ve listened to me, and all it told me is that you are the same socially-deaf brother I had for all these years,” Dulcina smiled. “You really had no faith, did you? Not in us. Not even in yourself. There’s more than just selfish loyalty and rationality binding us to you, Eri.”

  The Heirness grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Eri, stunned as he was at her words, didn’t resist.

  “Come. Everyone’s waiting.”

  When they reached outside, Eri saw that the Biovore corvette stood ready to sail, with the entire expedition — Joarris, his group, the elves, even Kaz and a few dwarves — onboard and looking at him expectantly from the rails. Beside the ship, the giant form of Marchosias protectively covered the ship's flank, while Andrealphus grumpily guarded the other.

  No one had abandoned him. Even in the face of heresy, none left.

  “What are you waiting for?” Julie yelled from the deck. “Get in, idiot, we are going to save your mom!”