“He’s wasted plenty of lives,” Seba put in. “We’ve suffered for two years at his hands. He detonated a darksalm bomb in a civilian city, for Zumarra’s sake.”
Valerion shook his head. “There’s always a point to his cruelty. For him, darksalm is as much a recruiting method as a way to fracture the foundation of his enemies’ empires. Every casualty since his return is him delivering punishment onto someone who stood in his way—punishment that he believes is justly deserved.”
“Then won’t he keep his shadowtroops at all three battles to punish the armies who defy his rule?” asked Effrax.
Valerion flashed a toothy smile at the young king. “Not when the key to his victory is elsewhere,” he replied, curving his wing around Keriya. He couldn’t remember the specific experiences that led him to th
