Page 57 of The Darkness Within Us

“Nor had I. I did some digging. It’s small as cities go, and its greatest boast is its flocks of sheep.”

“Sheep?”

“They raise them there; the people pride themselves on having the best fatlings of the year. Most of the world’s wool products come from Dimyros, and it would seem that Ophira took a job tending flocks.”

It’s remarkable that she managed to get so far on her own, but I can understand Ophira’s need to be away from her father. I’m glad she found an alternative for herself.

“I’m unsure whether this next bit is relevant, but there were unusual rumors circulating through Dimyros,” Tomaras continues.

“I’d like to hear them.”

“There were strange disappearances. Sheep, other livestock, and even some of the city folk would disappear. The bodies would be found later, sometimes nothing left of them but bones with strange, inexplicable bite marks.”

I feel the hair rise on the back of my neck. “Why did this information stick out to you?”

“Because according to records, these attacks didn’t happen until after Ophira arrived in the city. The timing isn’t precise. They starteda few years after her arrival. So I’m sure it’s nothing at all. There were mutterings of Ophira being shamed and cursed by more than just her father. That misfortune followed her wherever she went.”

“And do you think there’s any truth to that?”

“I don’t believe in devils or gods.”

“What of the Shadow King?”

“I’m a man of science, facts, and reason. I’ve never seen the king myself, but I know that the inventions of Naxosians are remarkable. If someone wanted to appear as though they were cloaked in shadow, they could find a way, scientifically.”

He wouldn’t say such things if he’d seen the king in person, walking through solid walls, but now is not a time for arguments.

“What then?” I ask. “Did she give birth? Was there really a child?”

“Oh yes, Eryx is undoubtedly her son.”

At that, my face falls. He really is the duke? Truly? After I felt so sure about all my suspicions. “There’s no chance that the man occupying this house is an impostor?”

“There’s always a chance, Your Grace, but I find it unlikely in this situation. What you’ve shared with me matches everything that turned up in my research. The boy grew up in Dimyros and joined the Naxosian army as soon as he was old enough to pass for fifteen, which was closer to thirteen, I believe. He wanted to provide a better life for his mother, so he left. She didn’t protest, as far as I can tell. In fact, many of her neighbors suggested she wanted the boy to be a trained fighter.”

“Curious.”

“I thought so, too, unless she was looking for a way to perhaps impress her father and get herself and her child back in his good graces.”

“That would make sense, I suppose.”

Ilias nods. “Eryx apparently had a knack for killing. He rose in the ranks of the army very quickly and received all manner of awards.”

Yes, those I’d seen.

“And then his mother died around eighteen months ago.”

So soon? I hadn’t expected that. “What was the cause?”

“Some said suicide. Others said she simply wasted away. I heard reports that she stopped eating. Stopped getting out of bed. Stopped everything. The boy had no idea until she was already gone.”

“A woman doesn’t just stop taking care of herself. What could have been the cause?” I ask.

“It could have been madness. Or perhaps she heard false word that her son had perished in the army. Whatever the reason, it seems as though grief took her.”

It wasn’t the passing of her mother, I reason. Pholios’s wife died long before that. “How strange.”

“Indeed, there appear to be a great many strange things where the new duke is concerned. He grew up in a town with strange disappearances, his mother dies under unusual circumstances, even his unit in the army was said to have an unheard-of knack for staying alive. Many attribute it to Eryx’s prowess on the field.”

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