‘We are different from you, we Ben-Elim. We serve,’ he said. ‘We serve Elyon, that is our reason for existing. Duty. Honour. The joy of service to our Maker.’ He looked at Corban, a wistful smile twitching his lips. ‘He is beautiful to behold, is Elyon. To be in his presence would light a glow within your very being. Purity. Peace. And then Asroth destroyed that, took him from us.’ His face twisted in a snarl, hatred pulsing from it for a few powerful heartbeats, then the cold face was back. ‘But we continue to serve. Hoping that he sees our efforts, our devotion to him, even in his absence.’

‘It must have been very hard for you all, to be separated from him,’ Corban said.

‘Aye, it was. It still is. For a while we were lost, did not know what to do. But then we went back to what we did know, the only thing we had ever known. Serve him. So we looked to you, your race, this world. We never understood you. My kin still do not. But that did not matter, was not important. We knew that Elyon loved you, that he treasured you, valued you. Adored you. And that was enough for us. We did not need to understand you, only protect you for Elyon’s return. A gift that would symbolize our devotion to him.’ He looked at Corban and nodded hopefully, willing Corban to understand.

‘And you have done that,’ Corban said.

Meical’s face shifted again, as if every emotion that he had ever felt was finally reaching the surface of his skin, eroding and breaking through the wall he had built.

‘You understand, we did not comprehend you – mankind, I mean? My kin. Me. I am the only one of my kind to have lived amongst you. It has been . . . revealing. You are a race of great passions. So much of everything. A remarkable species. And you most of all, Corban.’ He looked at Corban, something between admiration and affection flickering across his features. ‘You have accomplished truly amazing things, and earned the love and devotion of so many.’

Corban shrugged at that, feeling uncomfortable, as he always did when he was the subject of discussion. ‘Meical, you sound as if you are making some kind of apology.’

‘I am,’ Meical said. ‘I am truly sorry.’

‘I think I know and I understand,’ Corban said. ‘You’ve taken a risk, used the Treasures as bait to lure Asroth’s Black Sun out. Rather than hiding the Treasures and taking the chance that they could be found in a moon or a year or a decade, you’ve risked all on a confrontation where you hope to defeat his champion decisively.’

Meical was staring at him now, his intensity almost unbearable.

‘Yes, well done, Corban. You are right, or at least on the right path. But that is only part of it.’

‘What do you mean?’