I blinked and looked at him again. It hadn’t occurred to me to question his tall height, his perfect features, the fine angles of his jaw and cheekbones. He wasn’t Quuros. He wasn’t even human. He could only be a vané, the immortals who dwelt in the Manol Jungle to the south. The vané, who remained unconquered after orchestrating Quur’s only defeat.

A Manol vané would indeed not give a damn what happened to the empire.

“You’re not…” I gritted my teeth, stopping myself from letting out a toxic laugh. “Of course. You’re Manol vané.”

He smiled. “Someone paid attention to their teachers.”

“It would have been hard not to; I trace my lineage back to Emperor Kandor.” Normally, I’d have said that with more pride in my voice, but this man belonged to the race who slew Kandor.

He laughed, flashing teeth as white as the elephants behind him. I didn’t think the news funny. I’m not sure he did either; his laugh rang with more gallows humor than joyful mirth. I’d told him the punch line to a joke I didn’t understand myself.

I wondered if he’d been the vané who’d slain my ancestor during Kandor’s flawed attempt to invade the Manol. I supposed it would be a fine jest, then, if this vané killed me as well.

But I needed the help of Thaena’s servants; I had to give him a reason to care.

“They were starting a Hellmarch,” I told him a second time. “I don’t know why. A woman named Senera and a man named Relos Var plotted it. Evil sorcerers who still live, who will try again. Even if you care nothing for Quur, Thaena must care for all the souls who will never reach the Land of Peace.”

I felt I’d achieved something by making that speech without dying … or at the very least without passing out.

“Relos Var? You’ve met Relos Var?” Surprise and recognition tinted his voice. He stopped grinning.

He tried to lift my shoulder but pulled his hand back as I stifled a scream.

“Yes,” I said, “but he left before it all began. Went to fetch his brother.”

His stare sharpened. “His … brother. His brother? Are you sure?”

“I’m certain that’s what he said. He had to leave because his brother had ended up on the auction block. About to be sold as a slave someplace called uh … Kesha-Farigona. Wait, was that it?”

“Kishna-Farriga.”

“Yes. That.” I coughed and told myself I had to stay alive for just a bit longer. “He left before the trouble started, but I don’t think him innocent. They killed everyone. Do you understand? Everyone. Please. Don’t let me have died in vain. You must warn them.”