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“Is it possible the Morley brothers got to him?” he asked.

If Torr had looked sour before, he was even more so at the mention of Rowan and Drake Morley.

“Who knows?” Laria took a sip of wine. “I hoped Kenton might have said something—”

“He hasn’t spoken to his brothers in weeks.”

Lawrence looked at Torr, waiting.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“Far be it from me to make your decisions for you, brother. If you want a new best friend whose family was responsible for Alec—”

“Kenton did not kill Alec.”

He hated to bring this up in front of Toni, but maybe it was for the best. Air out the worst of their dirty laundry.

“No, but his kinsmen did. And refused to pay bloodwite. Let’s see, what other misdeeds can we lay at Kenton Morley’s feet? Oh, I know, attempting to send each and every one of us to the same nothingness Alec was sentenced to. On multiple occasions—”

“You don’t believe in God?”

Toni had asked the very legitimate question, and all eyes shifted toward Torr.

Lawrence didn’t know what was worse. The idea his brother might answer. Or not.

“What I believe is irrelevant,” he said, but not tauntingly. “The fact is, Kenton has—”

“Dredging up the past won’t do us any good,” Laria said. His sister had come around to the idea of a truce with Kenton remarkably quickly. He’d known all along Torr would not be so easily swayed. He’d fought Kenton, literally, on more than one occasion, and his gripes against him ran deep.

“Except sometimes it does,” he said, attempting to turn the conversation. “I went to Bowden,” he said, knowing that would do the trick.

And it did. Both Torr and Laria stared at him, stunned.

“I visited Father’s grave as well as Alec’s old bedchamber. You two really should go back for a visit. They even have a tour—”

“We’ve been back,” Laria said, still stunned. “Although it has been a while.”

“And the legends?” Toni cut in.

He told them about the missing Derricksons and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a segment of Clan Karyn in the thirteenth century. By the time he finished, even Torr was smiling.

“Alec would be okay with this decision—”

“Of course he would,” Laria interrupted. “I’ve been telling you that for ages. Literally. Ages.”

Which was true. But it was something he needed to discover for himself.

“When I told Laria I planned to come back, I meant it. This time”—he addressed Torr now—“is for good.”

Torr drank deeply—which, given his distaste for wine, said something.

Lawrence waited, forcing himself not to gulp his own drink. His brother could be unpredictable. Even though he’d supported him in the past didn’t mean—

“And so the torch has been passed,” Torr said, grinning. “Finally. We’ve been waiting.”

“If this Cheld isn’t working alone, if he’s joined the Sect—”

“It’s surprising he isn’t with them already,” Laria said. “Perhaps he’s a bit of a loner.”