Kingdom of Ash

Whether it mattered now.
“Why?” he asked, gesturing to the keep
around them. “Why does Erawan do any of
this?” A week after he’d asked the Valg king
himself, Dorian still wanted to—needed to
know.
“Because he can. Because Erawan delights
in such things.”
“You made it sound as if he was the
mildest of all three brothers.”
“He is.” She ran a hand over her throat.
“Orcus and Mantyx are the ones who taught
him all he knows. Should they return here,
what Erawan creates in these mountains will
seem like lambs.”
He’d heeded that warning from Kaltain, at
least. He hadn’t dared venture into the caverns
beyond the valley. To the stone altars and the
monstrosities Erawan crafted upon them.
He asked, “You never had children? With