Terry crouched down to Blake's level and looked him in the eye, one hand rubbing soothing circles on Blake's arm.

"It is. Blake, those monsters... they killed my lover. And they would have eventually killed you. Do you want the monsters that did this to you," he ran his finger over Blake's scar tenderly, "to be able to do it to others? They will if they get the slightest chance. And enough is enough. They've hurt too many. They've gone too far."

"They wouldn't kill me. I mean...Gabriel wouldn't let them. And Vetis...valued his little broken toy too much." Blake's tone was almost painful in his honesty.

"Not Vetis or Gabriel, but the others...." Midona shook her head, remembering what Gabriel had once told her, "They aren't an easy people to rule. Pain and pleasure."

Terry pulled Blake close again, rubbing soothing circles on his back and carding his fingers through his hair again.

"You are not their toy. Broken or otherwise. You are special. The only person who owns you now is yourself."

Terry looked at Midona over Blake's head.

"Pain and pleasure." He echoed the words. "I know they are not easy to rule. After all, I considered myself one of them once. But Vetis..." Terry hissed out a breath. "Vetis does not deserve to have the gift of life course through his veins."

"You are faerie. Not unseelie." Midona looked at Terry, "Afterall, you are of my kind. But then, I did hear that many gancanagh end up in that world. I guess it is in our nature."

Blake tensed at the tone in Terry's voice- not in fear, not then, but in apprehension.

"No, he does not. I was raised in that court. They are cruel, true, but this...this goes too far. I was at Gabriel's 'parties' -I was, mayhap, too young to fully understand them at the time- but that I can understand. This was planned. Carefully orchestrated to destroy one of my best friends. I know the uneelie must exist...that there must be 'bad' creatures to uphold the balance. But sometimes...they refuse to stop at 'very bad' and lapse into pure cruelty. That I can never be fine with."

She paused, and her violet eyes met Terry's brown ones, "This was Gabriel's fault. I was there. He ordered Vetis to do this, allowed the only being he had ever loved to be broken because Blake had dared to disagree with him. I used to be a regent myself, I understand we must make hard desisions, but..."

Terry's eyes narrowed, and he clutched Blake tightly, possessively, as if trying to shield the boys from all the hurt in the world.

"There is a time when you have to show that you are a powerful and mean leader to keep the respect from your subjects. But they went too far. They hurt him. They tried to break him. And I want them to suffer like Elden, like Blake, like every other creature they have ever hurt has."