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He was concerned for them, but he'd also never been prouder of his brothers.

Truthfully, Raul wasn't entirely sure if he would've been able to endure such torture without cracking. It was tempting to think that, yeah, of course he would be able to withstand it. He was a servant, after all. The psychological threat of death or irreparable damage was all but non-existent.

But there was more to it than just that, he knew. The effects of that much pain on the body? Along with the sweet temptation to just tell the interrogators what they wanted to hear and let it all be over?

Plus, it wasn't just about endurance, either. It was also about performance. If his brothers had endured it too well, that might have tipped off their captors, too. They had to play the part of true non-servants.

Raul had a feeling that he would never really know whether or not he could handle such a situation until he was face to face with it.

But there was no doubt that his brothers had conducted themselves remarkably well. When their fellow captives from Miro discovered that the two of them were, in truth, a part of the rescuing force, the surprise on many of their haggard faces was unmistakable. They'd been convinced, too.

And they were full of praise for his brothers, as well. For Esai, in particular. He seemed to have bonded with the Miroans quite quickly, Raul noticed. A small family among them had apparently been the target of one of the crueler Abolish bastards, until Esai managed to draw attention away from them and onto himself. He'd even managed to slay the monster when battle first broke out by catching the reaper off guard.

That was the first time Esai had ever killed a reaper.

And Raul knew the strangeness of that feeling. His own first had been at Dunehall, which wasn't all that long ago.