"So he could have been lying? About the reason for his banishment? The rumours could have been true?"

"I wouldn't have trusted that man if he said his piss was yellow," came Kenai's reply. "I wouldn't put it past him to lie. I know of your past, not his. The Wise One, however, would. It stands a chance that I owe you for taking care of my boys. I could ask her, if you really wanted to know?"

I thought about it. I compared it to the image of my father I held in my head, the one of the highest respect, of the most ruthless but righteous morals. The...