Apollonius's craven brother, who confesses selling him to the Ash Lord—loses an ear, is 'forgiven,' and becomes the coup's key to the darkzone.
Captured and robed, Tharsus au Valii-Rath meets his brother Apollonius with contempt curdling into terror. He insists he tried to rescue Apollonius, but Darrow exposes the lie—there was only one raid on Deepgrave, and not for him—and Sevro cuts off his ear when he spits 'halfbreed.' Broken down, he admits he was complicit, that the Ash Lord threatened to kill him unless he handed over the house's army, which was then given to the Carthii; he pleads he only wanted to survive and keep the Valii-Rath name alive. Apollonius stages a horrifying absolution, and Tharsus collapses gratefully into his brother's arms.
He reveals the crucial intelligence for the coup: the Ash Lord has granted no audience in three years after an assassination attempt, his daughter Atalantia has vanished, and he is fortressed on Gorgon Isle behind Ash Legions—access barred without a summons. As the last of his line, he is now the key the raiders will use to reach the enemy.
A Gold man softer than his brother, all arms and legs with a new belly paunch, long eyelashes on a beautiful predator's face; robed, his left ear freshly cut off, blood trickling down his neck.
Apollonius's craven brother; the confessed traitor kept alive as the coup's means into the Ash Lord's darkzone.