Page 111 of The Sundered Realms

“Even I,” Princess Nysia growled at Liris’ obvious restlessness, “can’t make things happen instantaneously. I will cover for you not being around to answer any charges other realms make, but we have to know what kind of fight to expect.”

Another day, Liris would have been fascinated by the bureaucratic logistics that the combined forces of Lady Inealuwor, Princess Nysia, and the Lord of Embhullor with the weight of Special Operations behind them could bring to bear on a political undertaking.

On this day, seeing the messages come in from other Serenthuar ambassadors pretending ignorance, and their political hosts not gainsaying them, just left her hollow. Their contacts would still want Serenthuar’s now-cheaper goods. The ambassadors would not risk worsening Serenthuar’s position—as if being held hostage by Jadrhun wasn’t as bad as things could get—and the note of disdain made it clear they blamed Liris for their precariousness. Blaming Liris for her betrayal, when they facilitated the enemy.

With too few realms cooperating and no clear consensus on which might in fact seek to hinder them, Liris’ quest would have to be a stealth mission: any sizable force would face opposition in the realms they passed through on the way to Ormbtai. And Ormbtai, after years of extorting Serenthuar, had the resources to make that opposition consequential.

They didn’t have time to be diverted.

Liris shoved a sheaf of notes on Thyrasel at Lady Inealuwor. “Now can I go be useful?”

The older woman looked at her archly. “Certainly.” She stamped a paper full of Vhannor’s handwriting and handed it to Liris. “The requisitioned supplies for your trip, skimmer included, will be downstairs. Hand this to the officer to pick them up.”

Liris gritted her teeth, fighting a creeping sense of shame. None of this was Lady Inealuwor’s fault, and everyone was trying to give Liris the best chance of success.

Anger was just more useful to her than tears right now.

She opened her mouth to say “thank you,” saw Vhannor’s name on the form as due to travel with her, and shut it before she screamed.

Her partner. Of course he wouldn’t let her go alone. It wasn’t like she wanted to leave him, but—it apparently wasn’t enough for her to sacrifice her dreams and her freedom, he would watch her do it, might even get caught up in it? Intolerable.

Also not something she could stop, not without choosing for him.

And that she wouldn’t do.

So she stormed off with no more words, and everyone let her.

Even Vhannor.

Liris donned her shimmering cloak like armor and with a look that dared Vhannor to tell her she was too bright for this mission.

He didn’t.

Special Operations had spells prepared for the event that they needed to travel through realms where their treaties didn’t permit them, and they passed the first gauntlet of Gate guards without a hitch.

Liris wasn’t really surprised. People with sufficient power always had the ability to make rules and exceptions for themselves. Special Operations demonstrably did not have the right to flout rules to suit themselves, but did realms have the right to act stupidly when people’s lives were at stake?

Probably. That ethical quandary wasn’t her problem, though. Liris’ problem, as Princess Nysia had put it, was “getting there and taking care of what needed to be done.”

So she kept her mouth shut on all the things she wanted to scream and put one foot in front of the other toward her doom.

They mounted their skimmers and set off at speed, with Liris insisting on taking the first turn at the detection sphere to focus on something else. But it wasn’t enough, and they were well into the “golden” hills of Yani—more like dead hills, but no one asked Liris, as usual—before she pulled up next to Vhannor to ask him an innocuous question about spellcraft to try to distract herself and he responded, “Really? That’s all you have to say to me?”

Liris set her teeth. “What should I say?”

“I thought,” Vhannor said, “you weren’t saying goodbyes deliberately. Not that you...”

“Don’t actually want to talk about my purpose in life as a sacrifice? Nope.”

He swooped ahead of her, flying backward so he could slow her—she wouldn’t plow into him at this speed, too dangerous—and she would have to look at him.

Liris canted sideways, putting on a burst of speed herself.

As Vhannor caught up at her side, now with eyes narrowed at her clear avoidance of stopping—of him—he said, “Liris, no one thinks that.”

“No? I think that. Serenthuar clearly did too. Even Jadrhun. I have a mission after all, and this is it.”

She’d wanted a chance. To stand on her own. To make something of her life herself, not just what Serenthuar had made of her.

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