Page 7 of The Hurricane Wars

“Speaking of Gaheris,” said Vela, her remaining eye flickering to Talasyn, “and fathers and sons—”

“That’s right.” Darius grew even more solemn. “So. Alaric Ossinast knows you’re a Lightweaver.”

Talasyn nodded.

“He will have informed Gaheris by now,” said Vela. “They will stop at nothing to neutralize you. Not only can your magic cancel out theirs, but it’spersonalfor them. Gaheris watched Sunstead Lightweavers kill his father, and he hasinstilled that same desire for vengeance in his son. You have a target on your back.”

“I’m sorry,” Talasyn mumbled, shame heating her cheeks. Sardovia had needed helmsmen and she’d shown an aptitude for the wasp coracles, but she’d been warned over and over again to hide the fact that she had the ability to channel aether magic, that she could tread the line between dimensions and make one in particular do her bidding.

“You did what you had to do to survive,” Darius conceded. “But thisdoesmean that it’s time for you to start training in earnest.”

“Training won’t suffice,” Vela said grimly. “Not for long. Fortunately, we may have found a way around that.”

Before Talasyn could ask what she meant, the Amirante spoke to Darius. “Check if Bieshimma’s at the door yet.”

He was. It was only when Darius stepped aside to let Bieshimma into the office that Talasyn remembered they had wanted to meet with her back at the longhouse in Frostplum. Although thinking about the wedding made her heart ache, a shard of her former curiosity managed to shine through, along with a healthy dose of wariness.

The officer with the black horseshoe mustache acknowledged Talasyn’s salute with only the barest of noncommittal grunts. She didn’t take it personally; Bieshimma looked as though he was deep in thought as he unrolled what appeared to be a map over Vela’s desk.

The Amirante beckoned Talasyn nearer and she complied, standing beside Darius. Up close, she saw that the old, fading map was that of Sardovia’s southeastern coastline and of the Nenavar Dominion, the grid of the Eversea stretched between them. In stark contrast to the intricate details of the Sardovian portion of the map, Nenavar was rendered as a scattering of islands, roughly sketched and mostly unlabeled, as if the cartographer hadn’t had time to study the terrain.

Which made sense, Talasyn supposed. The map had to have been drawn up from onboard an airship, and none but the foolhardiest of crews would loiter in skies rumored to be guarded by fire-breathing dragons when their vessel was made mostly of wood.

Still, there were freshly inked markings on the rust-tinged paper. Place names, landmarks, and notes. Most conspicuous of all was the blackXover a frieze of mountains that was halfway between Port Samout, where Bieshimma’s airship had docked, and the Dominion’s capital city, Eskaya, which the general had apparently stormed all by himself, according to that lance corporal.

“As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted by Kesathese scum,” Bieshimma rumbled, “I think it’s doable.” He dipped a stylus into a nearby inkwell and traced a route in a series of dashes. “A lone wasp is certainly less conspicuous than a carrack, so she needn’t go the roundabout way like we did. If she leaves central Sardovia via the Shipsbane and hugs forest all the way to the coast, she’ll be able to make a clean exit. The Night Empire will never know as long as she steers clear of their outposts in the Salt Cays.”

Talasyn raised an eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling—sir,” she quickly added when Bieshimma shot her a pointed look, “that thisshewe’re talking about is, in fact,me?”

“Because it is.” Vela’s tone was so stern that Talasyn immediately desisted from mouthing off any further. The Amirante was fearsome when she wanted to be; a former Kesathese defector could not ascend to leadership of the Sardovian Allfold’s army by being the sort of person who suffered fools.

“By now, those damnable chatterboxes that I was saddled with for escorts have most assuredly spread the news that I made a break for the Dominion’s capital,” Bieshimma said to Talasyn.

Put on the spot like that, she couldn’t do anything else but shrug, which was as good a confirmation as any.

“I thought that perhaps the Nenavarene Zahiya-lachis wouldn’t be able to refuse an audience if I showed up on her doorstep.” Bieshimma’s expression soured. “Unfortunately, the palace guards nearly ran me through with their spears. Nearly ran my horse through, too. I fled on the poor beast without catching even a glimpse of Queen Urduja. But there was something that Ididsee.” He pointed at theXon the map. “On the way back to Port Samout, the sky to my left flashed as brilliantly as though the sun had come crashing down. A pillar of light shot out from a mountaintop, illuminating the heavens for miles upon miles around. I couldn’t investigate further as I needed to get back to the airship as soon as possible. After the scene I made in front of her palace, I feared that Urduja would call for my head and the heads of all my crew. However, I know what I saw.”

The general straightened up and steadily met Talasyn’s questioning gaze. “It was a Light Sever,” he stated. “Such a one as has not existed on the Continent since Gaheris invaded Sunstead and destroyed all instances of the Lightweave here.”

Talasyn’s eyes widened. A Light Sever. A tear that the aether had ripped into the material world, where the Lightweave existed without having to be summoned. A nexus point that she could tap into to amplify and refine her magic, in the same way that the Night Empire’s Legion grew in strength and skill because of the numerous Shadow Severs that dotted Kesath. Hope and excitement lanced through her.

Then she remembered preciselywherethis Light Sever was located, and her soaring emotions shifted into something that was close to dread.

She looked at Vela. “You want me to go to Nenavar. By myself.”

“I’m sorry to ask this of you,” said the Amirante, “but General Bieshimma is correct in his assumption that one wasp is less likely to be noticed. The way that things have gonewith the Dominion, I doubt they’ll grant you free passage through their territory no matter how many envoys we send—and we don’t have the time to send any more. The Night Empire is closing in.”

Talasyn swallowed. “So, I need to infiltrate.”

“Get in, commune with the Light Sever, get out,” said Vela. “And don’t let anyone catch you.”

“Easier said than done,” Talasyn grumbled before remembering that she was supposed to abstain from wisecracks.

Vela frowned. “I’m serious, helmsman. We cannot risk angering the Nenavarene more than a certain someone already has with his little stunt.” She glanced at Bieshimma as if gauging his reaction, but his features barely rippled.

“I deserved that,” he said.

Vela’s lips twitched. However, when she spoke again, it was addressed to Talasyn. “Believe me, if I thought that requesting the Dominion’s assistance in this one matter would do any good—”

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