Page 145 of The King of Koraha
“First we need to send a force to capture Lonato and destroy all the sunfire and blackfire pendants. Then Mojag needs to recover the taxes. After that we can plan from there,” Shyla said.
“Oh, yes. Of course. I’m getting ahead of myself. See? You’re already being a great advisor.”
“Advisor?”
The King smiled at her. “You wield The Eyes, Shyla. It’s meant to be. But if you’d rather another title…I can think of something.” He glanced at Rendor. “Not queen, though.” They shared a smile.
“But I’m the leader of the Invisible Sword.”
“Why would that change? Can’t you do both?”
“I might be needed elsewhere.”
“Ah. Being my advisor doesn’t mean you can’t leave my side. I’ve just learned a very painful lesson not to be overly dependent on one person. I plan to have a few advisors. Well…I’ll see who I can afford. Do you know anyone who is good with numbers? Najib could balance the budget in his sleep.”
A huge weight lifted off her chest. “I’ll ask around.”
“Good.” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Commander! That’s a perfect title for you.”
She stared at him in shock. “I…” Shyla cleared her throat. “I think I like advisor better. I’m committed to the Invisible Sword.”
“Exactly! And since you’re also committed to me, it means the Invisible Sword is now my elite force. You are already their leader. And I’m assuming you’ll want to expand the membership and train them. The monks can also do more than just collect information and you could oversee that as well. Don’t worry, you can still give me advice.”
“She’s not worried about that,” Rendor said. “She’ll give advice whether you want it or not.”
Shyla’s glare said if he didn’t keep quiet, she’d have more than advice to give him. Unperturbed, Rendor grinned.
Everything was happening rather fast. She drew in a breath. “I’ll think about it.” She also needed to talk to the rest of the Invisible Sword.
“Good. All right, Commander, I need—”
“I said I wouldthinkabout it.”
“Yes, yes. Think all you want. But I’m the King of Koraha so…” He shrugged. “One of the perks of my job.”
She rubbed her face as all that weight settled back on her shoulders.
“It’s a title, Shyla,” the King said kindly. “I can call you the Grand Master of Sand or the Chief Magic Wielder or Prime Advisor. It doesn’t matter; your job remains the same regardless. Using Commander just makes it easier for everyone else. They’ll know right away who they are dealing with.”
When he put it like that…it still seemed like a great deal of responsibility. However… Shyla met Rendor’s gaze. He would be beside her along with the Invisible Swords, who proved to be quite capable of dealing with problems without her. The responsibility wasn’t all on her, but onthem.
“What did you need me to do?” she asked.
The King beamed at her. “Please assemble a strike force and take care of that infection called Lonato.”
“Yes, sire.” Shyla turned to Rendor. “Captain, any ideas of how we should proceed?”
He considered her question for a moment. “Lonato is expecting good news. Since he doesn’t know Jaft and the others are free, we can pretend to be sent from Xerxes to get close to the monk.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s find the others. We’ll leave for the monastery at angle zero.”
With four magic wielders, Shyla, Rendor, and the rest of the Invisible Sword, it was rather easy to reach Lonato and his loyal monks. Once his sunfire was removed and exposed to the King’s sapphires, the people the monk influenced were freed from his compulsion. This result gave her hope that the Water Princes and Princesses who had been enthralled by Xerxes were now also free. She and her Swords would still have to visit those cities and monasteries to ensure everyone had regained their free will.
After the attack, Mojag led her to the taxes hidden under the sand on the other side of the mountains. They filled the three wagons with the coins and ensured every single one was deposited into the King’s vault. The steadyplink, plink, plinkwas the sweetest sound. Then and only then did she and Rendor collapse onto the oversized cushion in the guest quarters.
Voices woke her…later. She was alone, but the fur was tucked tight around her. It took her a moment to realize there were a few people in the other room. And another to note that the King had someone deliver their belongings. Glad that they no longer had to hide in the King’s chambers, Shyla stretched and thought about food.
“…don’t want to go back to Zirdai!” Mojag’s strident voice cut through her peaceful contemplation.
