Chapter 3

Despite what Serenthuar ambassadors would like everyone to think, no one actually speaks every language in the Sundered Realms. But fluency in Court Methilari, High Enchor, and Standard Senic goes a long way, both because they're widely dominant in politics and trade, and because a significant percentage of other realms' languages are related to them.

From there, we use the similarities and adapt for the gaps. Developing that ability isn't the first test any Serenthuar candidate has to pass, but it's the most important, because without that none of the rest can be learned.

That's what the elders claim, anyway. I no longer believe them.

Another cart waited for them outside the castle. Lord Vhannor vaulted up into it with just a hand braced on the side like he did this sort of thing every day. Liris pulled herself up the side and flipped over.

Only as the cart immediately pulled away did she notice the step on the other side and the staff who'd been standing ready to assist left blinking in their wake.

"This is the fastest way without spending any spells, but the cart can only bring us to the edge of the swamp before it would be mired," Lord Vhannor told her, switching away from the local dialect to High Enchor. "From there we'll go on foot alone."

She recognized the test and responded in kind. "And then?"

"Then I will take over," he said implacably. "You're not trained in spellcraft, correct?"

Liris nodded, feeling a pang. She'd thought she was finally going to get to do something, to help with something that mattered.

"Your part now," Lord Vhannor continued, in the tone of someone who is sure both that he is the most competent person in the room and that everyone else knows it too, "is to help me learn how to perform the dispelling. I don't know how to pronounce Thyrasel, and I am only beginning to understand how the forms fit into this spell. Everything must be performed in the correct order, or the dispelling will fail and I will be trapped inside the spell until it succeeds."

"Shouldn't I do it, then?" Liris asked.

His expression hardened. "Absolutely not. You have no experience handling magic, and a spell of this power is not the place to start."

"But you're the Lord of Embhullor, and I'm—" Liris broke off.

She couldn't quite make herself name herself expendable out loud.

"Which is why it's my responsibility, not yours," Lord Vhannor said implacably. "Relying on your goodwill is unethical as it is, but unfortunately unavoidable."

That meant he'd have to trust she hadn't lied to him—oh. That was why he'd been so focused at the castle, because he'd been studying her for tells. Maybe this was the test. For all she knew he had casters lying in wait ready to assist him.

His icy gaze didn't waver. "Anything else? We don't have much time, and I have a lot to memorize."

Just like that. Somehow she didn't have to work for the opportunity to help at all, even if not fully, and that was only out of consideration for her—

Liris shook her head once, clearing it, forcing down all the feelings she didn't have time for.

Helping at all was already so much more than had been possible for her entire life.

She closed her eyes; breathed. Opened them: focused.

"I'm ready."

When they started in on foot, the guard driving the cart stayed behind.

Liris didn't.

"If anything has changed, you won't be able to figure it out without me," she said. "If you fail, I won't be able to get far enough away to matter anyway."

Lord Vhannor studied her for a moment, his cool gaze assessing, and Liris held his gaze, unflinching.

He didn't know Thyrasel, but it hadn't taken long for him to perfectly imitate her pronunciation and commit the words to memory in order. Not in the order she'd initially expected: Thyrasel was only part of the spell, and he'd understood how all the patterns in the spell fit together.

Now, so did she.

He had her beat for experience with spellcraft, but she wouldn't lose when it came to learning speed.

At last Lord Vhannor nodded sharply, whipping out paper and pen. Liris could barely glimpse the diagram in the faint light, just that all he did was close the outmost circle with a stroke: completing the pre-written spell and in so doing activating it.

A sphere of soft light formed around him, emanating outward so they could see their path.

"Stay close," he commanded, and they ran again.

The world... flattened, somehow. Liris didn't know what magic felt like, but she could feel its absence in the muted sound, still wind, and bone-deep cold. Yet focusing on the sensations made her aware they were false, her brain struggling to interpret an intangible force.

She couldn't sense anything from the spells Lord Vhannor briskly cast, just heard the soft sound of his pen flying across paper. But the muddy earth didn't slow them down, no animals impeded their progress, and branches twisted out of their way. They reached the portal as fast as it was possible to.

It was still too late.

In a glance, Liris took everything in:

The swamp. What had seemed to her so full of life and freedom before now collapsed in on itself, gnarly wood no longer reaching outward but curled in and hanging limply, the omnipresent green drained of vigor and gray as ash.

The spell. Clearly visible just outside the portal, a diagram of lines floating in the air, black instead of the normal spell-silver, somehow radiating darkness, arranged exactly as Lord Vhannor had copied it, all the same notations and letters and equations.

The demon.

Liris took another second to process the demon.

In her defense, she'd only seen artwork—drawings, embroidery on tapestries, impressions shaped in glass. Disturbing, but she'd never before felt the visceral wrongness. Once again, sensations she could tell weren't real: bile rising in her throat, a wave of dizziness as her stomach twisted, like her whole body meant to reject its existence.

She knew now why demons were associated with black flames, but this one looked more like an enormous shadow, looming over them, at least a dozen times the size of a human. Not human-shaped, though—it had too many tendril-limbs for that, flickering with whatever made up the void as one reached toward them—

Coming right for them.

Liris dove on instinct, rolling back to her feet through the desiccated mud.

The shadows descended toward her again, this time expanding around like a shroud to wrap her up, and all Liris could see was darkness.

She fell back a step into a fighting stance on reflex.

Then the demon screeched, an echoing, high-pitched scream that shuddered through her bones. Less than a second later, a glowing knife flew through the shadow and pierced a tree behind her shoulder.

As the demon reared back, Lord Vhannor's cool voice snapped out, "Don't touch it with your limbs—only magic hurts them. Use the knife."

Wielding magic was the only way to fight demons. The act of putting pen to paper called forth ineffable power.

She knew that. She"d just never before had the chance to wield magic herself.

Liris braced one leg on the tree to pull the knife out, and the tree crumpled.

"Can you trap it?" Liris asked.

"Yes, but not yet," Lord Vhannor said grimly.

"Why—oh, void it."

The demon was blocking the spell—if Lord Vhannor isolated the demon, he wouldn't be able to access the spell.

Liris met his eyes, visible in the haze only because of the glowing paper before him. "Can we herd it away?"

He glanced at her sidelong, just for an instant. "I could cover you," he said, "but you'd need to lead it away. Are you up for it?"

Liris' stomach dropped. "I'm bait?"

Another look, this one harder. "Don't even think of getting close enough to touch it," he snapped. "Just get to the other side however you can."

The haze darkened; shadows loomed above them.

Lord Vhannor's pen stroked, and a blast of silver lightning cracked out of his paper at the demon, whose scream this time had the undertone of a roar.

Liris didn't wait for a better opportunity, or for her better judgment to kick in. She ran.

This was another test, but she did ignore his caution about getting too close: when the shadows condensed, drawing back like they were going to launch toward Lord Vhannor, Liris leapt up underneath and swiped with the knife.

The shadows looked so unlike anything of the physical world she wasn't prepared for the resistance. The knife slid through the shadows, but there was a viscous weight to them.

Darkness billowed out of the demon like clouds of smoke rather than fiery flickers of shadow, and Liris hastily yanked the knife down as she dropped, landing on a roll. Unlike back at the castle, this time there was nothing to stop her from high-tailing it away from the blow the demon leveled at the ground where she'd just been. Mud spattered her from behind.

Definitely weight to them.

The demon screamed again, and the oppressive emptiness drifted away from her back. She whirled to see sparks of silver spell-lightning fading off its other side—Lord Vhannor coolly, unwaveringly keeping the demon off her after all. The demon shifted around, up out of her reach, and its attention refocused.

No, void it, they needed it focused on her.

Liris cast around: trees. Weak, but not covered in thorns, so she wouldn't need them to hold for long.

She ran for the nearest tall trunk of wood, momentum carrying her up even as its foundations cracked beneath her. As the whole tree tilted into collapse, she threw herself off it toward the demon.

In a flash she knew she'd gotten too high, she was going to crash into it, too close—

Lord Vhannor let loose another blast of magic to shift the demon and as it blew away Liris caught its shadow-flesh with the knife and dragged a long, deep line all the way down as the demon roared.

Nowshe had its attention.

Liris ran, dodged, as fast and as far as she could. Her peripheral vision darkened as literal shadows closed around her like ink blots covering a page.

She wasn't going to make it any further.

She whirled, screaming and throwing the knife.

The demon enveloped the knife, its center going concave to absorb the magic while tendrils around its edges all at once grasped toward her—

A powerful whoosh of air knocked her feet from under her. Liris scrambled back to her feet to find she could see clearly.

A translucent silvery sphere surrounded the demon. It lashed against the bubble, and Liris jerked back.

"It can't hurt you." Lord Vhannor was at her side in a flash, and Liris was unreasonably warmed by his unperturbable, decisive presence. What must it be like, to be that confident in any situation? "Not as long as the protection spell is up. It might manage to eat through it eventually, but I have more protection spells prepared."

Liris breathed shallowly, frozen in the aftermath of knowledge that in a few more seconds one of those tendrils would have lashed her.

"Sorry I lost your knife," she managed.

To her surprise Lord Vhannor said distractedly, "Under the circumstances, I'm glad to lose it." He narrowed his lavender eyes first at the demon, then at the distance to the portal, then at his own pad of spells.

"Can't you kill it?"

His jaw tightened. "Yes, eventually. I'll need stronger spells, but I can write those. The problem is the portal is already too big, and I can't both contain the demons that come through and also dispel it. I could spell protection around the demon portal to keep more demons from entering through it, but then I can't be inside to unwork the portal itself without being vulnerable to whatever comes through."

Liris' heart pounded as she met his eyes. "But could you keep the demons off me if I dispelled it?"

Lord Vhannor's head whipped around. "Don't be foolish. What just happened was dangerous enough. You have no training for this."

The bite of his first words faded as the rest followed.

Well well, the icy Lord of Embhullor was worried about her. Under other circumstances she might have been flattered. And maybe touched.

"I have plenty of training," Liris countered. "I can perform all the dance steps and execute the equations and translate the words, and if you think you can memorize a pattern that I can't—"

"Serenthuar's ambassadors don't train with magic," Lord Vhannor interrupted her, then when she gaped, snapped, "I'm not any stupider than you are, and it's the only explanation for your combination of skill and ignorance that makes sense. This is not your responsibility."

Shadowy claws gripped the edges of the black spell, another demon heaving through it.

Lord Vhannor snapped off another spell that hit the demon like a punch of silver energy, then another protection spell to contain it.

His jaw tightened. He knew this wasn't a solution.

Liris waved her hand at the spell, and the Gate beyond it. "Obviously this is my responsibility! But you're right, I'm hardly an expert on spellcraft. What's your plan that doesn't involve me?"

Lord Vhannor scowled. An actual expression; she was inordinately pleased by that. "This is a terrible idea."

"Worse than the last one?"

He actually swore. Ha, got him.

"Serenthuar," Liris said, "believes tests are the best way to learn."

"That's asinine."

She shot him a quick grin. "Maybe. But it's what I'm used to. So." Liris held out a hand for a pen, fingertips tingling with the promise of a challenge.

Her arm was perfectly steady.

She met his gaze and said, "Test me."

Lord Vhannor studied her again. "You memorized the whole dispelling pattern?"

"Perfectly."

"You'll do whatever I say."

Liris hesitated. "I will endeavor to take your suggestions when it comes to spellcasting, yes."

"No. Adjust your mindset, because they won't be suggestions. If I tell you to do something while you're inside that circle, and you don't do it, you die. And I don't think you want that."

He slammed another demon with a pair of spells.

Liris wondered how many of those he had prepared, and how many he had left, and decided it didn't matter.

She would succeed or she would die.

It was just another test.

"I will treat your suggestions with the same seriousness and alacrity as though they were from my elders, before they decided I could be sacrificed," Liris said.

"That'll have to do." Then he muttered, "I can't believe we're doing this."

Liris couldn't either. She felt a fluttering in her chest. "Don't field casters work in teams?"

He met her eyes, and the icy strength in his gaze was practically palpable. "I'm an exception, but if I'd had any indication of a real portal concern there'd be a team here instead. Still. I'm an exception because I'm the very best at this, Liris. I will guide you through this, and I won't lose you."

Unlike Serenthuar.

In his cool voice he asked, "Are you ready?"

Always."Yes."

He passed her a blank pad of paper and a pen. "Get in position as fast as you can."

"Get in what position?"

"A person can't enter a spell by accident. You'll need to trace the outermost circle in order to access its magic. I know the spell is floating in the air—put your pen on the paper and just walk through the line. Once you're inside, don't say or do anything until you can hear me. Do you understand?"

"Why won't I be able to hear you?"

"You will. You'll be adjusting to the magic. Tell me the first step in the dispelling pattern."

She did.

"Good. Any questions?"

Somany. Liris smiled faintly and shook her head.

"Then go. I'll direct you."

Liris went.

As soon as she positioned herself on the edge of the circle, shadows flew at her.

She'd held completely still, not moving.

Liris felt the whiz of the spell zipping past her as it knocked the demon aside.

"Well done," Lord Vhannor said, his voice steady and, even though he was still utterly controlled, she could hear the honest appreciation in it.

A hint of true warmth, just for her.

Liris focused on that. Before the demon had been captured in the protection spell, she'd had no time to think about anything other than survival—now she had to shove down her fear that she was trusting another person who was trying to kill her. This could all be a setup, and he was with Jadrhun after all—

Gods, this whole thing was insane and stupid. If she died, Jadrhun could make hundreds more of these portals.

But if she couldn't stop even one, then what was the point?

"Close your eyes; breathe," Lord Vhannor instructed, and she did. "Lift your writing hand; open your eyes. Set your pen down over the circle; breathe again."

Just like the ritual steps Serenthuar taught candidates to slip into a focused trance state. Ha. What irony if they'd adapted the technique from casters.

She was prepared for this after all.

"Trace around the circle."

His cool voice was almost hypnotic, and she let her mind sink into its strength and assurance.

Even if it wasn't for her benefit, right now he was invested in her success because it also meant his, and if she could trust nothing else, she could trust his competence.

"Once you've finished, it will flare—with a void spell, that means the darkness will increase," the Lord of Embhullor told her. "Don't be alarmed. That means it's working. Once that happens you can step inside. And once you're inside, you'll have to dispel in order to get out. Remember: hold still, don't speak, and listen for my voice."

His voice; her anchor.

Liris traced the circle, and the dark aura around each spell line intensified.

She took a breath, and entered.

Then lost all her breath as it whooshed out of her like she'd been kicked in the gut.

Her head felt like it would explode from the pressure, and all her limbs protested the crushing weight before Liris remembered what she'd felt on the way into the swamp: the physical sensations weren't real.

She breathed, and there was still pressure, but now it was emotional, like she was feeling everything at the same time and she was going to explode if she couldn't release it—

She forced herself to breathe again and struggled to think. Listen for his voice.

"Liris. Face me when you can hear me. Liris. You're going to be fine. Liris—"

She turned toward his voice.

Another demon blasted away from her before it could fully manifest. Liris couldn't think clearly enough to feel as frightened as that deserved.

"Good." His tone weas fiercer than she'd heard from him. "You're adapting quickly. Listen again. You have to dispel the portal. If you can't, what you're feeling right now will eventually overwhelm you and knock you out. Normally a person could come in and rescue you, but there's no one available here. You will wake up and if you still can't dispel the portal before you're overwhelmed, you will keep passing out until you waste away. This is such a powerful spell you may only have one shot. Nod if you understand."

She did, a bare jerk of a movement to keep the pressure from increasing. Now she understood better his concern about her lack of practice—she felt like her limbs couldn't move.

She closed her eyes; breathed. Opened them; focused.

"Nod if you remember how to begin. Liris. Nod if you remember how to begin."

How many times had he repeated that in the same steady voice?

Once was too many. This was a test, and she had to pass.

She nodded.

"Then you're ready. I'll call out reminders as you go, but the pressure should start easing once you begin. Start slow, because if you mess up, you'll have to start over. Begin."

Liris spoke the first words of the spell in reverse, and immediately her mind felt sharper, the very act of her voice ordering the chaos of sensations inside her.

Still too much to feel all at once, but all her.

And Lord Vhannor's voice. Liris responded to him like she was tuned to him, snapping into movement. That line of the spell was mathematical direction to orient her; that was the notation to evoke the movements of a dance; that the words that gave the spell its direction.

She moved slowly, careful to position each pose of the dance correctly and adjusting if the Lord of Embhullor called out. She physically performed every written piece of the spell as though she were swimming in a swamp, but every word brought her closer to a summit, every action a weight lifted off her and out of her, like she was casting all her emotional burdens into the void.

All at once, catharsis surged through her, a rush of emotional release that left her exhilarated and cleansed in a single pure burst. Magic.

The black lines of the demon portal spell flared again, and then vanished, like they'd been sucked into their own void.

Lord Vhannor let out a relieved breath and abruptly sat down.

So, he could be emotionally affected. That was almost disconcerting, and it made her wonder how much his unyielding fa?ade was a kind of trap—a projection he felt compelled to keep up because he knew how much people depended on it.

And how much it meant that he was forced to allow her to see him in this moment as a person, rather than implacable ice.

Liris stayed on her feet but tried breathing too.

Nowshe was shaking.

But she'd done it.

Shehad worked magic, and it hadn't been a trap after all—or at least not the one she'd feared it could be. She'd passed a test and lived and she was... surrounded by a lot of demons in their own bubbles.

Each shadowy darkness thrashing around like if it could only do so hard enough it could escape and choke the life out of them, too.

Which of course it could.

But only the first one loomed large—the rest were smaller, and it felt too surreal to walk through the strangely silent lashing of shadows contained in their silvery spheres for her to work up any particular feelings about the matter now that she'd just spent them all.

Somehow Liris got her feet moving again back toward Lord Vhannor, though clumsily, like she wasn't fully in touch with her body yet. Papers of cast spells littered the ground. "Do you have enough spells left to destroy all these?"

He snorted. "No. But the protections will hold them while I write more. The only ones that had time to creep out after the first were small, so it shouldn't take much."

She collapsed next to him. "Can I help? I can copy with accuracy."

Lord Vhannor smirked a little, and Liris' heart jumped.

What was that?

"I'm sure you can," he said distantly, the ice back but the words nevertheless warming her from head to toe. "You did impossibly well, and I am profoundly grateful for all you've done today."

"So—"

"But it was still your first spell, and a powerful one at that. You might be superhumanly talented, but you are still human. You're going to sleep for a little while. Everyone does."

"What? But I want to see—"

I want to see more magic, Liris didn't quite get to say, and then she was asleep.

Liris slowly came to awareness, warm and lulled by the shifting gait beneath her.

The first thing she took stock of was her general location: still in the swamp, but it was almost unrecognizable. The place she'd considered from the first to be teeming with life was a shambles, crumbling, ashen, drained. Countless dead insects that couldn't escape the void fast enough crunched underfoot.

Demon portals ate magic. She knew this, intellectually, but moving through this hazy corpse-world was surreal.

Liris at last connected that her specific location was on Lord Vhannor's back, because he was carrying her out of the swamp.

Her heart did that thing again.

"I'm awake," she said quickly. "You can put me down."

"No."

What?

Liris balked, then on instinct twisted out of his hold, flipping down his back—

And then her limbs buckled beneath her, and she hit the ground.

She tried to rouse herself but instead just blinked stupidly.

Lord Vhannor looked down at her and rolled his eyes. "Thank you for that demonstration."

Liris was almost too confused to be embarrassed. "What just happened?"

"Are you going to be difficult about this, or can we go?"

Liris pondered that more seriously than he probably meant. "I'm much less difficult when I understand."

"The ground here is treacherous, and after your first spell you're going to be weaker than a newborn kitten until you've had a full night's rest at least," Lord Vhannor said flatly. "It'll be easier to get you out of here this way. Now can we go?"

Liris nodded; he crouched down in front of her; she clambered back on his back. All wordlessly, as Liris' mind tried to catch up and not put her foot in it again.

Get her out of here.Words she'd always wanted, though she didn't think he meant that the way she wanted. She tried to hold still and just let him carry her, but...

She never had been good at not acting.

"I wanted to see what destroying demons looked like," Liris murmured.

After a moment, the Lord of Embhullor actually answered. "Flashing lights, mostly. I'm efficient."

"Sounds pretty."

He snorted. "It probably is, if you're not busy making sure you don't get eaten. I rarely get to appreciate the sight."

"You never have time for anything, do you?"

Blurting that out loud was enough to jolt her properly awake and get an actual grip on her tongue. That wasn't politic, but she was definitely getting the sense that this man never stopped moving and everything he did was important—except carrying her personally. But he was an inexorable force, and inexorably compelling to someone who'd spent most of her life held still.

Lord Vhannor paused.

But still made no move to put her down.

"I'm focused." Wow, you don't say. "A field caster has to be. If your spell isn't powerful enough the first time, you might not get a chance for another strike, or you might not have enough power in other spells left. Spellcasting teams make up the difference, but spells still take time to write, even if you're practiced."

"Why wasn't there a team? I thought you were here to investigate a drop in ambient magic."

He blew out a frustrated breath. "There are only so many trained teams available to dispatch, so we reserve them for situations determined critical. This should have just been an investigation. Until I've vetted a new partner, I shouldn't be on active dispelling missions for exactly the reasons that occurred. I'm sorry I was forced to involve you."

And another apology, too. She wasn't sure what he had to gain from this one, but she knew the elders certainly never apologized to those less powerful than them, even strategically.

"It's not an excuse," the Lord of Embhullor bit out, "but I've been a field caster for more than a decade and have never seen a portal grow like this. I have questions for you about Thyrasel. It's been a long time since I came across a spell language I couldn't translate."

"I'll answer them. I started making notes to teach others as soon as I got away. And I'm the one who should apologize. I knew they would search for me—"

"But not kill you?"

"I knew that was coming eventually, but not like this," Liris said. "Serenthuar wouldn't have thought I would be able to do anything against them. They were careful to keep me isolated."

"Jadrhun has many faults," Lord Vhannor rumbled, "but I can't imagine he's become so careless as to underestimate you."

"We only interacted for a few minutes."

"Did he give the impression of someone who misses anything?"

Liris frowned. "No. But he did seem angry about the whole situation. If anything, I got the impression he didn't want to kill me. I didn't think he'd be so indiscriminate as to try to kill me with a demon portal."

Lord Vhannor thought about that for a moment. "He might have thought this region was too strategically insignificant, and it wouldn't be prioritized for an investigation until too late. Yenti's remoteness is what got my attention—communities like these know everyone's business, so it should be hard for demon sympathizers to infiltrate. There's no history of the black flame here."

His tone was back to its detached state again, which made it hard to read him.

Not impossible, though. And despite the grim subject matter, and how reassuring it had been to be able to briefly rely on it, Liris found herself wanting to find out how much poking it would take for that inner gold in his eyes to spread.

"Strange as it sounds, we were lucky," Lord Vhannor was saying, bringing Liris back to her present, literally being carted around by the Lord of Embhullor—pressed against his body—"If I weren't who I am, I wouldn't have had the authority to bring you in when my attempts to decipher that language weren't turning anything up. And if any official operative besides me had found the one person who could decipher it, they'd have arrested you and asked questions later. There are procedures to follow when a demon portal is involved."

Liris tensed. "I can't help anyone from prison."

"Of course you could, but it would be a waste. Oh for the love of—settle down, I'm not threatening you. I'll have to make a report, but I understand enough already of what must have happened to be sure I can make an exception to keep you out of jail. No matter how you answer me."

"Answer?"

She thought he tensed slightly. Interesting.

"I have a proposition for you," Lord Vhannor said slowly, "that will solve problems for both of us. You know of Embhullor's university?"

"Yes, though not a great deal beyond its renown. I hadn't specialized training yet."

"Really? At your age?"

Liris clenched her teeth. "Yes."

Lord Vhannor was quiet for a moment. "Ah. I suppose I can see that. Serenthuar..."

"If you are withholding comment on my realm of origin to spare my feelings, please understand I have no more loyalty to the people who decided it was acceptable to sacrifice me to the cause of demons."

He adjusted his grip on her legs. "Admirable. But in my experience feelings take longer to change than events, and I do not need to make that process any harder."

That sounded reasonable in theory, except that the advice came from a man who appeared to suppress his emotions habitually.

Then again, maybe that's how he knew.

"I will assume, however, that you are no longer concerned with their strictures against your involvement with spellcraft?"

Liris froze. Did he mean—? "Not in the slightest."

"The University of Embhullor is home to the foremost spellcasting college in the Sundered Realms," Lord Vhannor began, "as well as the current base for official international dispelling missions, SRSA's Special Operations."

"SRSA" stood for Sundered Realms Spellcraft Administration.

"Special Operations" was a fancy way of saying demon hunters.

"I know," Liris breathed. "But I wasn't aware the Lords of Embhullor were associated with it beyond official funding obligations."

And she really should have been. Surely this went beyond Serenthuar keeping spellcraft education from their candidates—this was politics, and she'd have needed to know in any position. Why would the elders have hidden this from her?

"I've taken a more hands-on approach than my predecessors," the current Lord of Embhullor said blandly. "To be blunt, I'm the head of both the university and the Special Operations office."

Of course he was. Of course he was. Void everything.

"And if you have any interest in spellcraft, you would be a natural."

...Okay, that was not where she'd thought this was going.

"In theory anyone can write spells, just like anyone can learn another language, but it comes much easier to some people. It requires both systemic understanding as well as detailed knowledge and skill, both logic and creativity, that you clearly possess."

Liris recalled the feeling that her every deliberate act had a material effect, both outwardly and on the chaos inside her. Every act had been one she personally had to work out, and perform, and the execution had mattered and changed the world.

She could not imagine being able to do that, to do magic, and not wanting to. Not throwing herself at that rush of challenge and then tangible triumph.

This must be the real reason Serenthuar didn't let candidates study spellcraft. The type of people they cultivated as ambassadors would never want to focus on anything else.

And maybe they'd never told her who the head of Special Operations was because they didn't trust her not to try to reach him with everything she had.

How fortuitous that even if Liris wasn't willing to spite the elders for the sake of it, doing what she'd always wanted—doing meaningful work to facilitate change, and surprise, learning magic too!—would solve her problems.

"If you don't want to commit to that study, I understand," Lord Vhannor said, and Liris thought that was the first lie he'd told her. "Still, I would like to move you to Embhullor. The university is protected, so this kind of attack on you wouldn't be able to happen, let alone catch other innocents up in it. And even without training you in spellcraft, access to your knowledge of this language until anyone else can learn—"

"I'm sorry," Liris interrupted. "I think I'm confused. Do you think you have to convince me to take the opportunity to not only actually be able to help people but also learn magic?"

He paused. "I understand your life has been thrown into chaos, and you have only my word to trust—"

"My lord of Embhullor, you are literally carrying me out of a swamp after saving me from a demonic trap we both believe was set for me. I do have some actions to consider in my accounting as well."

That did it, piercing his icy exterior. Heat colored his tone as he retorted, "You should never have had to be in the swamp, but your government betrayed you and I would have failed at my duty without your assistance, so my promise of protection, under the circumstances—"

"Why are you trying to talk me out of what you want?" Liris asked incredulously.

"I'm not," he snapped.

"Really?"

He took a breath, and his voice when he spoke was tightly controlled again. "It's unethical for me to ask this of you now, when we both know you don't have other options and aren't at your best—"

"I'm tired and inexperienced, not stupid. That reality won't have changed if you wait for another time."

Lord Vhannor continued in a louder voice as if she hadn't spoken. "—and given all the circumstances you have no reason to believe I'm not trying to take advantage of you, and even my attempt to allow you to weigh all sides of the matter could be a ploy to earn your trust—"

Liris banged her head on his shoulder. "If you keep at this I'm going back to sleep."

He jostled her, demonstrating that he was in a position to easily prevent that. "Liris. I'm serious."

Two could play that game. Void take his clinical detachment, anyway.

Liris reached around and covered his mouth with one hand. "My answer is yes. Consider me very impressed by your heroic nobility, even if you are dreadful at making a case when you care. What in the world do they teach Lords of Embhullor?"

Lord Vhannor twisted away from her hand to glare over his shoulder at her with the gold bright in his pale eyes, and Liris was startled by the thrill of excitement that sent through her—because it wasn't about magic, or even purpose, it was about him, and getting an honest reaction out of him.

"I can't guarantee there will be no problems, or no danger," he told her.

Liris arched her brows. "If you somehow convinced me you could guarantee that, I might refuse. I have been waiting my whole life to do something that matters. I never expected it would be easy."

Lord Vhannor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. It might have been smarter to try to reassure him—feigning worry but resolving to soldier through, so he'd feel she understood the gravity of his proposal. But he had, apparently, unreasonably, tried to be honest with her, so she answered him in kind.

She was so tired of lying about who she was.

It wasn't that she thought there was nothing to be worried about, that she would be able to handle everything with aplomb and he would keep her safe.

It was that, as they emerged out of the densest mists and tangled branches, she could finally glimpse the start of a path to an actual future for herself, and he would not talk her out of seizing it.

Lord Vhannor faced forward again.

"Then we go together," he said, "to Embhullor."