Chapter 5

Transportation varies a lot between realms. In larger realms, or ones with great distance between their Gates, trains are common, though they can't cross portals. Realms that are poor in spellcasters might have a train, but it will be poorly maintained. Serenthuar would benefit from a train, given the sheer quantity of imports to transport, but can't afford to allocate materials or labor to building one. But at some point, everyone has to switch to something slower or less efficient.

Everyone except spellcasters, that is, who can navigate skimmers. I've envied them the ability to do magic for many reasons, but maybe that one most of all.

Just imagine: being able to fly free, wherever you wanted.

Right there in the deadened middle of a forest, alone on a mountain in a new realm, Vhannor, Lord of Embhullor, taught Liris how to escape from a detection sphere should she ever choose to.

Once she understood how it worked, she had a better idea why he hadn't considered it a problem—it couldn't harm her, and once it registered the change in ambient magic levels it dissipated on its own. But the fact that he had no qualms about teaching her anyway, with no judgment on the value of her concerns, went a long way toward her actually trusting him.

Even if he was still testing her, as she successfully finished dispelling the sphere on her first solo try and found him watching her pensively.

"Why do you look like that?"

His jaw worked. "Let's get moving again. If we make good time, we might make it to a faster transport to the next Gate."

Liris narrowed her eyes and followed, her fledgling increased trust dwindling, when he spoke again.

Apparently he wasn't going to avoid the question and was actually just concerned with efficiency after all.

"There are a wide variety of paths available to a talented caster," Vhannor said. "Inventing new standard spells. Casting the spells that rich merchants use and sell—I heard that snort, but those casters make huge amounts of money and can go anywhere they want. You can't tell me that wouldn't appeal to you."

Liris subsided. He really had seen her clearly, and quickly.

She wasn't sure that was good.

"I'm arguing with myself," Vhannor said, "because given how fast you learn, the obvious spell track to encourage you toward is research."

Maybe not so clearly.

"You're very quiet all of a sudden," he said.

Frozen like a prey animal that's been spotted and doesn't know which way to turn. "I'm listening."

It was Vhannor's turn to snort. "Convincing. What did I say?"

Liris let out a frustrated breath. "Remember when you told me I had no options, so it wasn't fair to compel me?"

"Yes, and I remember you telling me you could make your own choices. Liris, I'm observant but not a mind reader, and I don't want to fall prey to cultural misunderstandings unaware. I can't give you options if I don't know what you want."

"You don't get to just decide that it's safe for me to expose myself to you," Liris said.

Vhannor turned around and blocked their path, facing her. "I know. I am asking for you to give me a chance to prove my integrity to you."

Liris held his gaze. "I'm not sure you understand what you're asking."

His expression tightened. "I know."

Maybe he did. But the more she saw of him, the less certain Liris trusted her own judgment of him.

All she'd ever wanted was to use her talents for something that mattered, and for someone to help her rather than hold her back. That after multiple betrayals and only one month away from Serenthuar she should meet a man who seemed completely perfect seemed too good to be true. Liris was beginning to think she was stupid after all, to already trust him the way she thought she could.

"I'll think about it," she finally said.

He nodded tightly. "Thank you."

They walked again.

This time the silence was both not companiable and somehow more intensely awkward.

Liris felt that was unfair—surely not every social interaction deserved to feel awkward.

"What I was going to say," Vhannor finally broke the silence, "is that while encouraging you toward research seems like the obvious path, especially given your unique knowledge of Thyrasel, you're so good under pressure it seems like a waste to keep you back from the field."

Liris stumbled.

"Do you want to be a researcher and don't want to sway me, or do you not want to? At this point you could persuade me either way, but to do so you're going to have to say whatever you're thinking out loud."

Liris took a breath. So far he'd helped her every time he could. Maybe he'd guessed what made her freeze. Maybe this was a long setup for a later betrayal. But maybe it wasn't.

Maybe she could test him.

"Then I'll be honest," Liris said.

"I'd appreciate it," he said with unexpected fervor.

"Since the moment you implied all I'd have to look forward to is research, I've been thinking about how I can leverage my skills to do literally anything else."

Vhannor let out a crack of laughter, which at any other time she'd have reveled in.

But Liris wasn't laughing.

"It's true I'm good at learning," Liris said, "I'm frankly excellent. But what I want, what I have always wanted, was to be out in the world, using all my knowledge to make the world better for the people who live in it. Becoming an ambassador was the only way I knew to leave Serenthuar. I understand there will be studying involved, and I don't begrudge that—I enjoy learning. As long as that's not all I do. In Serenthuar every choice was a test was a battle, and after spending twenty years trapped in it, I will never be able to look on a life of research as anything other than a trap. That is the honest truth."

Leaves crunched beneath their feet in the silence that followed.

"At first," Vhannor said, "I thought it was your focus that made you adapt so well, in battle and out of it. Then you explained your training, and I thought it was your expectations—your lack of them, and that you always expected to learn new ways. But it's that you're always ready for battle, isn't it? That's why nothing flaps you."

Liris shrugged. "I suppose that's a fair characterization, yes."

"A harsh way to live."

She frowned at his back. "Is that so different from you?"

Vhannor fell silent. After a long moment he said, "No. So I'm no model of how else to be. But I will endeavor not to make your life in Embhullor feel like a trap. If you want to be in the field, you'll still have to do some coursework. I can't change the fact that you don't have a license."

Liris dared, "I hear an implicit ‘but'."

His lips curved upward slyly, and Liris' heart thumped when he looked over his shoulder at her. "I can get you a head start."

"Autocracy," Liris muttered, even as her spirits lifted.

"Oh, even worse." Vhannor actually grinned, and this time she enjoyed that expression, just for her, way too much. "Schoolwork."

By the time they arrived in Embhullor, Vhannor had answered her initial spellcraft questions and a lot more besides.

They'd taken a train, passed through two Gates in one day, and spent hours and hours hiking. Liris wasn't conditioned for this, but she knew how closely Vhannor watched her by how he knew when she needed rest without her actually saying so.

He kept looking at her strangely, like he was waiting for her drive for learning magic to burn itself out. It wouldn't. Liris absorbed all the information like a fish that had finally found water and couldn't wait to swim.

Liris couldn't get enough. Of magic, of the world. Of him.

He'd thawed more and more as they talked, like satisfying her endless thirst was a challenge that would only spur him on rather than exhausting his patience. Liris' mind was so awhirl she felt almost drunk off of him.

So approaching the university, she was excited, she was ready, but she was also nervous—because if she hated this place, she was still going to be stuck here for a while.

More importantly, she had the sense that Vhannor was just waiting for her to break, like he couldn't believe she was actually how she seemed. Or how he thought of her. Which wasn't fair, but if she didn't react how he expected—and she didn't know what he wanted from her—and he decided not to personally help her advance any more after all—

She'd been appropriately enthusiastic when they arrived in Embhullor, at least. How could she not be, with a view at sunrise of terraced fields surrounded by forest and rolling mountains all around them. It had taken her breath away—there were so many ways for the world to be green.

Liris dared a look up at Vhannor, whose lips quirked a little, though he looked tense too. "We're almost there, I promise."

"Yes, but you keep saying that, and then we're not. And you won't tell me what to expect."

"I want to see what you think."

"Unless there will be demon spells there—"

"Definitely not. You truly don't need to prepare for this. There's no wrong reaction."

Liris frowned at him. "Clearly there is, or you wouldn't be avoiding preparing me for this when you haven't held back anything else."

Vhannor blinked, pausing to look at her, like this honestly hadn't occurred to him.

Before Liris could pursue the point, between one instant and the next Vhannor snapped into alertness and dodged as an assailant dropped down from the trees at him.

Liris had just started to launch herself in the attacker's direction when Vhannor rolled to his feet, not tense any longer and drawled, "Hello, Shry."

Liris almost tripped over her own feet halting mid-charge.

"Still got it," Shry said smugly, spinning a long blade in her hand rapidly before sheathing it in one swift movement.

The woman was paler than anyone Liris had ever seen, her black eyes and all-black clothing stark in contrast to her long, shining white hair. She was also impossibly elegant, the way Liris imagined a large cat would be: all lethal grace, movement contained and economical until striking with impossible speed. Liris had barely seen Shry move, and not just because she'd been startled.

Vhannor didn't look worried, brushing dirt off his shoulders. "Let's get going again, shall we? Liris, Shry; Shry, Liris."

Liris and Shry shot each other profoundly skeptical glances at that completely uninformative introduction.

Then Shry shrugged and fell into step beside Vhannor as if she hadn't just attacked him for no apparent reason, and since everyone was pretending nothing had happened, Liris resumed her own position on Vhannor's other side and tried to walk normally.

Shry said conversationally, "Thought you could sneak back in, did you?"

Vhannor rolled his eyes. "I'm hardly sneaking. This is the main path."

"Should you be sneaking?" Liris asked. Then: "Could you even? Use a spell to hide?"

Vhannor stiffened—minutely, but Liris still caught it.

She frowned and then asked more cautiously, "Would you recommend I take more care with my speech for a time?"

"What? No—I mean, you can speak freely in front of Shry."

This answered nothing. She'd clearly erred, but didn't know how, which was the worst way to fail a test.

Her heart thumped faster. She took a breath and took a risk, asking bluntly, "Then what did I say?"

That brought Vhannor's head up, and he stared at her intently.

Realizing she was giving him a chance.

Liris' heart pounded.

"You said nothing wrong," Vhannor told her. "This is my problem, not yours."

Liris' chest tightened. He wasn't going to be honest with her after all.

Anger swiftly followed that thought and she snapped, "So I'm supposed to be honest with you, but you don't have to explain things to me?"

Distress flashed through his expression, but whatever he might have responded was cut off when Shry interrupted sharply, "He's trying to not share stories that aren't his to tell. As you can see, he's very bad at it. Vhann doesn't use spells to hide from me because he doesn't want me to think he feels the need to hide from me. There, are we all friends again?"

Liris blinked.

Looked at Vhannor, who blew out a breath. "Do you have sisters?" he asked her.

Liris glanced between the two of them. "You're related?"

"Perish the thought," Shry said.

Chosen family, then. Liris wondered what was so distressing about the Lord of Embhullor's family.

"I do," Liris said, "but they were born after I went into training and we've never met."

Vhannor frowned. "You weren't permitted to see your family?"

"What for?" Liris asked. "It's not like they could help me become an ambassador, and I couldn't help them with whatever their duties are. And I entered training so young it's not like I missed them."

This explanation did not make his expression any less severe.

Then Shry drawled, "If you think you're going to win a battle of whose families are more fucked up..." She leaned forward, and the ends of her fingers blurred like shadows and transformed into long, sharp black claws. "I'll win."

Liris froze, sorting information very rapidly.

Shry had a personality, Vhannor considered her family, and yet that shadow...

"You're... not a demon," Liris said slowly. "Related to a demon? Somehow?"

"Half," Shry confirmed, black gaze holding hers. "Human mother, demon father."

"That's possible?!"

"Typically not," Shry said. "It takes a whole lot of very questionable magic."

Liris dared a glance at Vhannor, who was watching this exchange very closely, then back at Shry. "I have so many questions and no idea how to ask them inoffensively."

Shry grinned quickly, a slash across her face. "Better start than most make. The short version is I'm like a demon in that I can't use spells even a little, and I'm like a human in that I can live in the world and its ambient magic without pain."

Liris sucked in a breath, understanding all at once. "They wanted to make a demon not susceptible to magic."

Shry's gaze narrowed on her, an expression Liris had seen on a lot of faces: it was the look of a person realizing just how fast she put information together.

"Got it in one," Shry said. "I'm obviously a failure."

What? "You can live without being a slave to the obsession of bringing demons into the world and have more personality than a gaping maw. Seems like an improvement to me."

Vhannor finally spoke again, his tone dry. "We'll see if you keep that opinion of her personality after spending time with her."

"Oh, I think Liris and I are going to get along just fine," Shry said, winking at her and then asking Vhannor, "Do you want to do the honors?"

Liris was about to ask what she meant when light struck her peripheral vision. She glanced forward and then was struck speechless by the emerging cityscape. Castlescape?

Like she was peering through a hole in a wall, a perfectly framed view of a valley protected by cascading hills: inside was all stone, but colorful, and every one of them different like they were unplanned; scattered buildings that led inexorably to a spire that reached into the sky like a beacon.

"Welcome," Vhannor said behind her, "to the University of Embhullor."