Page 141 of Fate Breaker

“I did my best,” Andry said. His smile returned, horribly forced. “Sometimes it was enough. Again.”

Back and forth they went, with Corayne learning little by little. Until she realized exactly how well Andry fought, and how much he allowed her to win.

His left hand went to his hip too quickly, loosing the Jydi ax. She nearly missed the motion, distracted by his still-moving sword. Then the ax hooked around the edge of the shield. With a snap of his arm, he struck open her guard as one might open a book.

Leaving Corayne completely exposed, his training sword at her throat. All instinct, she fell backward, landing hard against the stone beneath her.

Before Andry could apologize, she laughed up at him.

“You’re more raider than squire now, Trelland,” she chuckled, indicating the gleaming ax.

He shook his head back at her, extending a hand to help her up. Grinning, Corayne took it, leaving her training sword where it fell.

Then her eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed not on Andry, but thecastle behind him. Tíarma, towers gray against the retreating clouds, half shrouded in mist, half ribboned with sunlight. Elders patrolled the ramparts, moving slowly along the battlements crowned in antlers and sculpted stags.

“Corayne?”

Andry’s voice sounded far away, rippling as if through deep water. It did nothing to stop the nausea rising in Corayne’s body, her own teeth clenched against a sudden gasp.

“I’ve seen this before,” she breathed, pulling herself up on shaky feet.

Her eyes never left the castle, her mind whirling as she tried to place the image. The exact spread of light, the exact shadows. The exact position from this spot in the training yard.

Andry frowned over her, rightfully confused. “Yes, we’ve been here for weeks now.”

She barely heard him.

“I dreamed of this place.” Her breath hitched and she nearly fell to the ground again. Only Andry kept her standing, his hand still firm in her own. “I dreamed of it before I ever set foot here.”

If Andry said something, she did not know.

A roaring in her ears drowned him out.

“I stood here with the Spindleblade, and Erida stood with me,” she forced out, her body shaking. “Her eyes were burning.”

A flush crept up on Andry’s face, his own eyes widening. “Like...?”

“Like Taristan.”

Again, the wind howled.

“It was not a dream, not really.” She tightened her grip on Andry’s hand, nails digging. He didn’t flinch. “I saw her—I felt her here as closely as I feel you now. And she—”

Corayne’s voice broke.

“She saw me. She saw me here,” she bit out. Nausea roiled up inside her, until Corayne feared she might be sick all over the training yard.

Andry held firm, never letting her go. He stared down on her with concerned eyes, brow furrowed in a grim line. “Erida saw you—in your dream?” he asked, hesitant. “Corayne—”

A chill ran through her. “She is not the only one who does.”

Even awake, Corayne felt the blistering touch of a demon, his shadow creeping at the corners of her eyes. They were only memories, but sharp as the castle above her. As real as the stone beneath her body.

“What Waits showed me to her,” she whispered, curling into Andry. Her eyes squeezed shut, and the shadow of What Waits loomed, somehow darker than the darkness.

Her mouth filled with a vile taste.

“They know where I am, Andry.”

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