Page 54 of Of Sword & Silver

“You come to seek your fate, sent by Lojad,” she tells him in her sweet, regular voice.

He blinks, surprised by her words.

“I get the feeling,” I tell him, scrunching my nose up. “It’s uncanny what she does, and that’s not even the worst of it. If you’d been a few minutes sooner, you would’ve shit your pants. I almost did.”

Lara glares at me, but when I glance at the Sword, expecting his usual serious frown or maybe a grimace to spice it up, he’s grinning, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

It hits me like a punch to the gut.

He’s laughing with me.

Unfamiliar warmth blooms through me and I smile back at him for a moment… until I remember we don’t like each other.

“Why do I feel like I have stumbled into some inside joke I don’t know?” Morrow asks, sighing as though he’s resigned to it.

“That sounds like a personal problem, but if you’re looking for adventure, you’re in the right place.” I raise an eyebrow.

His lips twitch to one side.

Lara puts her elegant hand on his wrist, which makes it look teensy in comparison. His focus homes in on her, and whew—something heated crosses his face. I force myself not to look at the Sword.

“My friend Kyrie has a quest, and her fate—and the fate of our world—hangs in the balance.” Lara’s voice is so soothing I’m nearly lulled by it, until she hits that fate of our world part.

I still don’t see how stealing Sola’s Crown from the King of Diamonds will do anything to save the world. Maybe that’s just step one on our world-saving itinerary.

“Are you healer, shield, or warrior?” she asks him gently.

“Shield,” the Sword answers for him.

“My power lies in protection, not death,” Morrow confirms. The huge knight’s clear blue eyes are full of something like wonder.

The Sword nods.

I tilt my head, like that will clue me in on whatever these two men are seeing in each other. Maybe it’s just the fact they’re both massive and clearly built for battle. Maybe there’s some silent warrior code I’m not privy to.

“Will you join us, of your own free will?” Lara asks him solemnly.

Morrow’s focus swings back to her.

She steps closer, her voice quiet. “It will not be an easy journey. Your life may be forfeit. You may have to kill others on this quest. But you will become a legend, a hero, your name sung by bards the world over.”

He nods once, and I try not to laugh at how thick Lara’s laying it on. I don’t, though, because she doesn’t look like she’s joking.

She is completely serious.

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“I will,” Morrow answers. “Lojad calls, and I answer. I am faithful to Lojad. I will be your shield, Lara Tross.”

The Sword crosses the room, sucking up all the energy into his black-clad body, and offers Morrow a hand in greeting.

Lara’s gaze sweeps over me, and I’m not sure she’s all here, or if she still has one foot caught in Nakush’s magic snare.

Am I the only one who doesn’t really understand what in the hells is happening?

I’ve made a life of staying one step ahead, until I drank from that damned chalice.

My weight shifts and I lean my forehead against the door jamb, watching Lara, Morrow, and the Sword talk in low voices.

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