Page 103 of The Sundered Realms

She froze.

Where had he even come from? Stupid question: None of them had had time for any kind of spell detection. He could have been sitting in the nearest cable car or camouflaged against the snowdrift and they’d never have known, preoccupied as they were.

Liris ground her teeth, annoyed at that stupidity on their part. Understandable under the circumstances didn’t help them now.

“There are more of us than you, and no priest to save you,” Vhannor said.

A shadow simmered up from underfoot, Shry engaged it before it had even emerged, and Nysia followed with a protection sphere.

“So there are,” Jadrhun said, “albeit somewhat occupied.” His gaze stayed on Liris, but she didn’t doubt he was tracking everything around them. “But tell me, Vhannor: Do you think any of you can fire faster than I can hit Liris? Because without her, there’s no one to take down the portal, is there? At the rate this is going, you’d lose the entire realm before any linguists back in Embhullor could finish catching up enough to stop it, even if you could reach them.”

Liris could practically feel Vhannor weighing it.

Vhannor was fast. The fastest she’d ever seen, including Jadrhun.

But Jadrhun hadn’t been ready, then, and now he was already ahead. If Vhannor was off even a little—

No, Liris was going to have to save herself. Not with spellcraft—she wasn’t fast enough—but with the skills she’d developed over a lifetime.

She wasn’t here to be a liability. She was here to do what only she could.

“As recruitment strategies go,” Liris drawled to Jadrhun, “your technique could use a little finesse.”

He smiled sharply. “Do you think so? Finesse didn’t appear to work, so I changed strategies. As an adaptable sort yourself, I was sure you’d appreciate that.”

The temple certainly hadn’t been the finesse attempt. Did he mean Ambassador Rhuil?

“I’m so flattered by your attention.”

His smile faded. “You should be. More than you realize. But since you can’t possibly, I do, in fact, have an offer for you.”

“You weren’t just planning to take me hostage, then?” Liris asked lightly.

“And have you waiting for an opportune moment behind my back at all times?” Jadrhun asked dryly. “Even if I were interested in binding you, I’m not that stupid.”

He was poised with a kill spell aiming right at her, so it was odd that she believed him.

Liris could hear Shry and Nysia keeping demons off their backs, but Vhannor had gone silent. After their conversation outside the Forgotten Temple, Liris took that to mean he had no help to offer.

We’re partners. He’s not testing me; he’s figuring out how to help.

She’d believe that and keep Jadrhun talking until one of them found a break.

“I’m listening,” Liris said.

“Come with me through the Gate,” Jadrhun said, “and I’ll teach you everything I know. I’ll teach you why I’m not your enemy. And to prove it, if you come with me in good faith, I’ll release my hold on Serenthuar.”

Liris thought she’d been frozen before. Now she could feel the rapid pounding of her heart, time seeming to slow as her mind raced.

Definitely behind Rhuil. The ambassador had goaded her with feelings for Serenthuar, and Liris had let him see too much.

She wanted what Jadrhun had to offer. Here was a man who had, was, openly defying the world, and she wanted to know everything. What he was doing, why, how.

A man giving her the perfect opportunity to negotiate herself to save her people, the precise moment she’d been raised for.

This might be the best chance to save Serenthuar. It might be the only way to figure out what Jadrhun was doing with all the demon portals, without always being two steps behind. She alone could seize this opportunity.

“I believe you don’t want to kill me,” Liris said slowly, really hoping she was judging him correctly, “but I don’t believe you won’t.”

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