Page 122 of The Sundered Realms

If they couldn’t communicate, they couldn’t tell Liris any more she might be able to find a way to use.

She hoped that theory comforted Chaeheen, but only because it might recover Liris some element of surprise after all.

The rebels brought them to a fascinating connected system of caverns shaped by people in ages past. Liris would have loved to explore them under any circumstance, but under this one there was no possibility Chaeheen would allow it.

She bit back her disappointment. Maybe she would have a chance again someday, in caves whose secrecy wasn’t a matter of survival.

Liris imagined exploring a cave system with Vhannor with no urgency, just for fun, and had to shake her head rapidly to dispel the image. The unlikelihood she’d ever have that kind of freedom hurt too much to contemplate.

Eventually they were left alone—but, unexpectedly, together—in a cell encased with spell protections, the first of which was that any tampering from inside would register an alert. The cell was lined with harder stone than the caves were naturally made of on all sides but one, where a grid of interlocking metal rods served as window, door, and wall. Nothing that could easily be carved into. She wasn’t sure who could be listening, so planning an escape out loud was unwise.

There were nonverbal languages they could communicate with, however.

Liris ran through a mental repertory. The light was dim, so she went and sat next to Vhannor and took his hand, then painstakingly tapped out against his palm, Why did they leave us together?

And as a distraction in case, aloud, she asked, “So. Since we can’t do anything else, is now a good time for sex?”

Vhannor snorted. “I doubt the guard went that far, and I’m not into voyeurism. Besides, I’m old enough to want a bed.”

Liris sighed dramatically.

And all the while he replied: Few places can hold a caster like us. Liris felt a thrill of satisfaction that he’d understood immediately. Chaeheen can’t be sure how much you can do without me. Avoid communicating like this as much as possible, so no one will realize in time. I’ve worked with Chaeheen before. There will be a listening spell somewhere.

Liris subsided. She wasn’t sure yet how they’d be getting out, but Vhannor reclaimed his hand to snake an arm around behind her, gathering her into his side. She leaned into him, noting he didn’t seem tense at all for a person on an urgent mission who’d been captured by a competent team.

With anyone else, she’d have been suspicious. With Vhannor, she assumed that meant he had a plan, and he’d read her in when he could.

Maybe Liris wouldn’t ever get her cavern adventure with him, but she’d revel in this unexpected certainty with all the time she had.

She let out a breath, releasing her tight focus, letting her thoughts wander until Vhannor asked her softly, “What are you thinking about?”

Did he really have to ask? “Understanding,” Liris said. “Connections.”

His head turned slightly, though not far, since she was using his shoulder as a pillow. “I admit I thought you would have some thoughts on... captivity. Traps. Given your history.”

“Understanding what they’re trying to accomplish and why makes more of a difference than I expected,” Liris admitted. “Normally the ‘how’ is most evident to me. I suppose that’s backwards from most people.”

“You never do look at things quite the way people expect,” Vhannor agreed dryly.

“Neither does Jadrhun,” Liris said. “Could he be right?”

“No.” His voice was firm.

Liris waved her free hand. “Bear with me. Hypothetically, could it be possible to restore the world to what it was before the Sundering, and we’re expending all this effort to thwart the first step toward restoring cosmic justice?”

“Hypothetically, it’s impossible to know for sure—for anyone to know for sure—which is exactly the problem,“ Vhannor said. “Jadrhun has no way to test what he wants to do, which means he’s willing to risk actual lives for the possibility of success. What cost would be acceptable to justify that, to qualify as ‘right’? What number of lives is low enough to make it worth the risk?”

None, of course none. Liris frowned, poking at this from another angle, testing her own conviction and gods, what a relief to know she could test herself against him. “Success would mean saving lives though, wouldn’t it? Don’t we risk our lives to save people?”

“We choose to,” Vhannor said. “No one has consented to what Jadrhun’s trying to do.”

“Some governments have,” Liris pointed out. “We can say all we like that people might not agree with that decision, but governments make decisions for their people as a whole. That’s what they do.”

“That’s a false equivalence, and you know it’s a false equivalence. If governments, particularly the more democratic ones, believed they were doing what was best and responsible, they’d be attempting to leverage it for political gain, not hiding it from their own people.”

“They might. If they didn’t think people would understand, or would object—“

“Exactly.”

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