Page 142 of The Sundered Realms

Liris did not believe for a second that he wasn’t expecting her and Vhannor to take the full brunt of responding to a demonic attack on themselves.

“A runner in Theiraos brought word of a force dispatched from Special Operations, and we’ve cleared them for entry,” he continued, and she glanced at him sharply. “If they’re traveling half as quickly as that scout, they’ll arrive to help you hold the line.”

Coming through Theiraos at that speed? How in the world—

Liris sucked in a breath. The new Gate.

Chaeheen was backing them up after all.

“If they are hostile to Ormbtai, we expect Special Operations will take full responsibility,” Chancellor Ariurn added.

Liris snorted. Of course. All these people who will help just so long as it doesn’t inconvenience them.

Or, more charitably: they might not risk their own selves, but when others fought, they would do whatever else they could. Not everyone could face a battle like this.

That was why she was here.

Vhannor said, “Special Operations will remember all assistance rendered us. The scout—white-haired?”

“You know her, I take it.”

“Indeed. Let no one slow her down, for she will not stop for them.”

Shry was coming. Liris shouldn’t have wanted her friend here too, but her breath came a little easier nevertheless.

Liris might not have much experience fighting demons, but Shry did.

She was not, however, here yet.

“Take us to whoever is leading the wall defense, bring our skimmers, and summon messengers,” Vhannor said.

“There’s no—“

“This is how we make sure there will be time,” Vhannor snapped.

Ariurn let out a breath, got a hold of himself, and started snapping orders. In short order they were packed with their skimmers, the chancellor, and his guards into an escort to the wall as Vhannor fired off messages: to the casters trying to hold the wall, to whoever might follow them, to Shry and the forces from Embhullor who might catch up.

Liris stayed quiet, leaving him to this. She might know patterns, but she didn’t know how to coordinate a battle, and this was not the time to learn.

They hurtled toward the ominous orange light, and she tried not to think how she still didn’t know enough. There was no more time to not know enough.

Liris closed her eyes, breathed; opened them, and took in the world around her.

White-faced, tight-lipped guards, glaring at her, like this was all her fault.

She would not go into battle with this simmering behind her.

One woman’s fist was clenched on the hilt of her weapon, and Liris met her eyes directly. “Are you individually responsible for the Ormbtai government’s decisions to limit and delay food and medicines, which have killed my kin?”

The woman’s brow furrowed.

“The answer is yes, that you personally are complicit, because in Ormbtai you have the freedom to choose how you will spend your life, and you have explicitly chosen to defend the members of the government who make those decisions. I have chosen to oppose my government. Reconcile your own hypocrisy before you dare consider any other individual as though they’re a representative of a monolith.”

This broke the seal, as another guard demanded of her, “How do we know you’re not with them? That you’re not leading us exactly where you want us so the demons can get us? You could have been pretending all along.”

The first woman nodded. “Arranged that display with your ambassador to fool the chancellor, fooled the Lord of Embhullor—“

Vhannor rolled his eyes on cue but didn’t interrupt his message writing.

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