Page 45 of The Sundered Realms

Princess Nysia was unaffected. “Being who you are, Vhannor, what better way to ingratiate an operative into your graces?”

He rolled his eyes. “Liris was trained to be a Serenthuar ambassador. You know what that means.”

“I know what Serenthuar claims it means.”

“And I’m the one who watched her unravel her first spell. Not only do I know what first spell exhaustion looks like, she had clearly never read a spell before, and I could literally see her sorting out patterns. Which, I will add, she did nearly without my input at all.” Before the princess could rebut, his voice dropped low as he said icily, “If you think I’m so susceptible I can’t tell the difference in the discipline I have more expertise in than anyone else alive, will you trust my judgment where international politics are concerned?”

This finally gave the princess pause.

With more caution, she said, “Vhannor, she helped dispel the demon portal only after she apparently taught Jadrhun the language to create it, and we have only her account for what happened in Serenthuar.”

Vhannor opened his mouth again, but Liris laid a hand on his arm, surprising him into silence.

She was tired of people speaking for her.

“No,” Liris said, “you also have me.”

Princess Nysia wasn’t impressed, and her careful tone vanished. “Which helps me be sure of you how? You can claim you’re planning to teach others Thyrasel, but you could teach them anything and we wouldn’t know the difference.”

“That’s true,” Liris said. “Were you always like this, or is it a consequence of the position you’ve chosen?”

“You’re derailing.”

“I have always thought through patterns,” Liris said. “It’s why I was taken into training as an ambassadorial aide for Serenthuar, which of course makes us spies. So if you look for similarities in me, you’ll find them. But the difference is if you have questions for me, I am here, and I am willing to answer them. I will share everything I know with you.”

Vhannor’s arm tightened under her hand, and Liris hastily removed her hand. She hadn’t really realized she hadn’t.

“Everything?” The princess’ voice was skeptical.

Firmly, Liris confirmed, “Everything.”

“Your willingness to share all information is supposed to make me trust you?”

“Her willingness to share with you given how charming you’ve been should, yes,“ Vhannor snapped. “But as it happens, my word is enough. You may support and work with Special Operations, but this is my domain, and it’s my call.”

Having her back—like a partner.

Liris’ throat tightened. How could he, who’d known her only days, defend her like this, when the people she’d spent her life trying to impress had done the opposite?

Was it a matter of exposure? Would more time with her change his mind?

Princess Nysia sat back and nodded briskly. “That’s settled then.”

Void take it, of course that was all a test. Surely as a princess she must be able to be charming, but she’d taken one look at Liris and—

The dirt. Liris flashed back to Lady Inealuwor’s parting comments—she’d set both Liris and Princess Nysia up to most efficiently reach an understanding by signaling to the princess how best to make use of Liris.

As an operative who wasn’t afraid to wade into the weeds.

And Liris couldn’t even be angry about it, because she did understand the princess better now than she had memorizing Serenthuar’s profile on her. She’d known Princess Nysia must be ruthless, but she hadn’t known the princess made a point of trusting no one: she would work with whomever she had to, and alienate anyone else, if it got her what she wanted.

And Vhannor may not have wanted Liris’ life at the University of Embhullor to be a test, but he’d just made it one she absolutely had to pass.

She’d planned to anyway.

Chapter 7

As well as possessing the most maddening way of telling time of any language I know, Thous is a realm that contains a sea, an enviable position as a key source of water—and salt—when much of the Sundered Realms’ former oceans are no longer accessible. Not the only realm, of course, but they will always have leverage in trade. Serenthuar has an entire line of glassworks designed to resemble contained seas to sell to wealthy water-source realms.

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