Page 108 of The Sundered Realms

Vhannor stared at her like she’d bludgeoned him between the eyes.

Helpless mirth bubbled out of her, and Liris collapsed over the table, laughing, and a few moments later heard the beautiful sound of Vhannor joining in.

Liris managed to lift her head to look at him, and he her, and that set both of them off again.

Here she was, in a torn ballgown but still wrapped in the cloak she’d chosen for herself, and he had made possible.

Here she was, feeling like anything might be possible for her. Like she’d been shriveling in obscurity in Serenthuar and began unfurling as soon as she’d gotten herself away: and now, in full bloom, she was sure—of who she was, and what she wanted to do, and where she wanted to be while doing it.

With him.

So she trusted he’d meant it when he promised he could keep up with her, that she didn’t have to be afraid to be herself with him, that he was not a test she could fail, and risked, “Maybe this isn’t the right time for this, with everything going on. But I’m pretty sure I’m extremely in love with you.”

Vhannor sucked in a breath like she’d punched him, his laughter cutting off abruptly.

Okay, so maybe she had some insecurity left after all. Liris sat up straight and tried lightly, “Oh come on, it can’t be that surprising.”

The look he turned on her stole her breath. “Forgive me,” Vhannor said in a low voice, “if I take a moment to process such a gift I hadn’t dared hope for.”

Liris tried to make herself breathe, managed shakily. Okay, turning that back around, she could see how—

Vhannor surged out of his seat and around the table, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands while she, for once, struggled to keep up.

“Caring isn’t a distraction,” Vhannor said, and Liris flashed back to their arrival in Otaryl, her excitement about dumplings, and everything.

She’d thought he was testing her—he’d thought she was challenging his commitment.

Before she could explain, he’d continued, “It’s what makes what we do, saving people, matter. People includes you, Liris. Whether you are useful or not, by whatever metric you hold yourself to, I will never be sorry to have you at my side.“ Vhannor smiled, a slow, devasting smile that would have melted her heart if it hadn’t already been a puddle and said, “I am sure that I love you, too.”

Liris wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

She’d thought she was full before? Now she was overflowing—with love, a revelatory joy, and hope, for all this meant, the future she could have.

Pounding at the front door startled them apart, though not very far, each frowning at the other in dazed confusion as the world attempted to penetrate.

The pounding again. “Lord Vhannor! Come quickly, there’s an emergency. Special Operations needs you right away.”

That got him moving. He swore under his breath as he stalked quickly to the door with Liris right beside him. She threw it open.

“Oh, thank everything, you’re both here,” the messenger said in relief.

Liris’ eyebrows shot up, but Vhannor was already demanding, “What’s happened?”

The messenger looked sick. “The Gate Liris discovered between Serenthuar and Etorsiye is gone. Princess Nysia said to tell you it looks like Jadrhun blew it up.”

What did it even mean to blow up a Gate?

No one in the situation room at Special Operations was exactly sure what Jadrhun had done. But two points were undeniable:

The Gate to Serenthuar was gone.

The destruction left in its wake bore all the signs of magical backlash: ambient magic vanished; scorched earth spreading in a shockwave out from the epicenter of the detonation, wiping out any magical working for miles.

The shockwave itself hadn’t killed anyone, but taking out workings included spells written into foundations of buildings and carts, which had collapsed. Liris was told Yenti looked like a warzone.

“Starting with Serenthuar can’t be an accident,” Princess Nysia pointed out, not looking at Liris, because she didn’t need to.

Just about everyone else around the table did, though.

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