Page 18 of The Sundered Blade

“She speaks truth,” Karreya said softly.

Leisa did not look up. “And yet, it is what she didnotsay that haunts me.”

“She did not say that she loves you.”

Startled, Leisa inadvertently jerked on her horse’s reins as her head swiveled to stare at Karreya.

“How did you…”

“The Prince of Garimore did not say that he loves me either.”

Leisa blinked rapidly, appearing somewhat stunned by those words. “You were hoping he would?”

“That is not important.” Karreya found that she was not quite prepared to discuss her attraction to a certain gray-eyed prince. At least, not with someone like Leisa, who seemed inclined to think ill of him. “Before we parted, however, I wished to understand how he felt, not deal in practicalities and protestations of nobility. But he seems to find feelings more difficult to speak of. He is afraid, I think, of how others will use those feelings. Perhaps Senaya is the same.”

Leisa nudged her horse with her heels and turned to follow in Senaya’s wake. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that at the Enclave, we are trained to believe that feelings are a weakness. That they undermine our purpose and betray our strength. That we must alway control our emotions or they will control us. And in my grandmother’s world, feelings are weapons. They can be used to hurt, to manipulate, and to destroy.”

“But Senaya fell in love here,” Leisa protested over her shoulder. “Surely she cannot still believe that feelings are weakness.”

“She can if they have brought her too much pain.” Karreya nudged her mount into a trot until she drew even with Leisa on the narrow road. “Her story might be seen as proof that our trainers were not wrong. That she should have listened when we were taught to deny ourselves.”

“Then she regrets it.” Leisa’s tone echoed with disappointment. “She regrets coming here. Falling in love. Having children… All of it.”

“Perhaps,” Karreya allowed. “But I do not think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because she ishere,” Karreya said thoughtfully. “She is facing her fear. Each day she rises and confronts her pain once again, but she is the stronger, and the pain has not defeated her. Her presence here is proof that she has not yet bowed under its weight.”

“She is already fighting a war,” Leisa murmured, “whether she knows it or not.”

“Perhaps all humans are,” Karreya replied with a lopsided shrug. “But you should not give up on her. Not while she still fights.”

Her cousin’s sigh was deep and long. “You are very wise,” she said at last. “And more patient than I am.”

Laughter bubbled up before Karreya could stop it. “The Mistress of Discipline would be quite surprised to hear you say so. I am not known for my patience. Or my wisdom.”

“And I am not known for holding grudges, and yet here we are.”

They shared a quick smile, and something small and warm took root in that part of Karreya that was left cold and empty by Niell’s absence.

Had she made another friend? Or was this something different? Was this… family?

Time alone would reveal what she and Leisa could be to one another, but for now, that smile was enough. It meant they were more than mere allies, and Karreya found it surprisingly comforting to realize that she was still not entirely alone in this strange new world.

* * *

They traveled on at a relentless pace for the next few days, making their way through the forests and hills of southern Garimore as swiftly as their mounts’ endurance would allow. Little was said, even when they camped for the night, but the silence did not bother Karreya.

It gave her time to think. To remember. To wonder what she might say to her father when she saw him again. Should it be her goal to shock him into making a mistake? Or to convince him to return home with her so they could face her grandmother together?

The sad truth was, she did not know him well enough to predict what he might say, or what he might do. He was, essentially, a stranger, and so she must approach him as she would any other target.

With caution. With wary respect. And with a flexible mind, prepared to shift her methods at any moment.

On the afternoon of their third day of traveling, they rounded a bend to see a group of travelers standing in the road ahead… No, there were two groups.

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