Page 32 of Blade Breaker (Realm Breaker 2)

A low hiss escaped Sigil’s mouth, weaving through gritted teeth. Corayne felt the same frustration but kicked her leg under the table to keep her quiet. A Temur caged was a disaster waiting to happen, a storm begging to break.

“What does Lasreen’s Chosen ask of us?” Corayne said, forming the words carefully. Isadere straightened in their seat, clearly delighted by the title.

“Information,” Isadere said. “Direction. Time.”

Dom seemed mountainous in the low chair, his body like a pile of rocks. One hand lay on the table, still but for a single tapping finger. “Time for what?”

“To prepare, Elder.” Isadere gestured to the flap of the tent and out into the desert. “If Erida of Galland is to make war on the entire realm, then we must make ready for it. I’ll send envoys to Erida and to my father—”

Again, Sigil sneered. “You don’t have time for diplomacy.”

Corayne felt her own patience wear through. She stood quickly, rising over the table, wishing she could show them what they’d seen in Nezri. What she saw in her scattered dreams.Redhands, white faces, something moving behind the shadows, something hungry and growing.

“Didn’t you hear what we just said?” she forced out, her face going hot.

The seconds dripped by, made worse by the silence of the tent.

“Erida sent soldiers into Ibal. Taristan ripped open a Spindle in your own lands, to target your own navy and cut you off.” Corayne sliced a finger across the table. She wished for a map, if only to shove it in Isadere’s face and make themsee. “They’re trying to weaken their strongest opponent before you even know you are at war!”

She expected Isadere to argue, or for their brother Sibrez to demand respect again. But neither of the royal siblings did anything, unmoving in their seats. Isadere lowered their eyes, blowing out a low breath.

“I am not the King of Ibal,” they murmured, their words tinged with regret. “I cannot command his fleets or his armies.”

Corayne winced. “Then what are we even doing here?”

“I am not the king,” Isadere said again, louder this time. Their gaze sharpened. “But IamLasreen’s Chosen. I speak for a goddess, and the goddess tells me to help you. The goddess has shown the way.”

Somewhere near the bronze mirror, at the other end of the hall, Sorasa stopped her pacing. The two Dragons following her halted too, spears still in hand.

“The Ibalet navy would be a welcome start,” Sorasa growled.

Isadere laughed coldly. “You’ve spent these long hours in silence, Amhara. I admit, I feared you might put a knife in myneck.” They turned in their seat to look at Sorasa fully. They were of the same descent, children of Ibal. But they were as separate from each other as dragon and tiger. “Or are there no more contracts for me?”

“There are many, Your Highness.” Sorasa loosed her usual smirk. “But I’m a little preoccupied with the end of the world. I’ll collect later.”

Amhara Fallen, Amhara Broken.Corayne remembered Valtik’s words. Sorasa was Amhara no longer, exiled from the guild these people hated so much. But she still wore the dagger proudly and took on the title even when it marked her to everyone in sight.

“I’ll be waiting,” Sibrez answered, an open threat. Sorasa grinned through it, her teeth bared. Isadere was not the only one with a shark’s lethal smile.

The Heir turned back, looking up to Corayne standing over them. “You have strange friends, Corayne an-Amarat.”

Friends.The word landed oddly among them, most of all in Corayne. Of course she considered Andry a friend, and Dom. They were as close to her as Kastio, as her mother’s crew. She trusted them; she cared for them. But Sorasa? An assassin with no loyalty to anyone or anything?

Her heart thumped.She came back to save us at the palace. She reached for me in the canyon. When Dom could not see the danger, she did. She knew, and she risked her life to save mine.Corayne remembered the Amhara pulling her through open air, her body missing the rock by inches.

And Valtik? The old woman was asleep in her chair, her cheek flat to the table, looking for all the world like a drunk too deep inthe ale. She was a nuisance at best, unsettling at her worst. Rattling her bones and rhymes, telling them nothing and everything all at once.The old witch stood between the kraken and the rest of us, holding it back just enough. We’d be dead without her, the Ward already lost.In her pocket, Corayne still held the sticks, the Jydi charm from the boat a lifetime ago. Taristan’s blood was still there, dried black.

Charlie, who complained every step of the way. Who taught her how to make Tyri seals and letters of passage. Who joked through the aches of the road, who made her feel a little less alone.

Sigil, boorish and overproud, risking their lives with every boast. Who had betrayed and then un-betrayed them all. Who stood watch every night.

Friends?

Isadere’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“I cannot offer you the navy, but I can offer you a ship.”

Around the table, the Companions exchanged excited glances, Corayne included. She licked her lips, daring to hope, trying to fight the true smile rising on her face.

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