Page 237 of A Realm of Shattered Lies

I stare at my sister, mouth agape, unable to decide what’s more surprising. That my sister no longer looks like my sister, or that she’s made allies of someone skilled in performing such a task.

But then her gaze takes me in, really takes me in, for the first time, and that sisterly concern swarms her face, giving away just who she is.

“Asha, I’m so sorry this has happened,” she says, as if it’s somehow her fault.

She closes the space between us, falling to her knees and wrapping me in an embrace. I melt into it. It occurs to me that this is the first form of welcome physical touch I’ve had since returning to the palace with Az, the first I don’t cringe away from.

“You shouldn’t have come,” I say, but the words lacked vigor.

Dinah pulls back and smiles at me. “Don’t lie to yourself. You’re glad I’m here.”

The tears that stain my cheek confirm as much.

This isn’t the rescue mission I had hoped for.

“I argued to get you out of here,” Dinah says, twirling nervously with her braid, “but everyone else pointed out that it wouldn’t do much good to rescue you if the entire world was going to end up like the Nether.”

“I have to say I agree with that,” I say. “I’m not fond of the idea of having to whisper the rest of my life.”

“It would be torture,” Dinah adds. “But I do have a message for you, from Blaise.”

“Blaise?” I practically rear back. “Tell me you don’t trust her.”

“Well, I wasn’t particularly inclined to, to be honest.” My sister blushes, as if it betrays a character flaw that she actually held a less than favorable opinion of someone. “But Kiran—”

“You’ve seen Kiran,” I breathe.

Dinah nods, though cautiously.

“How is he?”

Sorrow lines Dinah’s eyes, but something else, too. Something like hope. “It’s honestly probably a good thing he doesn’t have his Flame right now. He really misses you, Asha. And blames himself for what happened.”

I grunt. “He should be blaming Blaise. Not trusting her.”

“Well, he did almost kill her, if that’s any consolation.”

It was, sort of. “So what’s her message?”

“She says Piper—you’ll know who she is, though I thought she was from some of the Old Magic’s stories when I first heard about her—has a way to lure the Others back to the Rip. Apparently, being at the location of the Rip enhances her powers, and she thinks she can call to them, even from that far away. But she can’t do it so long as Az controls them.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know how to break his control. He’s been taking a draft that makes it where he doesn’t have to sleep. And I hardly have any worthwhile magic now that Az burned the scrolls behind the library fireplace.”

A look of disgust overtakes Dinah’s face.

“Oh, he has just gotten out of hand, hasn’t he?” Dinah says, the appropriate reaction for when your childhood role model and friend goes rogue, uses you as leverage, stages a coup, and traps your sister as his forced bride.

“Did Blaise offer any ideas as to how I might sever Az’s control?” I ask.

“From the tone you get when you talk about her, I would have thought you were asking so you could do the opposite.”

“I am not. Though I am considering it.”

Dinah sighs, long-sufferingly. “She thinks it’s taking him a fair amount of concentration to keep them under control. Blaise thinks if we can distract Az thoroughly, it will give Piper the opportunity to wrestle away his reins.”

“Distract him?” I ask, dryly. “And did Blaise have any suggestions for how I might do that?”

Dinah’s expression darkens. “She seemed to think you would know.”

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