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He’d have died if Petrik and I weren’t there to step in with our magicked weapons.

Kymora is the greatest swordswoman to ever live.

“What do you think Petrik is doing?” I ask. “If—” If Temradidn’t make it. Is he waiting around for us? Is he counseling his brother? Staying close to his mother if she’s still alive?

“If he thinks we’re alive, he’s waiting for us, trying to convince his brother to send men after us. If he thinks we’re dead, he might have returned to the library.”

I sit with that a moment, and then I ask the question that I shouldn’t give voice to. Hope can make truth all the more crushing.

“And Temra, what do you think she’s doing?” I ask, my voice faint.

“I bet a whole team of doctors is forcing her to rest and finish healing as she tries to fight them off and come after you instead.”

That brings a soft grin to my lips. The thought of Temra wanting to come save me warms my heart, but I wouldn’t want her to actuallytryit. The whole point of going to Ravis was to save her. If she were healed only to put herself in more danger…

Kellyn doesn’t say anything more as we travel. He doesn’t initiate conversation, not if he can help it. If I want to talk, I have to start and direct the topic. I can’t tell if he’s silent because he thinks it will make me more comfortable or if he has other motives entirely. Either way, I like that he isn’t forcing me to talk about what happened between us. How he’s keeping things from becoming awkward despite it. And though he’s being more quiet than usual, I don’t call him out on it.

ButIneed to talk about normal things if I’m to stop thinking about what happened and the million questions that come with it. Have I forgiven him for everything? Does he forgive me for everything? Do we just go back to normal now—whatever that is for us? He said he wants me, but maybe he didn’t mean right away, since he hasn’t initiated anything since the kiss.

I blurt, “I miss my hammers.”

“I really liked watching you with those,” he says. “I’m surewe’ll find a way to get them back. Ravis will probably bring them when he invades. Or you could make new ones before he reaches us? I’m sure Skiro will give you the use of anything you want. He seems as fascinated by magic as Petrik is. Must run in the family.”

“Thank goodness none of them possess a lick of it. Can you imagine people in power like that with magic?”

“It would be horrible,” he agrees. He turns to me, as if about to add something.

By the time I register the sound of an arrow flying through the air, it’s already too late.

Kellyn growls in pain, and his horse startles from the noise and the sudden, involuntary pull of the reins. His mare goes up on her back legs, sending Kellyn tumbling to the ground. The mercenary doesn’t move again.

“No!”

I push off my horse without bringing him to a stop, then go to my knees in front of him.

“Kellyn, say something!”

The arrow is protruding from the back of his arm. Blood stains the area, and my hands hover over the spot for just a moment.

A shot to the upper arm, but why isn’t he—

Blood drips down the side of his face.

He hit his head on a rock after the fall. He’s out cold but still breathing.

I register all of this in a second. Then I stand. Lady Killer’s hilt peeks over the top of Kellyn’s back, and I draw the longsword, holding it in both hands before turning around.

I count five of them, dressed in Ravis’s colors.

The party he sent after us didn’t take the road, then. They were smart and picked up our trail.

And they caught up to us.

“Bladesmith,” one of them says, a man with a full beard and thick brow. “King Ravis wishes to speak with you. Put the sword down and come with us.”

As if it weren’t bad enough already that I have to fight while vastly outnumbered. They want totalkfirst.

“Ravis isn’t a king, and he has no authority to command me.” There, that sounded impressive, didn’t it? Maybe, if my voice had managed any sort of bite. It was rather weak sounding.