He needs to not have a spear in his chest. Why is there a spear in his chest? Why would Kymora hurt him? He did nothing. He was innocent. He helped me protect the sword.

She assumed he was harboring you.

You did this.

My fault. Just like everything else.

Kellyn steps in front of me, putting himself between Kymora and me. He and Temra have both taken action, and I’m still standing there. I don’t know what to do.

I watch as the warlord’s horse comes to a stop about thirty feet away, her men halting just behind her. How many of them even are there? Far too many to count. Kymora dismounts, takes a few steps toward Kellyn.

She says nothing. Her face shows nothing. And somehow, the nothing is more terrifying than if she were screaming and raging. She’s unpredictable, and unpredictable people are the most dangerous.

Her eyes find the sword that bears her sigil at the hilt, the falcon wings at the guard.

“What have you done with my weapon?” she asks.

And though this is a confrontation of the worst kind, I find my voice. Because I did something right. The consequence has caught up with me, but what I did was right. “I’ve protected it from you. Only someone worthy can pull the sword out of its iron casing.”

She eyes my creation, her face growing thoughtful. Then, “Could you explain to me why I’ve had to chase you through half of Ghadra? I offered you protection and freedom. Why in the hells would you run and do that”—she points—“to my weapon?”

“Because you were going to use it to enslave all of Ghadra. You would have forced me to make weapons for your soldiers so you could take over the world.”

Kymora bites the inside of her cheek as she thinks. “Someone told you this?”

“The sword did. When you cut yourself on it. I heard your thoughts. It revealed your secrets to me.”

Her brow rises a fraction of an inch. “You really do have a gift. Unfortunately, you seem just as resistant to helping me as your mother.”

Temra steps up beside me, her hand finding mine. I realize I don’t hear the smithy breathing anymore. He must be gone.

And somehow, that pales in comparison to what Kymora has just told me.

Red tinges the edges of my vision. I’m squeezing Temra’s hand hard enough to hurt. She’s shaking beside me. With fear or fury, I can’t be certain.

“Leave, Kymora.” This comes from Kellyn. “I have great respect for what you have done for our kingdom, but your weapon is gone. Trouble us no more. There’s no reason for this to get ugly.”

Kymora turns her gaze to the mercenary. “If you hadn’t aided these two, I might have offered you a position among my ranks. I’ve heard you can do remarkable things with that sword. But you’ve irritated me, and I don’t do well with irritations.”

Kellyn tries again. “There’s no need to fight.”