As before, her guards enter first, surveying the area for threats. I try not to flinch when one of them enters the forge. I’ve left a mess in there. At least it can’t possibly be worse than the state they saw it in last time.

When Kymora enters, her face is unreadable, and I wonder for a moment if she’s come here assuming I didn’t do what she wanted. She eyes the sword on the counter.

“Warlord, it is so good to see you! We weren’t expecting you for another week,” Temra says.

“I finished my business early, and I thought I would check in to see Ziva’s progress.”

Temra turns to me, letting me decide how to proceed.

“This is the weapon here. If you’ll just follow me,” I say, not bothering to look to Kymora to see if she’ll agree. It’s much easier not meeting her eyes at all.

I bypass her guards and step out into the yard. Everyone follows silently. Thankfully, Temra and I have restocked the place for a demonstration.

“Stand back, please,” I say. The warlord crosses her arms over her chest, her face still an unreadable mask.

I raise the broadsword into the air, letting my arms adjust to the weight of it.

“Ziva has created for you a weapon with long-range abilities, Warlord,” Temra says. “The weight might be more than you’re accustomed to, but—”

“Is the smithy unable to talk for herself? Why isn’t she showing me what it can do?”

I flinch at the words. Of course I can talk; I just prefer not to. But if I’m to work for Kymora, I need to be better at talking to her. I remind myself that I like this woman, and she has offered me and Temra a fresh start. I can do this.

I don’t turn around as I say, “This blade can cut through anything, and it has long-range abilities. It’s also quite heavy.” Weighted with my secrets.

Holding the sword in both hands, I swipe across the dummy’s middle. The weapon isn’t even within four feet of its target, but straw flies everywhere, and the top half of the mannequin goes sailing off to the side. Without pausing, I move over to one of the wooden planks and swipe down. The board cracks, and the two ends soar up into the air, while the sword plunges into the earth. I have to keep a sure grip on it to avoid losing it to the soil.

When done, I glance over to Kymora, whose straight face has risen into one of wonder.

“My turn,” she says, holding out a hand.

I grab the sword by the blade and extend it out to her. She takes it and proceeds to demolish what remains in the yard.

She takes out all three still-standing dummies with one swipe. She shatters every plank in the vicinity. Then, she strides over to the run-down, empty coop and takes it apart slash by slash. When there’s nothing left to destroy, she puts herself through some stances, swinging the sword in arcs and lunges.