“Good luck.” Senera paused and smiled at Janel. “You know, it was kind of fun at the end. Tell Thurvishar thanks for saving my life.” She summoned a portal for herself and ran through, tossing something to the side just before she did.

Senera’s final words sent a chill through Janel. She crawled over to where Senera had left and felt around on the ground, looking for what the woman had discarded.

Her hand closed on half a twig.

“No.” It couldn’t be the same twig. She had that twig. Janel fished under her bodice and pulled out the stick.

It was broken.

Janel had spelled the branch to resist breaking. Her falling to the ground wouldn’t have done it.

Then she realized what Senera had done. What Senera must have done.

There had never just been two branches. There had been three. Senera had anticipated Janel confiscating the twig. So Senera had enchanted a twig of her own, sympathetically linked to the other two. When Senera had broken that, she’d snapped the other two twigs, wood and metal both.3

But why? What could Relos Var have gained by sabotaging his own plan to destroy Morios? It had been his idea from the start, so why would he—?

Janel felt dizzy. She couldn’t count on any of her assumptions being true. What did she know? She knew Kihrin had Urthaenriel. She knew Senera had signaled Qown. She knew Kihrin was seconds from destroying another Cornerstone, assuming he hadn’t already.

What she didn’t know: what would actually happen. Destroying the Stone of Shackles had released the demons, after all …

Janel looked around. The army was in disarray, the survivors of Morios’s attack gathering the injured and dead. She saw her father—he’d survived—off in the distance in a yelling match with a green-robed D’Aramarin royal.

Milligreest would have a fast way to reach Tyentso. She’d just order him to—

Janel stopped herself. She couldn’t order Milligreest to do a thing. Khorveshans might not understand idorrá and thudajé, but they sure as hell understood chain of command. High General Milligreest knew who was in charge: himself.

Janel put her hand on her leg and concentrated on pulling in enough tenyé from the surrounding ground to heal her broken bone. Suless had taught her the trick of it. It hurt like someone putting a torch to her bare skin, but it worked fast.

She jumped to her feet. “General Milligreest!” Janel yelled. “High General Milligreest, I need your help!”

The high general paused in the middle of his confrontation with the High Lord Havar D’Aramarin. “Yes?”

“We’ve been tricked,” Janel said. “Senera and Relos Var have tricked us. The emperor has to contact Thurvishar—tell him to stop Kihrin from shattering the Cornerstone. Before it’s too late. Please, sir, I’m begging you.”