The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

“I demand to deliver it by my own hands and in private. In his quarters…” She swallowed, squaring her shoulders. “I want him to remember it every time he’s in the solitude of his space.” She felt like a monster saying such a thing, but she had thought of what a monster would say and Elias’s words spilled out.

She was thankful for Havitharon’s oversized clothes to hide the slight tremble in her legs. This could all go wrong. Horribly wrong.

[Soran Nightblade]

A guard on Heirot might have doubted her accusation or questioned her intentions in seeing the Ivis privately. On this world, the guards looked somewhat surprised by her choice of method, but there was no suspicion in the reaction. Instead, their fierce expressions suggested that she had somehow earned their respect. "As you choose, Princess. We will arrange an escort immediately." The guard shut the door again, but the sound of activity and voices outside suggested they were acting on their promise.

Ren was watching with bated breath. "Very well done," he said with soft ferocity when the door had closed. He looked at the box still sitting where he'd dropped it on the floor. "Shit, we need to put that back in the wall." He lurched forward dizzily to confiscate the evidence of their discovery.

[Emora Deen]

“Stay down,” Laurius said, not wanting Ren to hurt himself. He’d just been seizing on the floor, after all. He still had black blood under his nose.

He scooped the box up, snapped the lid shut, and pushed it back into the narrow opening between the bricks. He then bent and grabbed the brick and slowly, carefully wiggled it back into place.

It wasn’t until after he’d wedged the brick into place that Tenara realized she was still holding the silver ring. She tucked the cold, smooth metal into one of Havi’s large pockets.

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren grudgingly accepted Laurius sidelining him. The way his vision swam whenever he moved his head reinforced that he still wasn't in great shape. He rubbed the space between his eyes. It was bad enough that he didn't know how to get them back, but now he was a physical encumbrance as well. If he could just remember that grimoire.

He went suddenly still. The grimoire... it was there. Every page he'd seen, even the ones he hadn't bother to decode, was clear as day in his memory. He squinted at something that wasn't in front of him. "The book. I remember the book!" Then what Laurius had said earlier came to mind. There was no telling if this ability was temporary or permanent. He climbed to his feet and a wave of dizziness dropped him back to his knees. "Paper... I need paper and ink," he panted.

[Emora Deen]

"Will they let us have some?" Tenara asked, going to the only other piece of furniture in the room, a small writing desk. She opened up a drawer, and found what looked to be pale gray, fibrous paper. She searched for a pen of some sort, but only found a cluster of charcoal sticks. "Will this do?"

Laurius bent and gathered Ren, hauling him up from the floor and guiding him into the stiff chair at the desk. "Do not push yourself, and don't worry if it doesn't all come back. Before Havi and I left to find you, I sent word to Tenara's family. If we cannot find our way home, I'm sure they will figure it out once they find the camp and the book."

Tenara imagined her father stomping through the forest, hunting them. Hadn't that been why she left the trail of blood and tattered cloth? And Vardner... She felt ill thinking of the man, as if he'd landed another blow in her stomach the instant he came into focus. She shoved him out of her mind. Narissa had probably burned him along with all of her breadcrumbs... But her father wouldn't stop hunting, and if the camp were still there by the time he arrived, he would put it together. Sinead would help him figure out what spell they'd used...

But, how long would that take? And could they survive here for that long?

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren bent over the paper, his vision swirling the harder he thought about the spell. What if it was wearing off already? The fact he was forgetting to breathe was playing a not-insignificant role in his focus as well.

There was a knock at the door, and he looked up blearily. The escort had arrived.
"Yurivis," he pleaded to Tenara. "Please convince him to lose tomorrow, no matter what. I will find a way to send you home."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara stared into Ren's strange eyes. Convince him. Would he need convincing? She had assumed he would know what he needed to do to be with them—with her.

"Of course," she said, and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and gave a smile. "Havi's probably already thinking of ways to lose with grace." She met Laurius's eyes and hesitated only a moment more before heading to the door.

The only problem Tenara saw with their little plan was the Healer that had been in her room that morning. The one that had explained what Havitharon had done, and how she had, at the time, acted unbothered. As long as no one spoke to her, this should all go fine.