Page 16 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“Sure, but what does it have to do with us?” Tessa asked. “This sounds like a job for Her Majesty’s diplomats or the Royal Guard. We just run an orphanage in Drakorum.”

“Excuse me, we literally took down an evil governor last year,” Arowyn countered.

“I’m so glad you asked, Tessa,” Nox said with a cunning grin.

“I’m not,” Milo said. “I don’t like that look.”

Nox ignored him. “The empress brought it up with the board of governors at our last meeting, and I had an excellent idea.”

I groaned and closed my eyes. We had heard that before.

“An idea that you in particular will be interested in, Everett,” Nox added.

My eyes snapped open in curiosity. “What is it?”

“I think you should go,” he said.

I furrowed my brow. “Go where?”

Arowyn swatted me on the shoulder. “I think he means the Triad Realm.”

I blinked. “Me? Why?”

Instead of responding, Nox gave me a pointed stare. There was only one reason he would be pushing for this, only one reason he thought I would be the perfect person for the job.

My lips parted. “You think Vera’s there.”

A wave of understanding spread across the workshop. It made sense. If she was up there with no magic and no way to contact us, that could be why we hadn’t found her yet. She could be hurt, for all we knew. Or imprisoned again.

Or worse.

But this is a huge risk, another voice inside my head said. My logical side was constantly at war with my emotions, thinking through every worst-case scenario. We knew next to nothing about the Shattered Spine or how to cross it. And we had even less information on the inhabitants of this Triad Realm. This could be a ploy. Some sort of international play for power. I might find myself dangerously in over my head trying to weave political relationships when all I cared about was finding Vera.

Doesn’t that make it all worth it?

Nox tilted his head. “So, what do you say?”

I took a breath. “If she’s truly up there, then she’s all alone.” I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking about her stuck in a foreign land with no way to reach us. “I know it’s risky, but this might be my only chance to find her.”

Kieran crossed his arms. “Everett, I admire your heroism, but this is not simply an excuse for you to pursue your scavenger hunt. It’s an ambassadorship. What experience do you have with diplomatic negotiations?”

“I’d say quite a bit, dealing with all of you,” I said dryly. Devora snorted so loud, she coughed.

“Rude,” Arowyn said.

“You will be representing our empire in an entirely new world,” Kieran went on. “That means sitting in meetings about trade routes or tariffs, handling their leaders with delicacy and deliberation. You will not have free rein over⁠—”

“I understand what it means, Kieran,” I said. “I’m a quick study. Show me a book, and I’ll read it. Give me as many lessons in diplomacy as you want. But if that’s the only thing in my way, it’s not enough. What if something’s wrong? What if Vera needs us?”

“I’m not attempting to stop you,” he said. “I’m saying, perhaps someone else should accompany you. Someone with more experience.”

“Once again, I’m glad you said that, Kieran,” Nox said, clapping the stag Shifter on the back. “Because you’re going with him.”

Kieran pursed his lips. “I should have seen that one coming.”

“Look at you two,” Tessa said with a grin. “Our little world travelers. But what about the Keep? You’ve been making such good progress with the kids, Ev.”

That part was hard for me to let go. I cared deeply about these children. I would never want them to think I was abandoning them, but it would only be for a short while, and it wasn’t as if I would leave them all alone. “We have other Illusionists on staff that can help, and Devora is more than capable of running the children’s center while I’m gone.”