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Stephen raised an eyebrow, unsure of how much she knew about his furtive escapes to another plane. “I’d like to think so.”
“Also good to hear.” Tirani took a seat beside him, folding her many legs beneath her. “Liora is very dear to me. I’m happy she’s been able to find another companion but, at the same time, I can't help but worry about the two of you.”
He decided she was as trustworthy of a confidant as he was going to find in his new residence. “Is there something to be concerned about? I mean...does he know what we're doing?”
She didn’t ask him to specify who he referred to. “I doubt it. I don’t think he knows she’s been contacting you at night. While he has used the sphere as a source of power before, it’s now Liora’s domain for the most part. He rarely drops by unannounced when he’s home, though I’m afraid he may start doing so after his discovery of you.”
“I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior and not give him a reason to be suspicious when he’s here.” He plopped backward and hugged his knees to his chest. “I already know it’s a bad idea to go looking for her during the day.”
“You’re a smart man.”
“Not smart enough to figure out how to get us out of this mess.” He eyed his new friend with curiosity. “How do you know so much about us, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“As Liora is blocked off from the rest of Marindal, she needs someone to bring her food and other miscellaneous items. Thirvar has entrusted me with this duty.”
“Blocked off?”
“Yes.” Tirani extended two legs and dragged herself closer until she was practically sitting in his lap. “Liora is a special woman,” she whispered. “As I’m sure you know.”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Even when she was younger, she displayed many gifts. She may not be physically strong, but she had astounding mental capacities from an early age. It could take an hour for a man to push a boulder from one side of this field to the other, where it would allegedly only take her a matter of moments.”
“Allegedly?” he repeated. “You don't know for sure?”
She paused. “By the time Thirvar brought her here, he had other plans for her.”
Stephen furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t sound promising.”
“Thirvar is a difficult man. I'm still not clear as to whether he wants to expand his empire as much as possible, or if he merely wants to make people miserable by blazing a path of destruction through everything he touches.” She trailed a set of her claws through the grass as she spoke. “When he first visited her home, he heard the tales of her magical prowess, and he wanted to enlist her in his campaign.”
“And she agreed?” he asked skeptically.
Tirani shook her bulbous head. “This is where I’m not sure of the details. You have to realize so much of what I know is from whispered rumors and the rare occasions Thirvar has taken me into his confidence. I’ve heard several variations as to how she wound up accompanying him. Some say it was a basic kidnapping. Others say he destroyed her home to prove his might to her. He’s never said anything to me about it, and I know better than to ask.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. Why don’t you just ask her what happened?”
“It’s not so easy.” A trace of sadness tinged her voice. “For everyone who ever watched her fight alongside him, it wasn’t difficult to see she would one day be able to overpower him. Thirvar also knew he had left enough victims alive that Marindal could be a constant target of attack. Bringing her back here served two purposes.”
“Liora did mention something about a magical barrier,” he said.
“Right. He realized he could channel her skills into an outlet which would benefit him, via the sphere.” She sighed. “They set up the shield together, and then he erected his own blockade around her house in the forest. When he isolated her from the rest of the world, he also blocked off all of her memories of almost everything that had happened before then.”
His jaw dropped. “She doesn’t remember anything?”
“I really don’t think so.”
He grimaced and buried his face in his hands. “How terrible.” Several silent moments passed while he contemplated all he had learned. “I can’t believe she didn't tell me.”
“Stephen, she doesn’t know.”
He jerked his head back up to look at her. “What?”
“I mean, logically, she knows she must have come from somewhere. But the rest...”
His eyes widened. “You haven’t told her?”
“What purpose would it serve? Isn’t it bad enough she’s trapped by herself, forced to serve a cruel, conniving man, without knowing she once did despicable things by his side? How she may have annihilated hundreds, thousands of people, like he may have done to her own family? I can’t do that to her.” She gave him a sharp poke in the knee. “And I suggest you don’t tell her, either.”
