This was probably somewhat alarming to the lone figure who had been sitting on the forest floor, eating a chicken leg.
For that reason, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when he was on his feet in an instant, and suddenly he was armed and I wasn’t.
Ceris landed blade-first in a nearby tree.
And Keras Selyran stood over me, a glimmering silver blade in his hands.
Given the speed with which he moved, I was unclear on whether or not he’d just disarmed me with his sword or with the chicken leg.
His eyes narrowed.
I froze.
He tilted his head to the side. “Wait, aren’t you Corin Cadence?”
I nodded. “Yes?”
And then he laughed, his sword disappearing back into the scabbard at his side. “Oh, Corin. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you immediately. Don’t sneak up on me like that. What are you doing here?”
I let out a sigh.
“That is, I’m afraid, something of a long story.”
Epilogue — Cadence
I told Keras a long story.
Specifically, I told him almost everything that had happened in the last several months.
I didn’t mention anything about the memory crystal I’d watched with him fighting against the Council of Lords. I did not want him to know that my mother was one of the people he’d been fighting.
If Katashi was assigning Keras to watch over me, I wanted to make sure I kept him on my good side. I had no idea how he’d react to the news that she’d been one of the ones attempting to arrest him, but I couldn’t imagine it would be a positive response.
If I survived long enough, I’d have to get a letter to my mother to explain what I knew about the situation. Talking to her in-person would be even better if I could arrange it. We had a lot to discuss.
Keras rubbed his forehead in the aftermath of hearing my tale. Without the mask, he was a surprisingly normal-looking guy. “Sounds like you’ve had a rough few weeks. Uh, want something to eat?”
“You know what? Yeah, I could eat.”
Sera and Derek were both still unconscious. I’d put the rock of regeneration on Sera’s stomach and activated it before getting into my story, and I could tell it was still working on her, but I didn’t know if it would be sufficient to help her lungs.
Keras offered me bread, cheese, and chicken, which I accepted gratefully. We ate in quiet for a while. He seemed content to focus on the food.
After finishing my meal, I shook my head and tried to focus. “So, where are we?”
“We’re near the Edrian border. I’ve been out here for weeks, patrolling for anyone or anything particularly dangerous trying to slip through.” Keras shook his head. “Was doing it as a favor for Katashi. I’m glad you showed up, since it sounds like I’ve been wasting my time.”
I nodded. “Yeah... Unless Jin happens to come by this direction.”
Keras shook his head. “Not likely. From what you told me, he didn’t do anything that’s likely to set off alarms for the local government. You’re one of the only ones who walked out of that room with any information on what he did. He might have just gone back to the school. No one else would know the difference.”
I felt a cutting pain in my chest when I thought about Jin. My fists clenched.
I’d almost killed him. Jin, who’d exaggerated his mysteriousness to fit in. Jin, who’d worn a disguise to steal for me, then asked me to a ball.
He’d probably saved my life at least once, too.
Had I been right to stand in his way?
I’d saved Vera, sure, but what would the consequences be for Jin?
And what about on a broader level? How was Katashi going to react when he discovered what Orden and Vera had been up to?
I’d been trying to avert a crisis, but the long-term results of my actions were impossible to know.
I tried to dismiss that line of thought and focus on the conversation. “Even with Orden and Vera in Katashi’s custody, Orden’s compatriots are still going to be doing those experiments. Jin might head back home to report.”
“If he did, he wouldn’t go through the wilderness in the middle of nowhere. I’m only here because this is a remote location that I’d tracked some Edrian troops to. Jin doesn’t have any reason not to just take a train if he wants to go home.”
I didn’t think there was a train that went all the way into East Edria, but Keras had a point.
I took a breath. Then another. I took a moment — just one — and used it to breathe. For the first time in years, I felt lost.
Not just because of Jin. I still didn’t know what I’d do if I saw him again, but that wasn’t even my biggest concern.
Tristan was alive, and he’d been working with Orden.
Could Katashi have been wrong?
I doubted it. He’d taken that knowledge directly from Orden’s mind.
Maybe I should have asked more questions, but I was just too shocked.
I turned to Keras, exhausted and fighting a wave of helplessness that tried to wash over me. “What do I do?”
The swordsman shrugged. “You push forward. You’ve had a rough time, sure, but you can’t let it break you. You’ve got some loyal friends. There’s no substitute for that. Sounds like you’ve still got a couple of them back at the school that are probably worried about you. We should meet up with them and fill them in.”
I nodded at that. “You don’t have to stay here?”
“Not one minute longer than I have to. I was here because Katashi had suspicions about Edrian manipulation in all this. I’m here on his behalf. If I’m supposed to be guarding you now, that’s a new and frankly far more entertaining way to spend my time.”
“Wait. So you’ve been working for Katashi this whole time?
Keras shook his head. “Oh, no, nothing like that. You remember that time I was fighting him in the tower?”