Crescent (Book 1)

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My hair is matted to my cheeks, drenched in sweat, by the time we're finished. It doesn't matter that we're outside in the icy winds of a winter storm. My face is red with exhaustion.

Knife wielding requires much more strength and balance than I thought. Saren taught me the three basic maneuvers to dodge someone with a knife, and all of them require a braced core- and controlled continuous movement. At this point, my form is sloppy, but I do anything to get away from the madwoman Saren becomes with a blade in her hand. A highly trained madwoman at that.

"We're done for the day," she wipes a tiny bead of sweat from her brow, and I smile through my panting. At least she has to work a bit to beat me up now. "I suggest reviewing your notes before diving back into the lion's den."

I make a face, leaning against the bough of a fallen tree in the snow. A thick stack of parchment slaps down next to me, but I know what it is without having to look. The files on the ambassadors- all information I can recite with my eyes closed by now. But a particular dark-haired male flashes in my memory, and I sit on the edge of the log as Saren lets her red hair loose, taking the spot opposite me.

"I don't know whether they were worse or better than I imagined. Better probably." My heart still picks up in memory of last night.

"You only say that because you don't have to sit through their tiresome debates on diplomacy." She gives me a pointed look when I leave the papers untouched.

She gets to sit in on the meetings? I jump at the idea of knowing. "What do they talk about?"

Another pointed look and she taps the files and casually leans back, arms flexing over her head as she rests against a few of the tree's thick branches. "Practice first. Tell me."

I sigh as I recite from memory: "Lord Dormer and Lady Erin. They rule over Nexus. Famous for herbs, spices, timber. They control the largest fleet in the six realms."

Saren nods, eyes shut now. "And their ambassadors?"

"Anton and Conroy."

"Who else?"

"Lord Carter and Lady Rhiannon rule Ireodran. Famous for their arts, music, and mineral fuels. Oil. As for Lord Cherith and Lady Sely in the South, they trade heavily in slaves," I spit the last word. Saren seems unphased. "In the West, Lord Hugue who rules Osthen. His wife recently passed and left a suspicious amount of silver, gold, and iron."

Saren smiles. "Along with other precious gems."

"Then there's here..." I think back to what Ceth has told me about Vervale, but ultimately, I draw a blank. Gems, jewels... What else?

"Spices and weaponry," she answers my silent question. "What about the last realm?"

"Lord Brennan of Glalas. The only other Lord with no lady..."

When I pause, Saren interrupts. "The oldest of the six high lords and no known heir. A mad-man really."

I want to ask what she means, but Saren lazily taps her foot as she silently waits for me to continue. I clear my throat. "Famous for production power and technology because of its closeness to the mortal realms."

She seems pleased. "You did study." Which is why it's odd that I didn't recognize Gabriel Caldwell. I cock upright and she peaks an eye open as I leaf through the files until I find what I'm looking for. My eyes settle on it. Lord Brennan's section; Thayer Astley and Gabriel Caldwell- Ambassadors to Glalas. "One of the ambassadors you forgot," she finishes for me. "It's not uncommon for ambassadors to change, especially when a realm is in such chaos."

That catches my attention. "What do you mean? Because of Lord Brennan?"

She erects upright, clapping her hands together. "We've got to get you back before today's meeting lets out. You know the rules." No one can see me down here.