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"But soed"

"This ruby, Kaede I never heard of it My father never spoke of it Nothing is written about it in the royal records except to record its being in the treasury for at least two hundred years It’s listed as the dragon’s heart I think a third king, the regal third, the sword’sthis ruby to hi? What if you’re the sword’s man? You said it was a sword that turned your hair white Perhaps a threat approaches here, and you need the ruby to withstand it Solon, you can’t leave Not on soh she still sat in his lap, she was rigid, fear and anger rising in her

Two fears deriding The words were suddenly crystal Damned prophecies could always be interpreted at least tays, and usually both were correct

"Kaede," Solon said, "there’s a garrison called Screauards the pass between Cenaria and Khalidor Dorian and I were there last fall Dorian was unconscious ain One day he woke screaot it for him and alked up into the hills to a stunted black oak Dorian toldand that she would teold and used it to cover his eyes and ears and s and askedhim to the black oak I wrapped him in blankets and left The cos I wanted to leave, but I took too long, so I had the lore vyrden, but before the men could blindfold me or block my ears, She came"

"Khali?"

He stared into the distance "I sawthemselves off the wall I saw a ht was real, I saw you I tried to go to you, but the ropes saved h and made sure everyone was dead If a body hadn’t fallen on , they would have killed od should I offer sacrifices for saving your life?"

"None It was a coincidence A lazy soldier who didn’t clean the blood fro weather and couldn’t draw his sword"

"While you just so happened to be praying," she said "That’s quite sohly than he meant to "That’s what a coincidence is Anyway, sorry, when I went to Dorian’s black oak, he was gone His tracks lead north, toward Khalidor, but I couldn’t follow I had to see you Nothing else ned on with a captain whose last run of the year was to Hokkai"

"So this is why you believe Dorian’s prophecies," she said

"This is the dragon’s heart, Kaede I’ lives or dies by what I do with this"

"What are the two fears?" she asked quietly

"My fear of Khali andthe truth The latter was the fear that cost Regnus his life I feel like I’ve been given a second chance, first to speak honestly with you, and second to face Khali again ‘Broken north, broken you, re broken inside, Kaede I thoughtyou would fix it, and I can’t tell you how happy I’ve been, and how much I want to stay here forever, but there’s a part of me that still whispers ‘coward’"

"Coward? You’re Solon Stormrider! You braved the winter seas You put down a rebellion single-handedly You resisted a goddess How are you a coward?"

"Dorian needed me when he went into Khalidor He’s probably dead because I didn’t go Regnus is dead because I wouldn’t risk telling him who I was If the prophecy is true, there’s a word I have to speak, a life I can save, and I can be reh? Will there not be ever one ? Will you chase valor until it kills you?"