Shadows of Asphodel Box Set: The Complete Trilogy by Karen Kincy

Author:Karen Kincy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Karen Kincy
Published: 2018-03-13T06:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Margareta stared at Ardis in silence. The corner of her mouth twitched.

“You won’t have to prove yourself to me,” she said. “Report to Natalya in Prussia.”

Ardis exhaled. “I won’t disappoint the archmages.”

Margareta stood and shook Ardis’s hand. She had a firm grip.

“One small thing before you go,” the archmage said.

Margareta slid open a drawer and took out something long wrapped in cloth. She set it on the desk and meticulously unwrapped the cloth. A sharkskin scabbard held a sword with a red tassel dangling from its pommel.

Ardis’s breath caught in her throat. “Chun Yi.”

Ardis gripped the sharkskin hilt and drew her sword in one sweep. The steel ignited with a rush of golden fire. She felt the flames not as heat, but as an electricity in the palm of her hand that hummed through her bones.

Margareta eyed the sword with wary curiosity.

“It arrived an hour ago from Bulgaria,” she said. “It’s a pity I didn’t have more time to examine the enchantment. Quite old, quite odd magic. Perhaps, in the future, you might lend it to the archmages for study.”

Ardis sheathed her sword. “Perhaps.”

“Good luck in Prussia,” Margareta said. “Try not to damage any prototypes.”

Ardis sensed an unspoken, “This time,” since they had brought a prototype into battle without permission from any of the archmages except Konstantin. Still, that couldn’t be too damning if Ardis had her job back.

“Thank you,” Ardis said again.

Margareta granted her a rare smile. “Teach those Russians a lesson.”

“I will, ma’am.”

Ardis walked out the door with her scabbard in hand. Outside the office, she buckled it to her belt and adjusted it so it hung just right. She strode down the hallway with her head held high. Wendel and Konstantin waited by the doors. They loitered an arm’s length from each other, uneasy in each other’s company.

“I take it things went well?” Konstantin said.

“Brace yourself,” Ardis said. “She assigned me to be an Eisenkrieger test pilot in Prussia. I’ll try not to scratch your babies.”

Konstantin laughed, though he winced with his eyebrows.

“I trust you more than most,” he said.

Wendel feigned innocence. “Don’t look at me.”

Ardis pushed through the doors to the outside. Snow whirled into her face and tossed her hair, but it couldn’t blow the grin from her face.

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