A Glimmer on the Blade
Page 46
“Yes, but I wasn’t there for him. I pushed him away,” Anoni said in a strangled voice.
She couldn’t let it go, he thought. Corinado continued the eulogy, saying words he had told no one. Not the clergy, not the other Dragons. He thought she would understand. “Corin found ruins in the heart of the island. He went inside in the dark and the roses bloomed around him. They sang to him and he knew that was why he had been sent.” Corinado could see it again, the breathless beauty of the thorny vines. “He found a branch and broke it free from the tree. It was then that the enemies came out of their hiding places. He could have run. He stood instead.” He pulled her tear streaked face up to look at him. “He stood and fought. And the singing trees came to his aid. They struck down a score of men, all thorns and silver light. He was hurt and taken hostage, but he knew he was not alone. He had never been alone.”
Her eyes widened, searching his face, not quite believing what he was saying. She continued the eulogy. “He was buried in that garden with his sword at his head, like a hero in a tale among the trees. They sprouted over the grave and sang for his soul,” she said, clenching her hand on his.
“They held him, past the darkness. He was not alone. His soul lay in their arms, safe for days. Until a voice called him and like a great raindrop, the world burst,” he said, nodding as she closed her eyes on her tears.
“May the Lady hold him forever, the man Corin Deviida,” she ended the eulogy formally; the last tears following the tracks down her face. “He will be loved and missed.” Anoni sighed out the last of her tension, relaxing back against his chest.
“He will be loved and missed,” he agreed. They stayed there for a long time, breathing in unison, the night birds calling every so often from the canopies of the forest.
People of Terastai
Name/Pseudonym: Title and Position
Anoni Mizrahi/Ryelis Mizrahi: Red Dragon, Scion of the Temple Corinado
Matthias Miliarnes/Corin Deviida: Heir to the Throne / Prince’s Observer
Emperor Ventirus Miliarnes: Former emperor, deceased
Horacio Franco: Imperial Armsmaster and Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard Corps
The Dragons: Bodyguard squad for the emperor
Vansainté Caruda
Yupendra
Wix
Tevix
Nekobashi
Arjent
Giovicci
The Moon Temple: Principal religious sect of Terastai
Alcyenne: Sybil of the Moon Temple, leader of the Temple
Stellys: High Priestess of the Temple, 2nd in Command
Ildiko: Priestess, 7th of the Temple, Librarian
Ammon: Priest of the Temple, Temple investigator
Maximo Bacrese: Student Acolyte
Priya: Student Acolyte
People of Aquillion
Copelia Caruda: Younger sister of Vansainté Caruda
Fadarin Shaiso: Highlord
Markham Shaiso: Fadarin Shaiso’s son
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It's been a long road and so many people deserve thanks.
My family, for reading early drafts and having more confidence in my writing than I did.
My dad, for always fostering my love of language.
Friends: Chelsea Lynn Meiro, Beth Barton, Lisa Ellis Kennedy, for reading, review, and emotional support.
Professor John Haslem, for taking the time to by my advisor on an independent study on editing novels.
Morgan McKay, thanks for jumping the gun. I owe you.
My publisher, Tommy Hancock, for being amazing.
My editor, M.J. Hendry, for making the book better.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel E. Baddorf was born in 1984 in Wheaton, IL, and was raised outside Amboy, IL on a 10 acre farm.
She graduated with honors from Knox College with B.A. in Creative Writing and a minor in Japanese Studies, and went on to study Renewable Energy at Mid-State Tech College in Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
She taught English in South Korea. She was once adopted by a strange old woman for an afternoon of Buddhist temple tours in Fukuoka, Japan. She got lost hiking volcanic craters in Hawaii. She commissioned a coffee beer as part of a co-branding campaign with the Ghost River Brewing Company.
Currently, Rachel spends her days writing for a marketing and communications firm in Memphis, TN. Her nights, she spends writing more sword fights, running 5Ks, and singing loudly along to showtunes.