“The Swordslinger?” Kumi raised an eyebrow. “So, the sword you carry is a spirit weapon, like the Depthless Dream?”
I nodded. “Apparently, I’m meant to collect them all. All the Immense Blades.”
“Then, you will have to wield the Depthless Dream. I doubt Father would allow it.”
I shrugged. “Who knows? I might get it back from Horix, and the king will just hand it over. As a reward.”
“I doubt that very much.”
I let the subject slide and moved on to our previous topic. “So, these brides for powerful Augmenters—do they just hang around and wait for their husband to call on them?”
Kumi winked and took the cup from my hands. “They follow the great Augmenters on their travels, going to places of danger and excitement with them. They are powerful women in their own right, able to stand against dark forces, to aid heroes in fulfilling their destinies.”
“I’m not even sure what my destiny is,” I admitted. “I just train Augmentation and occasionally fight evil when it’s required of me. You know, nine-to-five stuff.”
“Nine-to-five? You are a peculiar man, Ethan. The things you speak of seem so foreign to me. Where you come from—is it on the edge of the world?”
“Something like that.”
Kumi giggled. “I would very much like to see it one day.”
“That might be difficult.”
“No more difficult than the path of the Swordslinger.”
“So, if I’m to be the Immortal Swordslinger, I need to collect all the Immense Blades and roam the world with a large contingent of beautiful and powerful women?” I laughed. “Are you trying to sign up for that?”
Kumi’s eyes sparkled as she gave me a serious expression. “Perhaps I am.”
I reached for my cup of wine, and my fingers lingered on her hand for a moment.
“But not just yet.” She snatched away the cup from my grasp, lifted it above her head, and finished the contents in one big gulp. “I still don’t know whether you’re worthy of a princess. Perhaps I’ll find out in the coming war.”
An idea formed in my head. A way to grow stronger. The means to defeating Horix.
“If we have the time, we should go to a Vigorous Zone. I’m not sure I’ll have time tomorrow. The way things are going, I’m probably going to have to fight a walking island or something.”
“We could go now, under the cover of night.”
I tapped my belt. “I didn’t bring my blade with me. And you’re not dressed for mud, Princess Kumi, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“You think I’m afraid of getting a little dirty?”
“So, we’ll run out to the marshes together unarmed, toss monsters around with nothing but Augmentation, and then magically appear back at the feast splattered with mud and starsquid guts?”
A cheeky smile tugged at Kumi’s full lips. “You’ve killed two tidal wyrms in the same day. Surely, this is nothing in comparison to your mighty power, Ethan Murphy lo Pashat.”
Kumi’s deal was a hard one to pass up. If Beqai was serious about making a move against the Resplendent Tears Guild and Horix, I’d need all the powers I could get. Sap was useful in a pinch, but I needed something with a bit more punch. If I could enter the spirit realm and defeat the spirit that combined fire and water, then I’d have the edge I’d need. Those Wild-hating bastards who lived in their frozen tower wouldn’t know what hit them.
“You’re on, Princess,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Kumi skipped excitedly to her feet. “You won’t regret this!”
She led me out of the chamber, along a short corridor, and into a stairwell. It spiraled as we followed it down through the rocky foundation of the palace before we emerged onto the cliffside behind a waterfall. A set of steps snaked out below us, through a sheet of falling water and down to the city gates below.
Kumi kissed my cheek in a blur of dark hair and soft warmth and ran down the stairs two at a time. I grinned as I ran after her, down the moonlit trail to the bottom of the palace. Two guards stood watch at a gate barring the way out.
“Let us through, please!” Kumi shouted as we got close.
The guards jolted in surprise as they turned to see Kumi and I bolt down the staircase. They saw Kumi’s face, snapped to attention, and one hurried to unbolt the gate.
The gate swung open just as Kumi reached it. She ran out into the street, and I pushed to keep up with her. Her bare feet and my sandals slapped against the cobbles and then the dirt streets as we headed away from the heart of the city.
The princess looked back over her shoulder at me, laughed, and increased her pace. I ran faster, determined to keep up with her and not let her leave me behind. I reached out and tapped her on the bare skin of her back as I drew level with her. Kumi put on a final burst of speed as we took a hard corner and hit the final road out of the city.
A barricade of farm wagons and spare planks barred our way. Guards stood around it and watched the marshes beyond. They looked perturbed as we approached, their faces cast into strange shadows by the light of a single oil lamp.
Kumi didn’t even slow as she approached the makeshift wall. Instead, she leaped, landed with one foot on a cart, and propelled herself up to the top. I matched her movements, and for a moment, we both stood on the top of the barricade to look out across the mist-wreathed marshes.
White clouds of mist closed around us as we left the banquet and Qihin City behind.
Chapter Eighteen
Kumi and I ran along a trail of logs into the marshland. A huge moon bathed the Vigorous Zone in pale light as I followed my beautiful
