That had been too close.

  As the night wore on, Nora sat on the edge of the mattress she was sharing with Evie. Moonlight filtered through the lone window on one wall, casting long silver beams across Nora’s new sword, and she studied it as Evie slept soundly on the other end of the bed.

  It was, for lack of a better phrase, absolute garbage.

  She was grateful, of course, to have a weapon. Armed was always the best way to enter a battle, even if the weaponry was subpar, and her gratitude for finally having a sword wasn’t going anywhere. Its blade glinted in the moonlight, sharp enough to cause some damage. It did not, however, have any enchantments on it whatsoever, and that was a far cry from what she was used to when wielding Wavebreaker.

  Still, it was better than nothing. At least this would give her something to use while she hunted for something better.

  With her and Evie finally safe, she lowered her guard and lost herself in thought.

  Lyla had gotten so close. To make matters worse, that woman and her squad had brought along a siren of their own. The implications of that made Nora's blood run cold.

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  If Lyla and the Fateweavers discovered them now, they were as good as dead.

  Nora’s newfound team had moved as one, with Nora and Evie at its center. Nora had counted down the paces in her head, each step of Lyla's approaching group feeling like a hammer blow to her heart.

  She had held her breath, praying to any god who would listen that they would simply pass her by.

  Nora and Evie had gotten lucky. If Lyla had been paying even a little more attention—or if their siren had started to sing—they would’ve been caught.

  Now, hours later, Nora exhaled slowly, the tension of that moment still lingering in her muscles. They had escaped detection, but she wondered how long their luck could last. Tomorrow, the tournament would begin in earnest, and she somehow found herself in the middle of a death zone to work a job for someone she’d never met.

  This was insane.

  She rubbed her tired eyes and set the sword on the floor, ready and waiting in case someone broke in during the night. Exhausted, she laid back on the mattress and drifted off to sleep.

  The nymph on the lake had given her a new direction, but it had been so vague. She had no idea what the immortal woman even wanted her to do, much less what powers the orb had granted her.

  As far as Nora was concerned, her purpose right now was to protect Evie as they did what the stars asked them to do.

  Which, apparently, meant following Cade Stormhollow around while he rustled up chaos.

  “Yay,” she muttered dryly.

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