Queens of Mist and Madness (Fae Isles, #4)

by Lisette Marshall

She nodded, tapping the hilt of the short sword on her back. ‘She’s called Mercy.’ A healer’s sword, intended to bring death only when it was the kindest option left. I swallowed, nodded, and glanced at Hallthor, who jutted a thumb at the sword standing against the wall in the corner of the room. ‘Whisper.’ Ah, yes. The rarity of an even-tempered alf – a quiet male raised in a world of raucous chaos. I turned back to Tared, rubbing my face with my free hand, and said, ‘Does Lyn have her own sword, too?’ ‘Oh, yes, of course.’ He grinned. ‘You just won’t see her wielding it for a few years. It’s about as tall as she is right now. It’s called Kenaz.’ I frowned. ‘Kenaz?’ ‘It’s a rune. Symbol of knowledge.’ ‘Oh.’ Lyn and her books – what else could she reasonably have come up with? ‘Of course.’ ‘See?’ he said, crossing his legs with the air of a male who’s made his point. ‘That’s what you’re looking for – that name that will make everyone around you nod and say, yes, of course this is what Em would have chosen. As I said, you’ll know.’ ‘So why Heartfall, then?’ I gestured half-heartedly at the weapon on his back. ‘It sounds more obsessed with merciless triumph than you usually are – is there some scandalous past of yours that I'm missing?’ Ylfreda laughed before he could answer. ‘It's named after a sword from a story.’ ‘Some people,’ Tared immediately shot back, with the sort of tired amusement that proved this was far from the first time a disagreement had arisen on this parti...