I examined the camera. My fragmented memories did not offer up anything useful.
Breana took a closer look, too. “Humans are so clever. They make the most amazing things.”
“We can snap a shot of the runes,” Sid said. “Ought to help us out.”
I watched with interest as he fiddled with the camera. I didn’t even see what Breana was up to until she wrapped her hand around the hilt.
“It won’t—” I began.
And then she pulled the sword free from the scabbard. The muscles in her arm bulged as she lifted it, but she was strong.
She frowned when I gaped at her. “What?” Then I saw her remember Tyrez. “I shouldn’t have been able to do that, right?”
Sid stared at us with a mystified expression. “Why wouldn’t she be able to pull the sword out?”
I closed my mouth. “Not everyone can.”
Sid’s mouth straightened. “Do you have a thing about others drawing your sword?”
“No,” I said. “But I thoughtitdid.”
His bushy brows drew down even further. “Do you know how crazy that sounds?”
I met his gaze. “Yep, actually.” I took the sword from Breana. The runes had flashed along the blade when she’d drawn it, but vanished again. I slid it back into the scabbard before handing it to Sid. “Pull it out.”
He handed the camera to Breana and took the scabbard. Moments later, his lips peeled back from his teeth as the sword refused to be drawn, despite his bulging muscles.
The Anisau handed it back to me. I offered it hilt first to Breana, and she gave Sid back the camera, before pulling the weapon free without an issue.
Her eyes were wide. “What does this mean?” she asked breathlessly.
“I have no idea,” I admitted. Which was not entirely the truth. There was a connection between Breana and me—I’d felt it. When I was away from her, I wanted to deny it, to keep her away from my chaos.
But when I was with her—she fit with me, like she was a part of me.
And the sword knew it, too.
That was nonsense. It had to be. But what other explanation was there for her being able to wield it?
“That’s magic, pure and simple,” Sid stated.
Was he right? If he was, why had it selected Breana and myself, but no one else?
“Nothing simple about it.” I rubbed my temple.
He seemed to sense my bewilderment. “There’s likely an answer in these references.”
That would really, really help. “Ready to take a picture?” I asked him.
Breana slid the weapon back home and handed it to me. We waited while Sid fiddled with the camera, finding the right button with his huge fingers.
“Okay, ready,” he said.
I pulled the sword free, and the runes glowed. We had to go through the process multiple times, as there were runes on both sides of the blade, and they only appeared briefly.
Finally, we all sat down while the camera pushed the images out for us to see.
“You ever see runes like that before?” I asked the two of them.
