The Broken Blades Trilogy, #3
Three Shattered Souls
by Mai Corland
Contents
Chapter Forty-Three
Overview
Tiyung receives a coded warning and funds from his mother, adopts an alias, and lodges in Tamneki. Overhearing Hana courting bounty hunters, he confronts her and learns she had betrayed him to serve Count Rune’s plan to aid Sora. Hana claims she’s severed ties and deduces the fugitives are on Gaya, giving Tiyung a crucial lead.
Summary
Tiyung hurries through monsoon-soaked Tamneki to the central messenger house, hoping for word and support. He receives a coded letter and fifty gold mun from his mother. Deciphering it, he reads her plea to avoid Qali, return to Gain, and stay clear of King Seok’s schemes amid internal and foreign plots, noting Joon still lives. Tiyung burns the letter, deciding he cannot abandon Sora and the others.
He checks into the Fountain Inn under the alias Duri of Gain. While waiting, he overhears a familiar laugh and spots Hana—now using the name Tria—flirting with a loose-tongued official. From their talk, Tiyung learns of a massive bounty for the fugitives, payable only if captured alive, and senses Hana has just deduced the group’s location.
Tiyung follows Hana through a servant exit and pins her against a wall at knifepoint. Confronted, Hana admits she set him up “to help Sora,” revealing she had worked for Count Rune after escaping Seok, first as an assassin and then a spy. Rune, claiming an insider, aided Sora’s group at the price of sacrificing Tiyung, whom Hana expected to be kidnapped or killed on the Palatial Road.
Hana insists she’s no longer working for Rune and proposes helping the fugitives. Despite her betrayals, Tiyung hesitates to kill her, weighing her usefulness. Pressed for the group’s location, Hana whispers her deduction: they are on Gaya, handing Tiyung a decisive lead.
Who Appears
- TiyungNarrator in Tamneki; receives coded funds and warning from his mother, adopts an alias, confronts Hana, and learns the fugitives are likely on Gaya.
- Hana (alias Tria)Operating under a false name; flirts for information, admits betraying Tiyung for Count Rune’s aid to Sora, and deduces the group is on Gaya.
- Tiyung’s motherSends a coded letter and money, urging Tiyung to avoid Qali and return to Gain due to Seok’s instability and looming threats.
- Count RuneOffstage manipulator; aided Sora’s group and used Tiyung as the price of that help, per Hana’s confession.
- Young official/guardLoose-tongued contact at the inn; discusses the bounty and pursuit, prompting Hana’s deduction about the fugitives’ location.