From Temple Green, it was a downhill trek to the wooden shacks at the edge of Littlewatch. The priests stopped by anyone sitting in doorways, in alleys, those begging on the streets, to give them a parcel of food.
Every now and then, as Aloisia passed out the packages, they would take her hand and utter a blessing, thanking the huntresses for their work. Though she knew what they did was important, it was different seeing it from this angle, seeing how it could directly affect the lives of those they helped.
Finally, they reached the outskirts, their loads a little lighter. Those who lived in the wooden shacks came to their doors, surprised the huntresses were with the priests.
“Lisia! Lisia!” A little girl ran at Aloisia.
She set the boxes down and opened her arms to embrace the child. “Emilya, good to see you again.”
“I’ve been practicing my archery,” Emilya said, giving a toothy grin.
“Excellent, keep it up.” Aloisia gave a parcel to her. “Take this to your ma.”
Emilya nodded and bounded back to her mother, standing in the narrow doorway of their house with two smaller girls hiding behind her skirts.
The children in the street gathered around, and they handed out the parcels to them one by one. Aloisia noticed how the crowd around herself and Kaja was larger, each of them pausing to speak to the huntresses.
Street by street, they moved through the outer district, distributing the food. It surprised Aloisia how far the priests had made their kills spread, enough to feed everyone here, if only for a little while. Enough to lighten the burden, at least.
As they reached the final streets, passing around the last parcels, the sun dipped down towards the horizon, casting shadows across the cobbles. The waves of the Siren Coast burned blood red in the distance.
Aloisia reached for her last package, giving it to a woman not much older than herself.
The woman placed a palm on Aloisia’s cheek. “Bless you, Huntress, for the work you do, for what you provide for us. Thank you.”
Aloisia took her hand in hers. “No, please, do not thank me. It is an honour to serve the people of Littlewatch.”
“Even so. The Chosen Seven deserve thanks, and I would like to extend mine.”
“Then you are most certainly welcome.” She squeezed the woman’s fingers and released her, watching as she walked back to her home where four children waited in the doorway.
Gathering her empty box, Aloisia turned to Kaja.
“Back to the guild then?” Kaja asked. “Well, to the Temple first to get our mares.”
She gave a nod, fatigue wearing on her muscles.
“Thank you both again,” Tristan said, linking an arm through Aloisia’s. “It was definitely faster with you both here.”
They headed back up towards the Temple, the spires slicing the sky like knives high above them. As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, the temperature dropping with it, the world was cast into shadows.
Darkness gathers.
Aloisia halted, chills running down her back like ice against her skin. That voice. Those words.
And death with it.
FIFTEEN
PanicrosewithinAloisiaassheglancedthroughthestreets.Thosewords…WhateverhadkilledBrighdehadsaidthosesamewords.
She tugged her arm from Tristan’s grasp and stumbled along the lane, searching for the source of the chilling voice.
“Lis? Where are you going?” Tristan followed.
“Didn’t you hear it?” She looked between Tristan and Kaja.
“Hear what?” Kaja asked.
