She took in her surroundings with a distracted expression. The sun had sunk into the horizon while she'd been unconscious, and shadows had lengthened to shroud almost the entire valley except the highest points of the Keep.
She shivered, abruptly noticing how cold it was without the warmth of the sun's rays to cut through the chill in the air.
"Easy there. It looks like you took quite a blow to the head," the female warrior from earlier said. Fiona, Eva thought her name was.
The man with Fiona stood next to the body of one the men who'd attacked Eva and the mythological.
"When Caia returned to camp, we realized something was wrong." Concern was etched on Ollie's face.
"She should be tied up and facing a trial," Jason muttered.
"One more word," Hardwick said, not bothering to raise his voice. He didn't have to, the slight snap to it made his point better than yelling ever would.
"Ignore them," Fiona said with a friendly smile. She was a tall woman. Not exactly pretty, but the force of her personality shone from her gaze which radiated strength and confidence. "Tell us what happened."
"I'm not sure," Eva said, still a little groggy from the blow.
"Maybe they tried to hurt you and you had to defend yourself," Fiona offered, her expression expectant.
"No, well, yes." Eva shook her head. She wasn't making any sense.
Jason scoffed.
Ollie spun toward him, his expression furious. "What did Hardwick say?"
"Jason didn't technically say anything," Eva couldn't help but point out. She shifted, grimacing at the bright spots of pain that shot through her. When she'd fallen, she must have bruised her backside on a rock.
Ollie gave her a look of disbelief. She shrugged at him. Jason hadn't.
"She's right." There was the barest twitch of Hardwick's lips. It might have hinted at amusement—or indigestion. Eva found it hard to tell which sometimes.
"Either way, any more crap from the rest of you and you’ll have to deal with me." When silence answered her, Fiona focused her sharp gaze on Eva. "Explain."
"Yes, they did attack me, but no, I didn't do this to them." The short distraction had been enough for Eva to gather her thoughts.
This situation could go very bad, very quickly. Two men were dead on the ground. Worse, they wore the clothes of the Trateri. Imposters they might have been, but Eva wasn't sure how easy that would be to prove.
"Who else could have done it?" Jason sneered. "You're the only one here."
Fiona rose to her feet and stalked toward Jason. The younger man didn't move before she sank her fist in his stomach. Jason sucked in a sharp breath and curled into himself.
"I dislike having to repeat myself," Fiona said coldly.
She waited as he got his breath back and raised her eyebrow in challenge. Jason's gaze went to Hardwick who simply crossed his arms across his barrel chest and tilted his head in question.
Jason had been warned. Twice. He had only himself to blame for this, and he knew it.
His face darkened as he lowered his eyes.
A horse and rider rounded the boulder. The rider was a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes.
"I checked on the closest sentry. He's dead," he told Fiona without delay.
All eyes swung back to Eva. She gulped, very much afraid this latest death would be laid at her feet too. She had to admit; it didn't look good. From the outside looking in, she might have been tempted to blame her too.
"How about you explain everything from the beginning?" Fiona said, her gaze a little harder than it had been before.
Eva jerked her head in a nod. "They're not Trateri."
