The girl opened the tent flap, and inside were several men. I held myself stiff, and Vox gripped my hand, placing me tightly between him and Hayle.
“Heir Hanovan, we felt your magic and thought perhaps you might be in need of some aid,” an older man said. His hair was ratty, and he was dirty, but there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn’t the usual down-on-his-luck camp-dweller.
That was confirmed when both Iker and Lierick went over and hugged the man. “It’s good to see you, Stellen.”
“Your father isn’t going to be happy you announced it like that,” the man murmured, and Lierick shrugged.
“Desperate times.”
Stellen nodded. “Indeed.” He wrinkled his nose. “No offense, Heir Hanovan, but you smell fucking awful.”
Lierick laughed, and it made me relax infinitesimally. “I have no doubt. If you have a change of clothes, I’d appreciate it.”
I moved toward Zier, who was resting on the ground. His neck was mottled black and red, making me worry that they might’ve done some serious damage. Squatting down in front of him, I looked closely at the skin. I wished I was a healer, or even that Acacia or Viana were here with their Twelfth Line remedies. They’d know what to do.
“Don’t look so panicked, Avalon. I’m okay,” he croaked out, and it sounded so painful that I wanted to cry.
I licked my dry lips, holding back the emotion that threatened to consume me. The adrenaline was still pumping in my veins, pushing me closer and closer to a breakdown. “I’m sorry we were almost too late.” I was sorry for so much more than that, but if I got started, I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop.
He lifted a hand, stroking my hair back from my sweaty face. “You came, and that’s all that matters.”
“Your Barony… Eaglehoth—” I stuttered out.
He gave a solemn shake of his head. “They know what to do. I prepared Ivo and Kyler for a time where they’d have to step up as interim Barons. This isn’t your fault, or even his,” Zier said, gesturing to Lierick. “Things were always going to get worse before they could get better.”
I nodded slowly. It didn’t mean that it was okay, or that I had to like it.
The girl with the braids appeared beside me, holding out a skirt that was so like the ones I used to wear back in Rewill, it was almost nostalgic. It had been so long since I’d worn a skirt.
Epsy slid from the bag as I placed it on the ground, running up my pants and rubbing his soft fur on my face. “I’m okay. Are you okay? I know that was a lot of running.”
Epsy chittered, but didn’t say anything more as he ran around the small tent. He was taking his role as sole animal companion very seriously.
As I shucked off my gross pants, Zier averted his eyes up to the ceiling. Modesty was probably useless at this point. I’d almost seen an innocent man be murdered; I was fairly sure that my naked legs wouldn’t be the most scandalous thing that happened today.
Still, Hayle let out a low, threatening noise until everyone else was staring at the ceiling. Rolling my eyes, I dragged the skirt on quickly.
Lierick chuckled softly. No one had needed to look at the roof when they’d changed their pants. Double standards. “Tell me what news there is from home,” he said quietly to Stellen.
Stellen looked almost excited. “They’ve made it around Eaglehoth and have dropped off a large contingent of soldiers at North’s Edge. They’ve gone home. The rest sit in the Alutian sea, in front of Freeman’s Cove. They’re awaiting their orders.”
“My father?”
“Aboard the warships. There is word that he is in talks with the Baron of the Seventh Line to allow them to dock off Bine.”
“And the plan?”
Stellen shook his head. “Obsolete now after your little… announcement.”
If Lierick was chastened about that, he didn’t show it. He straightened, shaking the spy’s hand. “Thank you, Stellen.”
“It’s my honor, Heir. We are ready to return home now. The end is in sight.”
I didn’t think it was. I felt like it was all just beginning.
The girl with the braids led us from the tent, and we walked just a little behind her until we ended up near the western gates. She picked up a basket of apples from a vendor in the market stalls that crowded the entrance to the city, and walked over to the guards.
The girl was beautiful, but not in a memorable way. It was hard to explain; it was like she was plain until she turned her sparkling eyes toward you, and you got transfixed by her pouty lips and her cute freckles. But those weren’t attributes that would make sense if you were describing her to a guard.
