“You did?” Loren said, shocked. “I thought that was a dream.”
“It wasn’t; you can trust me on that. I heard a scream and I thought you were in trouble, so I rushed back to the gates as quickly as I could.” Kae paused, smiling at the memory. “You were facing the queen down alone, Loren. Unarmed, outnumbered, but you did it anyway. Why?”
“I don’t really know. I saw her and Seraphis coming for me, and I all I could think of was that I had to fight for someone. I had to fight, to protect those I loved. I thought of…” Loren trailed off. Her gaze flittered towards the huntress’s face. She took in Kae’s olive skin, watched the wisps of hair that framed her face, unwilling to be caught and tamed by the huntress’s ponytail. Loren saw small scars on Kae’s skin, old and silvery in the light, trophies of hunts and scrapes with game throughout the years in the Kilrough Forest. Loren caught sight of Kae’s dark eyes and the smile in them. The huntress smiled knowingly back.
The two rode on in silence for a while. Their horses walked very close together, much closer than the animals themselves would have liked. Once Kae regained some confidence in riding, she reached out to Loren, brushing her fingers against the back of her hand. The princess’s hand uncurled from the reins and held Kae’s hand instead. The two smiled at each other, no further words needing to be said.
The continued down the road towards Hardwick at a slow and easy pace, relaxing with the peaceful countryside after the harrowing time in Sagna. It was only once the sun was beginning to set that Loren looked behind her.
The trail of Aldoran soldiers struggled through the heat of the lands east from the Kilrough Mountains. The men had long ago taken off their heavy plate and mails, and threw them into a pile in the back of several wagons. Still, the men walked on foot for miles in the lingering heat of the Sagnian territories. Loren looked back at the lagging men, concerned.
“Warmaster! Spymaster!” Loren called towards the front of the line. The two Masters turned and looked in unison, spurring on their horses to turn back.
“What is it, my lady?” Warmaster Sairus asked. His ears twisted and turned, trying to catch every possible sound and search for danger.
“The men are exhausted.” Loren said, gesturing behind her.
Warmaster Sairus looked past the two women, past Kaiten and Cassendir chatting animatedly on their own, past Ma’trii struggling to haul himself up into the back of a wagon, and towards the men. Many were weak and lagging behind. But those who were still strong enough to assist their brothers, did. The soldiers of Aldoran had taken it upon themselves to look after their own, supporting those who were limping, and loading those unconscious from the heat into the back of the wagons. The Warmaster smiled.
“You need not worry, my lady.” The panther Beastman said kindly. The pointed up towards the path where the trees parted at the top of the hill. The paved road disappeared over its crest. “Spur on your horse and look above the hill. I am sure your heart will be eased.”
Loren and Kae shared a look. Reluctantly they let go of each other, wrapping their hands around their horse’s reins and leading them up to where the Warmaster told them to look. As they passed, the Spymaster’s eyes trailed the path of their hands, their eyes, their smiles. With a chuckle, Isran nudged Sairus in the side, and raised an eyebrow. He flicked his eyes towards the girls in answer to Sairus’s confused stare.
The panther’s mouth dropped into an ‘o’.
“Do you think the king would approve?” Isran whispered to the Warmaster.
“Perhaps so. They seem very happy together.” Sairus whispered back. “Without each other, I doubt they would have made it this far. Or if they would have survived their journey at all.”
“Do you think the queen would approve?”
At that, the Warmaster made an uncertain noise, almost as if he were choking. “The queen does concern herself with successors and the law…” Sairus shrugged his armor plated shoulders. “We can only hope that she does. The princess finally looks joyful and unburdened.”
“Yes.” Isran sighed as he watched the two girls crest the hill ahead of them. “The last I recall seeing our lady so carefree was—“
“—When she was a child, urging us to play fight for her amusement.” Sairus finished. He smiled, recalling the fond memory. “You gave her cherry candies back then too, Isran.”
“As I always do, my brother.” The Spymaster laughed. “As I always do.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
Loren slowed her horse’s walk as she reached the highest point of the hill. The setting sun’s gentle light lit up the treetops of a forest that stretched to the north as far as the eye could see. Far in the distance were the snow-capped mountains of the northern lands, their mountain peaks blending with the Kilrough Mountains that were the wall between the west and the east. The Kilrough Mountains themselves were so close, Loren could see the darkened holes that dotted the mountainside she knew were caves. A large town, bustling with small, squat buildings huddling close together with streams of smoke reaching into the air from their chimneys, was settled in the shadow of the mountains.
Running right through the town was a wide road, paved with flat stones. The road itself cut through a section of the mountains, carved right out of the rock by many years and even more strong men. Loren gasped at the sight of it.
“The Imperial Highway?” she
