Horses galloped quickly past the cave. Arturo and Lily remained in place, watching two dozen pursuers rush past. If they had been a few minutes slower, the Swords of Justice would have found them.

  Arturo couldn’t believe how resilient they were. Ever since escaping a few days ago, the Swords of Justice had been hot on their trail. Every time he thought they were too far ahead, they would get discovered and have to run for their lives.

  There was no mercy, not anymore. Archers would fire on them the moment they were within range. Only because of Lily were there no casualties among the Swords of Justice. He wanted to kill a few of them to force them to back off, but that would go against his promise.

  So, he ran and hoped they would get to Carhan. Once he was reunited with his army, there would be no chance for the Swords of Justice to come after him. Another twenty riders rode past a few minutes after the first group.

  “We’ll have to stay here for a bit,” Arturo said and walked deeper into the cave. The horses were tied far inside, and that had been hard. The horses had fought them, for they didn’t want to enter the dark and scary cave. Thankfully, they had been able to get them inside and tied before the pursuers could hear anything.

  “Yeah,” Lily said and took a seat on a rock. She took off her helmet, allowing her golden hair to flow freely. “Hopefully, we can lose them soon.”

  Arturo took his own seat and leaned against the cave. It felt good to relax for a moment. Since escaping, he hadn’t had much time to speak with Lily, at least not without fear of being heard. Now he could ask some questions.

  “Tell me, why did you save me? You had to have known the consequences,” Arturo said.

  Lily didn’t look surprised by the question. “I couldn’t let you die,” she said softly.

  “Because I saved you?” Arturo said, recalling how he killed two members of the Crystal Syndicate, soldiers from his own clan because they tried to rape her. He still found it surprising to see Lily dressed in armor.

  “It’s more than that,” Lily said, shaking her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I owe you for saving me. But you are more than someone who saved me. You’re a good person, I know you are. You didn’t lie to me when you told me what happened in Moontani. If you had, I wouldn’t have saved you.”

  “How do you know?” Arturo asked.

  “Call it a woman’s intuition. I heard nothing but the truth.”

  Reminds me of Mother. Arturo thought. His mother always knew when he was lying, and when he asked how, she would tell him the same thing Lily had. It was a woman’s intuition. There was no point in pushing it, for he would be given no other answer.

  A drip of water hit Arturo’s head, and he wiped it away. He was thinking it might be a good idea to stay the night here and resume their journey tomorrow. Give the Swords of Justice time to get far ahead and lose their trail completely.

  “How did you end up with the Swords of Justice anyway?” Arturo said.

  “I wanted to get strong enough for you to accept my company,” Lily said. She looked uncomfortable, though she didn’t lower her gaze. “When you dropped me off and left, I was angry for a time. Almost getting raped taught me something about myself, and one of those things was that I never wanted to be in a situation like that again. I began to train. I’ll never forget how sore I was, and I kept pushing. A couple of months later, Salamina saw me training with a couple of men. I was winning, and she offered me a position, telling me what the Swords of Justice did and why. I agreed with how they operated and left. I got much stronger and vowed to myself that if I ever saw you again, I would show you I am worthy to fight by your side.”

  That’s dedication—all because I saved her life. Arturo thought. If he hadn’t been so lost, he might have allowed her to join him. At the time, he didn’t know what he wanted to do and wandered aimlessly, until Talin Grad. Losing that fight still haunted him.

  “It’s stupid, training so I could fight by your side,” Lily said. Her face was flushed, and she turned her head to try and hide it.

  “I don’t think it’s dumb,” Arturo said. “I didn’t let you come with me because it wouldn’t have gone well for you. I wasn’t in a good place and needed time to figure things out. From what I saw, you looked good. I can tell you know how to wield your sword.”

  That caused Lily to blush once more, though she didn’t turn away this time. She coughed as if to clear her throat. “Thanks, but I am nowhere near as good as you. I have no doubt if you were to fight Salamina and the others, you would win without breaking a sweat. I’m sorry to ask you to hold back for my sake.”

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  “It’s okay. It sounds like they took care of you. We’ll get out of this,” Arturo said. He grabbed his bag and reached into it. There wasn’t a lot of food, but something was better than nothing. He grabbed a couple of apples and tossed one to Lily. “Eat—you’ll want your strength.”

  “Thanks,” Lily said and took a bite.

  Neither of them spoke for the minute it took them to eat their apples. Arturo felt his stomach grumble and wished he had more food. They’d been living off apples, some nuts, and a single rabbit.

  “What do you plan on doing once we escape?” Arturo asked.

  Lily looked at him as if he was dumb. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going with you, wherever you go. I won’t let you turn me down this time.”

  Arturo found himself laughing. Not too hard, but he should have known. Why he bothered asking, he couldn’t say. Thankfully, Lily looked amused, and he stopped. “Well, I owe you that much at least. You should know that I lead an army of my own, and we will be riding off to war,” Arturo said.

  “War, huh? Who are we going to war with?”

  Not even a little hesitation. Arturo thought. A part of him didn’t want her to experience war, and that surprised him, at least considering how he didn’t mind fighting in battles. “The Durmaddons. The war is coming, and something tells me it’s going to be soon.”

  Things had been too peaceful. His captivity was annoying, but overall, things had been too peaceful in Aidris since the rebellions. Arturo knew what happened when things were too peaceful. Something was coming, and with Kyrad being in Azzellia... What was he doing in Azzellia anyway? Some scouting before launching the first attack?

  This was the first time Arturo realized that Kyrad hadn’t come here with an army. He couldn’t recall hearing about any raids or attacks that weren’t related to bandits. What was Kyrad doing here if he wasn’t leading some sort of attack?

  “Earth to Arturo, you there?”

  “Yeah,” Arturo said. “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

  “I asked if you think the Durmaddons are really alive. I remember hearing about it but not sure I believe it,” Lily said.

  “Oh, they’re back all right. The other prisoner, did you know his name?” Arturo asked.

  “All I heard was that his name was Kyrad. Why?”

  “His last name is Durmaddon. He was part of the invaders who attacked various cities a few years ago and was behind the attack on Talin Grad.”

  “I knew about Talin Grad; that’s why he was captured. But you are saying he is a Durmaddon?” Lily said.

  “Yes. I fought him at Talin Grad. I was about to die when he told me his name. Thankfully, I lived and was able to tell others, and that is how his name got out,” Arturo said.

  “I’m ready to assist in any way that I can,” Lily said.

  “Have you taken a life?” Arturo asked. He remembered the first men he killed. The invaders at Arindall. He recalled the adrenaline and shock he went through, along with the blood and smell. Images of his mother on the ground, screaming while two men tried to take her clothes off. He couldn’t have asked for better kills. He had no doubts he made the right decision, and he would kill them again if given the chance, for they took his mother away from him.

  “No, I—I haven’t had to,” Lily said, her gaze shifting to the ground as she looked ashamed.

  “It won’t be easy,” Arturo said. “Some people freeze on the battlefield. Nobody knows what they’ll do until they find themselves face to face with the enemy. There is no mercy. Knowing this, are you sure you want to go with me?”

  “Yes!” Lily said without hesitation. Her eager expression returned. “I want to do good, and fighting these invaders will be a way for me to help.”

  I hope you don’t regret your decision. Arturo almost said before deciding not to. He knew that expression all too well, for he had been the same, once. No words would dissuade her, and it would be a disservice not to give her the chance. “Then we’ll fight and throw back the Durmaddons. After that, well, I’ll have to figure that out after the war,” Arturo said.

  There was a brief silence, except for the droplets of water that splashed the little puddles of water. Thus far, there had been no further sightings of the Swords of Justice. The last of them must have passed, and by tomorrow, they would be safe from them. At least, that’s what Arturo hoped.

  “You said you have your own army. Are they in Carhan?” Lily asked.

  “Yeah,” Arturo wondered what Achillion and the others were doing. He imagined they tried to find him and couldn’t. “They’ll be happy to see me again.”

  “There’s a chance my... well, I guess former clan will be there,” Lily said.

  “I won’t drop my guard.”

  “I hope you won’t have to kill any of them,” Lily said. There was no missing the lines of worry etched across her face.

  “Don’t worry. It would have to be a last resort for me to kill any of them. I’m sure we can come to some terms, especially when they see my army,” Arturo said.

  “I’m sure Salamina will see no choice. I know she wasn’t aware of any army being led by you. I just hope it’s enough. She’s very resilient.”

  “So am I,” Arturo said. “If Salamina accepted you back, would you accept?”

  “Have you been ignoring our entire conversation?” Lily said.

  “No,” Arturo said. “I wanted to make sure you had thought about it if asked.”

  “Nothing will convince me to desert you,” Lily said and stood, her hand over her chest. “By Tarmella’s grace, I will fight with you until either death takes me or there is nothing else to fight for.”

  “Very well,” Arturo said, unsure how to deal with the formality. “We should get some rest. It’s been a few days since we’ve been able to get sleep. I’ll take first watch.”

  With a little protest, Lily did lay against a rock and drifted off to sleep. Arturo wasn’t sure if it was the responsible choice to let her join him. There would be no peace for any of them, not until the war was over. However, he told her she could join, so there was no point dwelling on it. Instead, he thought about what he would do once he returned to Carhan. The first thing he would do would be to organize his men and search for Kyrad. Perhaps, with luck, they could find and eliminate him before the invaders struck.