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“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
“What about your life debt?” Calysian asked.
I shrugged one shoulder. “Madinia has just saved my life. Give your debt to her.”
Madinia ignored us and made a motion with her hand that clearly told me to move faster.
“You’d leave me here?” Calysian asked, still staring at Madinia.
She opened her mouth, and he sent her a wicked grin. “Forget it. I have some…unfinished business to take care of. But I’ll see you again. In the meantime, good luck to you both.”
I nodded. “Good luck, Calysian.”
He turned and stalked into the forest. The distant sound of hooves cut through the sudden silence. “Someone’s coming,” Madinia said, as if I’d suddenly gone deaf.
I glanced at the carnage surrounding the dungeon. If Madinia had gotten to the guards first, they would have been little more than charred bone.
“It’s Regner and his guards. We can’t take them now,” I said. “They’d slaughter us.”
Frustration gleamed in her eyes, but she nodded. “Then let’s go.”
* * *
“Well, this is familiar,” I mumbled. “Us on horses, fleeing for our lives. Me barely conscious, you bullying me relentlessly.”
Madinia just snorted. “I sent a message to Galon with your location. I assumed if you’d been taken, Lorian was likely dead or dying.”
My breath stuttered at the thought. “He’s not.” I refused to even consider it.
She just let out a “hmm” sound, and we plodded through the forest, allowing our horses to recover from their gallop.
We’d had a head start on Regner’s men, but I had no doubt they would be spreading out after us. Our best hope was to reach the closest town or village and get a message to Lorian and the others.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Cavis…” My throat closed up.
I could feel Madinia studying the side of my face as I kept my gaze on the forest in front of me.
“I’m sorry. He was always kind to me. He was kind to everyone.”
My breath hitched. Yes, Cavis was kind to everyone.
Perhaps that was all we could hope for. That when we died, we would be known for our kindness.
Would those platitudes mean anything to Piperia as she grew up without her father?
The ache in my chest grew agonizing. “Something else,” I managed to get out, meeting her eyes.
Madinia nodded. “It was the queen who helped me find you.” She changed the subject.
My muscles tightened, and my horse flicked her ears in response.
“Why would you trust her?”
“Because before she sent that message, she informed us of a hybrid camp in the Gromalian capital. One that was about to be under attack. I managed to get a message to Vicer. Kaliera wasn’t lying, Prisca. Her information saved hundreds of lives.”
