Page 4 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

“So be it.” I nodded to Ilya in return and then to Lady Astraea. A flicker of emotion passed over her face, so dim I nearly missed it behind her granite façade. Perhaps the Lady of Sorrena had a heart after all. The governor our emperor assigned to the city would have a task keeping her in line, even if she was smart enough not to directly defy him for her daughter’s sake.

Ilya pulled my attention once more, her scowl still etched in place. Who would have the more difficult charge to watch over—the governor or me?

* * *

Ilya ignoredeveryone for the first few days of our return journey to Zhine. She sat still as a statue in the coach we’d brought to bring the emperor’s honored guest to him. If we hadn’t immediately whisked her away, I would have sworn she traded places with her mother. They had the same emotionless expression, one so unnatural it could only be mastered by years of careful practice. She ate little and said less. Even Orson’s crude remarks at a stop on the second day earned no more than a thinning of her lips.

Had her fire gone out? Or was it simmering and building, waiting to burst forth? The change in her demeanor intrigued me. Most of our hostages were complacent upon their capture, not eager to resume the bloodshed that led to it. Even so, there were plenty of hard looks, muffled curses, and occasional tears. One poor girl sobbed for days. There was no such emotion from Ilya.

Even now, as we took a break to rest and water the horses, she sat in the coach, staring at the wall in front of her rather than the activity around us. This section of the dirt road ran near the river, swollen to its banks from recent rains. But soon it would veer away, leaving the forest behind for a while in favor of grazing land. This time of year, the fields would be lush with wheat ready for harvest and cattle fattened from the abundance of the growing season.

Warren slapped me across the back, jarring me back to the moment. “Still weary from the battle?”

“From that scrimmage outside Sorrena? Never.” Iwastired. I’d drained my magic and worked my muscles to exhaustion outside the walls of the city. It was impossible to rest properly on the journey home, even with our slow pace due to the wounded. But I couldn’t let that show. Once we returned to Zhine, then I could rest properly and refill the inner well of my magic as only time and sleep could do.

“Right.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. His fox helm canted to the side.

“You weren’t there.” I rolled my shoulders, forcing away the tension building there. I’d ordered Warren to stay behind and guard our supplies and our medics during the battle. Our new subjects didn’t need to know he never bloodied his sword.

“And whose fault is that?” he asked.

I shot him a level look. “Mine.”

Blessed by Vespera, Goddess of Twilight, with the ability to move the very ground beneath our feet, he was one of the strongest among us—magically anyway. But the young man, no more than twenty cycles, suffered from a bad heart. The last battle he’d fought in nearly ended him. I couldn’t lose him—I wouldn’t. Not like that.

I’d been raised together with my fellow captains at Emperor Ryszard’s country manor. There we were trained and tutored in all matters of war and government, but none of us were related by blood, at least not that we knew. As orphans, it was hard to know. Even so, the bonds between Warren and I were as strong as any blood relation. My brother by choice. I couldn’t say that about all of them. A few I’d have preferred to see the back of if not for our shared bond of loyalty.

“Anyhow, you seem…” He shrugged. “Distracted.”

Distracted by a puzzle I yearn to solve.My attention slid past him to the coach. Midmorning sunlight slanted in through the open window, highlighting the edge of Ilya’s face. “It’s nothing.”

Warren shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Three sharp whistles split the air.

Fuck. I pulled my sword and ran toward the warning from our scouts as another set echoed the first. “To the east.”

Warren and a cluster of nearby troops followed.

My grip shifted as we plunged into the heavy green underbrush, weaving between the thick, maroon trunks of the Naya trees. We’d spread out our troops, traveling in a long line through the forest roads. An ill strategy for defense, but I didn’t think we’d need it. Not this deep in territory we controlled.Who would dare?

“Captain!” A young soldier rushed up to meet us, brushing a branch lush with needle-like pointed leaves out of his path. No visible injuries hampered his movement.

“Report.”

“We were fired on from just across the clearing up here. At least ten strong. They fled when we whistled for help.”

Fled? So quickly? It wouldn’t be easy to do with the heavy overgrowth here, to say nothing of the Naya tree’s pointed leaves that could leave quite the sting on the skin if you hit them just right. I toyed with the pommel of the dagger at my side as I ordered the troops near us to spread out through the forest. “See what you can find. Take them alive if you can, dead if you must.” They couldn’t have gotten far. Turning my attention back to the scout, I addressed him directly. “Injuries?”

He shook his head. “None, sir.”

“None?” Warren echoed my thoughts.

The clearing was visible down the slope ahead, an open, grassy plane spotted with shrubs. Any archer with decent skill would have been able to hit a target that far away. With several of them firing, someone should have been injured.

Unless they meant to miss. I stiffened.

“A distraction?” I asked, more to myself than anyone.

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