Page 140 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
CHAPTER 76
Pompolin’s Café
Julian
Visha summoned Julian to the front gate, where he found a very focused Gerda rapidly magicking sigils into the wooden frame of his drawbridge.
“What happened?” he demanded, seeing the bloody state she was in. Her dress was full of holes from attacks that she’d healed but not cleaned; one on her sleeve, the other over her heart.
“She’s tried casting this same spell four times.” Sir Dimmund, the current guard on duty, told him.
Julian called out to her, “Gerda?”
“No time!” she yelled back, rushing to the last unmarked section.
Then she started cursing. The entire magical array faltered and faded as she released the spell and activated another instead. “Enter by the Channels, [Troll Magic].”
She downed a mana potion and started her magical array all over again.
Julian waited patiently for her to finish. Behind him, many of the border guards were lined up, watching. They hadn’t tried to stop Gerda, which he was happy to note.
This time, she successfully completed her spell.
“A Bridge Is Home, and Home Is a Bridge, [Troll Magic],” she declared, and the sigils disappeared into the wood. Gerda collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily. “Finally!”
There was a murmuring from the crowd of onlookers, but Julian waved them back to their posts. Visha remained, standing quietly at attention.
“Is now a good time?” Julian asked, offering Gerda a hand.
“Yes.” She took it and let him pull her to her feet. “Alice found me. I wanted to move my home bridge here, but she kept finding my door while I was casting the spell.”
Julian gave the troll a once-over. She looked absolutely breathtaking and unhurt, except for the damage to her clothing. He wanted to take her somewhere and do a more …thoroughcheck, but decided that could wait. “And you succeeded?”
“I did—but not before she completely destroyed my house. I think she thought that I’d come out if she did enough damage to my pocket space.” Her face fell. “My poor plants are a mess.”
“I’m sorry,” Julian told her, not knowing what else to say. He’d never kept a plant before. He rubbed the back of her hand soothingly with his thumb. It equally calmed his own building rage that someone had dared to attack her—and the frustration that he hadn’t been there to help her when it happened.
“No, I’m sorry.” She glanced at the fortress and back at him. “It wasn’t my plan to take over a North Sumbrian bridge, but I figured this was a better place to hide my door than in the Dark Enchanted Forest.”
“I’m happy you did. And that you are safe,” he told her.
Gerda lifted a sleeve to wipe her brow but stopped midway and stared. There was blood on it. “Wow. I need a shower.”
“You do,” he agreed. Preferably with him.
“Can I have one here?” she asked. “I don’t want tolookat my house right now.”
“You can use mine.”
He brought her inside, and after a wash and change of clothes, Julian took her to his office. If he had to work, he wanted her where he could see her and be sure she was safe. Jeffry and Visha were already there, tackling a mountain of documents that needed to be reviewed and signed. They barely registered when Julian escorted Gerda over to a chair.
She must have been running on survival and adrenaline because the second Gerda sat down, she started shaking.
“Visha—” Julian turned to order his general to go and find the fort healer, but he was cut off by Gerda’s trembling hand gripping the sleeve of his shirt.
“Julian,” Gerda said softly.
“Yes?”
