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Chapters (61)
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  3. Ashyn: One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Moria: Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Ashyn: Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Moria: Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-one
  24. Twenty-two
  25. Ashyn: Twenty-three
  26. Twenty-four
  27. Twenty-five
  28. Twenty-six
  29. Twenty-seven
  30. Twenty-eight
  31. Twenty-nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Moria: Thirty-one
  34. Thirty-two
  35. Thirty-three
  36. Thirty-four
  37. Thirty-five
  38. Thirty-six
  39. Thirty-seven
  40. Ashyn: Thirty-eight
  41. Thirty-nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-one
  44. Forty-two
  45. Forty-three
  46. Forty-four
  47. Forty-five
  48. Forty-six
  49. Forty-seven
  50. Forty-eight
  51. Forty-nine
  52. Moria: Fifty
  53. Fifty-one
  54. Fifty-two
  55. Fifty-three
  56. Fifty-four
  57. Fifty-five
  58. About the Author
  59. Back Ad
  60. Credits
  61. About the Publisher

“Ronan!” Moria’s voice rang out, and they looked up to see her striding over. “I hope you have a good excuse for being captured on guard duty.”

Ashyn stepped between them. “He does. They used darts with some sort of sleeping potion, and we were taken captive—”

“Ashyn was taken captive,” Ronan corrected. “While I was unconscious. I woke and thought she’d wandered off.”

Moria snorted. “Wandered off? I should hope after all these days together you’d know her better than that.”

“Moria?” Gavril called. “We’ll speak about this later. We ought to leave before that trader decides to return.”

Moria turned. “And the other mercenaries?”

“Daigo killed one,” Ronan said. “Another fled. The third is unconscious. I’ve taken his blades. Gavril’s right. We ought to gather the horses and go.”

As they rode, Ashyn explained what had happened—but only to Moria. Given the fate that had awaited her in King Machek’s court, she’d been too embarrassed to tell Gavril and Ronan. “What’s the shame in being kidnapped for a harem?” Moria had said. “It wasn’t as if you volunteered.” Still, Ashyn was more comfortable letting her sister tell Gavril and Ronan, which she did, riding behind with them while Ashyn went on ahead.

As for their reaction, they had none—to the harem prospect, that is. To them, it seemed as unremarkable as a young man being captured for work in the mines. It was simply another terrible fate that could befall unprotected youth.

They reacted more strongly to the actual kidnapping. Gavril was furious at the affront. To kidnap the Seeker was an unforgivable insult to the goddess, and even if one did not follow the laws of a neighboring land, one ought to respect its customs.

Like Moria, Ronan was more concerned about how the ordeal affected Ashyn. She assured them she was fine. Yes, it had been a shock, but it had ended so quickly that she was quite recovered. Which was untrue, yet not something she wished to burden them with now.

They continued through the day, but Moria and Gavril were obviously finding riding difficult, having taken several hard blows and blade slices during the fight.

Finally, as the sun began its descent, Ashyn persuaded them that the horses needed to stop. Having decided not to risk camping on open ground again, they found an inn for the night.

Forty-seven

Forty-seven

The inn was a two-story wooden building with communal dining and bathing areas. Stairs led up the side to a balcony that stretched across the front and back, with rooms along each side. The inn was not large, and it was already crowded, the four of them needing to cram into one small room with a sleeping mat for two.

“It was that or the stables,” Ronan said after he’d secured lodgings while they waited outside. “The girls won’t mind sleeping on the bare floor, I’m sure.”