Had he really waited that long?

A cry came from above.

“Cade!”

It was a frantic cry, one drawn deep from the lungs. He caught a flash of dark hair and pale skin, but it was gone before he could look. He trudged to the doorway.

His hands reached for the wood, only to have the door open, and a figure come barreling out, near knocking him off his feet in an embrace.

“Cade,” Amber sobbed. “Cade, you’re alive.”

He laughed, relief flooding through him. She was here. She was alive.

At the back of his mind, he had imagined Abaddon abandoning his friends in the Gray territory, a final twist of the knife to complete Cade’s misery.

“Of course I am,” Cade said as Quintus emerged from the doorway, a broad grin on the young legionary’s face. “You think Abaddon was gonna let me wriggle out of the next round?”

He extricated himself from her grip and took her hand, pulling her behind him as he passed through the doors, and on through a crowd of confused-looking soldiers.

Quintus followed, and Cade took note of the young man’s new clothing. He was dressed in red cloth, with Roman armor in far better condition than that of the other men.

“Where … what…,” Amber stuttered.

“Let’s talk in the baths,” Cade croaked. “I’m desperate to get out of this armor.”

He hurried on through the keep, stopping briefly in amazement. This too had changed. Long tables and benches had returned to the atrium. New shutters, complete with wooden bars to block them, covered the windows, and torches crackled merrily in their sconces.

“These guys work fast,” Cade murmured, limping on through to the stairs, and down into the depths of the baths.

Here, thankfully, it was empty. Cade tore at his armor, aided by Amber’s and Quintus’s fingers.

“Cade, where have you been?” Amber asked.

“In a minute,” Cade said, groaning with relief as the armor fell away, piece by piece.

Soon, he was in just his underwear, and he had the forethought to jump into the cold pool before Amber had a chance to see the ragged state of them. He only took care to place the Gray toy safely beside the stairs before he did so—who knew if the thing was waterproof?

It was a blessed relief to sit in the cool water, and he buried his head beneath the surface. He remained there for as long as his breath would allow, letting the liquid slough away the grime and sweat, rubbing himself with his hands.

He erupted to the surface with a gasp, pulling his long hair back from his eyes.

“Cade, you’re hurt!” Amber pointed at his arm, where water had dissolved the coagulated blood, and red rivulets traveled down his wrist to stain the pool red.

“Yeah, I should get that looked at,” Cade said. “But it’s not too bad. Already starting to scab.”

With the armor removed, he was finally able to look at the wound. Up on the spire, he’d hardly noticed the pain.