Erin knew all of that, understood the consequences, but still wasnt about to let it go. The Quiet Men had murdered an entire villages worth of people. They deserved to die. She could no more have walked away and left them in peace than she could have knelt before them and let them cut her throat.

Leave her be, Fenir said. We need to focus on getting back.

Erin heard Sir Til sigh. True. And you did fight well. Youre getting good with that spear. Youll need to be.

Erin knew why: war was coming. The Quiet Men taking a village was just the start. If theyd done that here, how many other places had they done it? How many more enemies would be coming?

It didnt matter. They would kill them, no matter how many there were.

It was a long ride back to the black, jutting rock of the Spur. By the time it came into view, Erin could feel the ache of her muscles, the pain of her carefully bound wound growing with the effort of riding. Erin ignored it, because she was not some sensitive princess who needed to stop because of a little pain. She was a warrior, and she would be a knight.

Eventually, the fortress rose up ahead of them, sticking out on a random jutting of glassy black rock left over from the wars that had divided the continents. Gray stone stood above it, the gates open now to welcome them back.

As Erin and the others rode in, horns blared in welcome, and knights stood to either side in welcoming lines, swords raised. Erin felt like a returning hero, welcomed back into the embrace of a group of warriors out of stories, each one as powerful a fighter as any shed met.

Beyond those ranks, she was surprised to see that the knights were starting to gather in the main yard of the fort, moving with an urgency that she didnt normally associate with their training. Commander Harr stood at the heart of it all, gray-haired and bearish, his authority obvious as he called out commands.

Every man is to bring rations for a month. The king might think this will be over soon, but King Ravin is a dangerous foe.

He turned as Erin and the others approached. Erin slid down from her horse, hiding her wince of pain as her feet hit the ground.

Youre back, good, just in time, he said. Tell me how your patrol went.

Erin tensed then. Sir Til had been clear that he disapproved of how shed handled things back at the village. What if Commander Harr agreed? What if this was all that he needed in order to send her back to be married off to whoever her parents could find for her?

We found a group of Quiet Men holed up in a village, Sir Til said. Theyd taken the whole thing, killing the villagers.