anyone.


    ‘This is what you signed up for,’ a voice in his head reminded him coldly.


    The plan had gone as smoothly as the king predicted. Venic had retrieved the artifacts, survived the whole journey, and delivered the member of the thieves guild. Everything should be over now; finished. He had done what he was meant to do.


    And yet... something inside him twisted, an unrelenting knot lodged beneath his ribs, making it hard to breathe, hard to think.


    Valerlanta stumbled again, collapsing into the dirt. Her legs had given out completely this time, her body crumpling like a puppet who’s strings were suddenly cut. The soldiers didn’t stop. They dragged her limp form along the dirt road as if she were nothing more than cargo.


    ‘Think of Dafelis.,’ he told himself. ‘Think of all your plans; your dreams!’


    Now, it was all done. He could live like a knight once more — enjoy the feathered beds and the lavish feasts — free from the filth and desperation. What was more, was that after the coming war was done, the King had promised his sisters safety and freedom.


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    It was kinder than Venic deserved.


    ‘Valerlanta is not your problem. She never was. She’s just a part of the plan.’


    Venic sucked in a sharp breath and turned away…or at least… he tried to. Some force held him; a pull that yanked his gaze back to the west, to the hill where the platoon had vanished.


    “Blast!” The word tore from his throat, startling a bird from the trees.


    He was a knight.


    He was a spy.


    He wasn’t some forest-loving peasant.


    He wanted the feathered beds. He wanted the feasts. He wanted—


    He wanted….


    “Oh, for fate’s sake!” he snarled, making his way toward the forest, each footfall heavy with frustration.


    This was stupid. This was worse than stupid; it was suicide. He’d be giving up everything for a thief, a forest folk who wasn’t even meant to survive. It would risk Dafelis and destroy any hopes of piecing together the shards of his prior life.


    Despite all that, despite every rational thought in his head screaming at him to let her go, Venic found himself heading back toward the treeline, where his belongings waited.