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“Gabriel!” she cried his name again, tears flowing from her eyes. They pulled away from each other only for a moment so they could kiss one another. “My love. I feared you were dead.”

Gabriel cupped Magda’s face in his hands. “I thought the same of you,” he said frantically. “I didn’t know where you went. If the bandits got to you.” A tear fell from his eye.

“We escaped,” Magda said, holding back from crying. “Nadia and I escaped. But then she grew hungry and she ate poisoned berries, and…” she abruptly stopped, suddenly remembering me. “We were saved by Aura, and her friend Elias,” she continued, finally turning to me and leading Gabriel over until they stood next to me. “They brought us to Chatus safely.”

Gabriel looked at me quizzically. I watched his eyes dart around my face, likely wondering why it was lined with dirt. “Aura,” he repeated. “How can I ever thank you?”

I smiled weakly, a little nervous that now another person had seen my face. “No need,” I answered shortly.

Gabriel nodded in return, then looked back to Magda. They kissed again, long and passionately. I turned away and shuffled my feet. The last time I had seen love like that was between my mother andfather. I had always found it beautiful and mesmerizing. Since my mother’s death, I had barely given a thought to falling in love myself. But watching Magda and Gabriel, I began to wonder what it must be like. A tinge of envy hit me, but I forced it aside.

“What happened with the bandits?” Magda asked Gabriel after their kiss. “Did you fight them off?”

Gabriel began explaining to Magda that he and their other two male companions killed the bandits that attacked them. They then followed the ones that chased Magda and Nadia, but were never able to find them or the sisters. He searched for two days and feared the worst. When he couldn’t find them, Gabriel and his crew decided that they would head to Chatus in hopes of reuniting. They had been there for days, Gabriel’s fear worsening with each passing day, though he refused to give up hope. Then he spotted his love in the thick of the market, alive and seemingly unharmed.

I listened while Gabriel told his side of the story, but as I peered over his shoulder for a moment, something caught my eye. A guard walked through the market, observing the civilians. But his armor did not match the typical gold-plated chainmail of the Chatus soldiers. Instead, this one had dark steel armor. Rimorian armor.Fuck. I looked behind him and saw two other Rimorian guards following, also surveying the patrons of the market. It seems my father sent soldiers to Chatus after all, and they made it there quickly, likely on horseback. Was my father here too?

“Shit,” I cursed under my breath.

Gabriel and Magda stopped speaking and both looked at me. “Are you alright, Aura?” Magda asked.

“I need to go. Quickly.”

She and Gabriel looked at each other, then scanned the distance to try to pinpoint what had me worried. I placed a few gold pieces down at the vendor’s table and snatched up a large amount of thedried meat. “Thank you,” I whispered to the middle-aged man selling the meat. He dipped his head and put away the gold pieces without counting them, because I probably gave more than enough.

“This way,” Magda urged, and she led me and Gabriel into the crowd. I wondered if she saw the Rimorian guards and was able to put all the pieces together.

We made our way through the labyrinth of people before we finally found a small side street that hid us from view of the soldiers.

“What’s going on, Mags?” Gabriel asked.

Magda looked at me, and I gave her a nod. “Aura cannot be seen here,” she explained. “I was going to help her collect supplies so she could quickly leave.”

Before Gabriel could ask any more questions, a booming voice came from behind us. “You there!” we heard him shout. I frantically looked around, but there was nowhere to run. The market patrons were practically walking around shoulder-to-shoulder on this busy day. I gave Magda and Gabriel a pleading look before pulling the hood even higher over my head. “You!” the Rimorian soldier shouted again.

“How can we help you, sir?” It wasn’t Magda, but Gabriel who stepped in front of me, subtly trying to block me from view of the guard.

“Remove your cloak,” the guard ordered to me, ignoring Gabriel.

“My grandmother is sick,” Magda began, but the guard ignored her too.

“Have her remove her hood,” he repeated.

“Sir, you do not want that,” Gabriel said. “Her grandmother is very sickly. Her face is covered in boils and blisters. I wouldn’t get too close.”

I was shocked that Gabriel was trying to help me when he didn’t even know me. Maybe it was because I did the same for Magda andNadia, and he thought he owed me. Or maybe he was just a good person.

I huffed, and pulled the cloak as far over my face as it could go without completely shielding my vision.

“Why doesn’t she speak?” the guard asked.

“Her illness prevents her,” Magda answered. “Please excuse us, we were trying to get to a healer as quickly as possible.” Magda began walking, but the guard stepped in front of her. He looked back towards me, and I turned my head away, heart pounding in my ears. If anyone were to recognize my face immediately, it would be a Rimorian guard.

“Remove your hood. I will not ask again,” the guard threatened. He was adamant, perhaps because he recognized something about me.

Fuck, what do I do?I thought. Should I turn myself in? Try to run? If I ran now, that could put Magda and Gabriel in danger of my father’s persecution.

I let out a slow, deep breath as I slowly raised my hands to my hood and began to lift it. Then I stopped suddenly, at the sound of a girl’s screams.