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He pushed weakly at his shoulder, finally managing to get him on his side, and Vivi sat back on her heels with relief when she heard Ric’s breathing ease.

“This is an actual dungeon,” Gen said, as if finally noticing where they were. “Or at least a prison cell.”

“Yes.” Viviane slowly crawled back to the bench and heaved herself up. This was an actual cell, and it looked well used.

They were not the first occupants.

Viviane wanted to make sure they were the last.

CHAPTER 14

Theo knewhe had been a hard taskmaster, that he’d forced everyone almost beyond their limits.

Especially Melodie.

She wasn’t a trained soldier, and from what she’d told him, she spent long hours sitting at her workshop bench.

She wasn’t used to riding, let alone riding all day.

He had seen her fall asleep almost immediately the night before, and he had watched her more than once on his guard rounds. He’d set up his sleeping mat on the far side of the camp to her when it was his turn to sleep. His fascination with her was a little too distracting, so he forced himself to keep his distance.

They had ridden on the road to Warven until about midday, and then Gallain had taken them off it, through open fields leading to the distant hill he said stood above the town.

On horseback, without a cart, it would be a much faster route.

Caro had protested as they’d struggled over rocky ground for a bit, but the way got smoother, and Theo hadn’t been able to stop himself from riding ahead. Whenever he’d looked back, he’d noticed Melodie lagging further and further behind the group, but now, looking down the slope as the others emergedfrom the treeline of the forest that skirted the hill, he saw she was not even in view.

He had meant to stop a few times to wait for her, and he wasn’t quite sure now why he hadn’t.

He slid off his mount and gave it a rub down while he waited for the others to catch up.

They took the narrow path in single file, but even when they had almost reached him, Melodie was still out of sight.

He tried to remember why he’d stopped here, and then he heard the stream and recalled it was to water the horses. As soon as his horse was brushed down he led it over to drink its fill and then let it loose to pull at the thick green grasses that grew on the bank.

“Did you go the last bit up the hill to see Warven below?” Gallain asked as he slid off his horse.

Theo shook his head. “I heard the stream, then I looked back and couldn’t see Melodie with you. No sense going further until she’s caught up.”

While they rubbed their horses down and then watered them, Theo got a small fire going and boiled some water, acting on the ingrained routine of many journeys.

One by one the others drifted over and found a place to sit or lie, and eat something from their provisions.

They moved without urgency, and he had a moment of wondering at that.

When he looked at what food he had left, he turned to Gallain. “Warven is over the hill and below, and we can restock down there?”

“Yes.” Gallain chewed some bread and cheese and Caro got up and made tea.

“Still no sign of Melodie?” Ivan asked.

Theo shook his head. He was keeping an eye on the slope, and she still wasn’t visible.

“She’s not fit enough for the pace you set,” Jacinta said. “Not her fault, but she didn’t say anything, so she fell behind.”

“She’s used to trying to please,” Caro agreed. “I think she’s been trained to not cause trouble or be noticed and she tries to do what’s asked of her, even if it’s unreasonable. She should have asked us to slow down for her, but it isn’t in her upbringing to do that.”

“That explanation took an unexpected turn.” Ivan frowned, as if disturbed by the bluntness of the comments, then stretched out his legs, wriggled until he was lying flat on the ground. “It sounds like we’re trying to excuse ourselves, because we should have waited for her. We’re professional soldiers, she’s a civilian.”