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Her heart quieted. It was only the villagers’ drill for sounding the alarm and not an actual attack. For now. How much longer until it wasn’t?

Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed. “Can you tell me one thing, Nerys?” Shaul finally asked .

“What?”

“If it wasn’t for him, would you still be with me?”

Nerys hesitated. Would she?

“Of course.” The beginnings of tears welled in Nerys’s eyes.

“What we had was true.” No hurt in telling a little lie—she still cared for him that much.

It would’ve been cruel to tell Shaul the truth—that she had grown tired of him after courting for twelve months.

That, unlike Shaul, Cefin had a soldier’s wonderfully hard physique, though his abs were bigger than his brain.

That while Shaul would make some woman happy, it wasn’t her.

It never would’ve been her. Shaul was kind, patient, and loving.

While Nerys…well, Nerys’s qualities were not the sort that were listed on tombstones.

“Alright, then.” Shaul put his hands in his pockets. “I’m leaving tonight. Are you sure you won’t come with me?”

In another life, if her family wasn’t a concern, she would have left the village while she could.

Or at least she would’ve given it more thought before rejecting it.

The fact still remained that Shaul wouldn’t be able to do much to protect her from the dangers of travel—a good heart rarely translated to good swordsmanship.

“I can’t,” Nerys whispered. And it was done.

Shaul nodded. “Then good luck, Nerys. This is goodbye.” Shaul slowly turned around and strode away, checking back every so often to see if Nerys still watched. She did.

Goodbye? Yes, it was. If Shaul was indeed leaving, they might not see each other again. She wrapped her arms around herself as a part of her life walked away.

Tonight, Nerys was going to see Cefin to finalize their plans. Afterwards, everything she had done with Cefin would be worth it. Her family would be safe.

Then, Adilette would owe her an apology.

That night, after waiting for her sister to crawl into bed next to her and fall asleep, Nerys slipped out of the house.

Silently, she dressed in her wool work dress and wrapped herself in a thick cloak—it was still late summer, but the nights were unseasonably cold.

Her father wouldn’t be home for hours, occupied as he was with the war and gossip.

As for her mother, she could sleep through a musical ensemble.

Though Nerys and Adilette needn’t have bothered to go through this pantomime of stealth.

Based on a lifetime of sibling politics, Nerys guessed that Adilette was only pretending to sleep in case their parents confronted her later.

And it was likely that despite her brusque words, Adilette hoped Nerys would be successful in her plot with Cefin—who wouldn’t want a guaranteed way to escape the village?

No, Adilette knew that Nerys was doing all of them a favor. She was just too stubborn to admit it.

If only Nerys and her family could go to a different village instead of having to rely on desperate plots.

That wasn’t an option—people were rarely welcoming of outsiders in the best of times, much less when resources were unpredictable and every stranger a potential threat.

But Nerys was not one to dwell on what should have been.

The plan would work—that was all that mattered.

After giving one last look at her faux-sleeping sister, Nerys stole out of her room, their home, and into the night.

Before she left, she touched the hematite stone wedged into their door frame, a ward against harmful spirits.

“Angels of the Living Gods, guide me.” It was most likely that evil spirits would have better things to do than lurk in their village and harass peasants—but better safe than sorry. 5

Raven’s Crest was busier than normal for this time of night, thanks to the soldiers and the agitated civilians.

The sheer number of soldiers was overwhelming to their village—hundreds—and this was only a small part of the army.

Even more were camped outside the village boundaries.

Wrapping her cloak tighter around her, Nerys scurried along past men patrolling the dirt streets, women strolling about hand in hand with friends, and the occasional shadowed couple huddled in an alley, their moans betraying what they were up to.

Even the stray dogs seemed caught up in the excitement, chasing each other and harassing passersby.

Though the scene appeared festive and lilting music carried through the night, the atmosphere was rife with tension as the village held its breath, collectively waiting for what the war would bring next.

Nerys didn’t tarry, not even when she passed her friend Mara, who nodded at her in greeting. She had other things to do.

Before long, Nerys worked her way out of the village, past the shrine honoring the R?ll—a lovely thing boasting a featureless ruler and a supine desiccated god—and into the woods.

She did not wander aimlessly in the dark and wisely took a well-known trail, one many of the locals used to get to the blueberry bushes.

Though her eyes of stone, even when called, lacked the ability to see the creatures of other planes like Ca’mail’s fortunate Sight Bearers, when in the dark woods it was all too easy to imagine the various woodland spirits darting amongst the trees and following her on the path.

Now that path led her past the scraggly branches and thorny brambles that pulled at her cloak and scraped her hands, far away from the village’s safety.

“Nerys,” a voice called out in the darkness.

“Cefin?” Nerys stopped and searched until she spotted him leaning against a tree.

He wore his junior officer’s uniform—of course—with sword hilt glistening in the moonlight.

Unlike most of the soldiers, he wore the traditional old-fashioned garments, which included a long tunic and breeches.

He gave a familiar grin, the one that hinted of all the fun they would have together.

Without waiting, she lunged towards him, holding him.

Thick arms encircled her and his mouth devoured hers, making her forget everything else.

Following a familiar path, his hands explored her body, under her dress.

He gripped her breasts in the way he knew she liked, and she reached for his cock, already hard and prominent against his trousers.

“I couldn’t wait for you to arrive,” he said, breathless. “Thinking of you all day.” He nipped her lips. “All night.”

“Show me,” she gasped, his lips still against hers.

Yes, Cefin was a necessity, but one she enjoyed very much. Almost as much as Shaul, before that had lost its luster.

An owl hooted, startling Nerys and making her pull away. Realizing it was just a bird, she laughed awkwardly. At least Cefin couldn’t see her burning face. “I’m sorry,” she said, returning to him.

Cefin smiled, a tiny dimple appearing on his cheek. “Don’t let an owl scare you. I’ll protect you.”

“I don’t know—owls are vicious. You could be feathered to death.” Cefin laughed as Nerys shook her head a tiny bit.

At least he found this amusing, and gave her an opportunity to mention the true reason she was meeting with him. “I wasn’t scared,” Nerys said. “Just...I was worried it was something else. I’m glad we will be leaving soon.”

Cefin’s hand froze where it had been caressing Nerys’s lower back, preparing to cup her ass. “What? Where are you going?”

“You know.” Why was he pretending he didn’t?

“No, I really don’t.”

“Yes, you do. There’s no point in pretending.”

“Did you find other family to stay with? ”

Nerys tilted her head back and looked Cefin in the eyes.

His confused eyes. His insolent, vapid eyes.

“You offered to take me and my family with you. When your unit returns to the main army. As your wife . Remember?" Her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Not about this. Unless…he wasn’t joking.

No. He wouldn’t dare, not after what he promised…

Would he?

“What?” Cefin snorted, dropping his hands. “I never said that.”

Anger roiled in Nery’s stomach. She clenched her fists as tears burned her eyes.

What was he saying? How could he not remember?

He did remember, he had to—he was pretending.

Any second now, he was going to smile and laugh and let her in on the joke.

“You did,” she said, fighting to keep the anger from her voice.

“Three days ago. You said you’d take me away from here.

That we would be together. Right before we—”

“Nerys, be realistic. Even if I wanted to, I can’t marry you.” Cefin crossed his arms. “My father would murder me. I’ve been betrothed to his friend’s daughter for years. I told you that.”

“You did. And that you didn’t love her.”

Cefin huffed. “As if love matters.”

Memories of that night—and everything they did together after—poured through Nerys’s head like water falling out of a flask. Could she have misread him? Maybe?

No, there was no way. He said it so clearly. Promised so much.

“You said you’d marry me,” Nerys said. Heat gathered within her, an inferno threatening to break out. This wasn’t about her pride—her family needed this. Their lives depended on it.

“No. I didn’t.”

“Liar.”

“Nerys, don’t be angry—”

“Liar!” Nerys screamed.

What was he saying? What was he doing ? Didn’t he know what this meant ?

Did he care?

Did she mean anything to him? Cefin as good as killed her family himself. War was coming, and they’d be trapped here. He was their last chance. And he—and he— “Liar!”

“Stop!” Cefin said, grabbing hold of Nerys’s arms, digging his fingers into her flesh until she cried out in pain. She thrashed under his grip, screaming and crying as the enormity of her fate pressed upon her. Her family was going to die …

She was going to die.

Nerys screamed once more and Cefin suddenly swung with the hilt of his sword—sending her into darkness.