Once situated, she sat there and breathed in and out. Tears sprang to her eyes and she looked up at the sky, trying hard not to let her grief completely overwhelm her. Now that she actually had time to just breathe without worrying about being killed or hunted down, she thought about her parents. And her friends.

She reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she stared deeply into the pond. “Forgive me for getting you all killed.”

That’s when she felt it again.

The chill racing down her spine.

At the same time, a runner made his way past the guards and into the main castle. He bore a rolled-up parchment sealed with a wax seal tucked firmly away in a carrier pouch slung on his left hip. The guards escorted him inside as soon as he arrived and guided him to a room to wait until they could get Russel. He sat in there for at least forty minutes, maybe a little bit more, before someone finally came in. It wasn’t the king, but one of his brothers.

Prince Roland.

He had on a robe and clearly looked as if he had just woken up.

“What is all this?” Roland asked.

The runner stood up and saluted out of respect.

“Sire,” he said, bowing as well. “Apologies but my orders are to speak directly to King Russel. I will wait until he can be brought here.”

Roland’s eyes narrowed. “What is your name, scout?”

“Uh…Corporal Stenson, Sire.”

“Give me the missive before I have you demoted so lowly, cleaning latrines would be a step up. Am I understood, Corporal Stenson?”

Roland held out a hand and waited, his eyes boring into the young scout. It was clear the poor soldier was getting more and more nervous by the second. He had no idea what to do. His orders were clear. Only give the message to the king.

But this was the prince.

“Do not make me ask you again,” Roland told him, his eyes flashing with amber fire.

Corporal Stenson opened his pack and pulled out the rolled parchment with the seal on it. He was about to hand it over when the door to the room opened and King Russel came inside. He was dressed in a thin shirt and pants.

“Thank you, brother,” Russel said, ignoring the hateful glare from Roland. “You are dismissed.”

“I..” Roland tried to say.

Russel didn’t give him a chance.

“I said dismissed. Go. Now,” he ordered.

Russel didn’t back down from his older brother’s hateful, narrowed glare. Eventually, Roland backed down and left the room. Once he did, Russel turned to the scout.

“Thank you, Corporal,” Russel said, looking at the soldier’s stripes on his uniform coat. “I’ll take that now. Is there anything verbal you were ordered to convey? Or just the missive?”

“Just the missive, Your Majesty,” Stenson told him. He handed the parchment to the king and he took it.

“You are dismissed then. Go to the barracks and get some rest. In the morning, you are free to return to your company,” Russel said.

Stenson saluted and bowed, then left the room. As soon as he did, Russel broke the seal on the parchment and read it. He scanned over the contents and when he was finished, anger flared up inside him.

The last two lines stuck in his mind.

Humans amassing at the borders with Alcroft.

Harvenk spies found in Oclan. Two dead. One got away.