It had been a long day of riding and the afternoon sun had given way to rolling dark clouds as soon as we reached the outskirts of the forbidden forest.

My men, including eunuch Van who had never left my side, balked at entering the forest, so we pitched our tents just on the outskirts for the day.

It would be foolhardy to go on with the rains coming anyway. The next hour was spent setting up camp as I looked around at my surroundings.

In these few years that I’d ...