XXVII

Kneeling on a rock overlooking the compound, rain pattered against her oiled cloak. They didn’t know she was here. None of them did.

But they knew she was in the area.

Even now they hunted her—with their dogs and their sorcerers, and their foul beasts of dark magic.

They would not find her.

She was a top-tier adventurer. These warriors, though dangerous, were of little threat to her, so long as she acted with appropriate caution.

Those young fools, she thought.

It was Yoreno and his friends.

The Emblazoned Party had been defeated and captured. That bespoke of the ability of these warriors and their sorcery. But to her knowledge, they only had one or two mages in this area.

Still a danger, they didn’t pose much of a threat on their own.

Having not seen how they were captured, it was impossible to tell of the strengths and weaknesses of these warriors. She only knew from her own experience, fighting them as a force of one.

Glancing up, she realized the the sky was clearing.

Perhaps a deep and thick fog would appear tomorrow. That’s when she could make her move. Sneak it, kill the guards and get them out.

And then what?

She needed their help—needed Yoreno’s help. But her honor and her shame… would the queen allow the Emblazoned Party to assist her?

Perhaps not.

This was her quest—her mission. She had to be the one to fulfill it and no other. In a way, that was wrong thinking. Selfish thinking.

Should the queen’s agents find the assassin before her, then King Branlin will have been avenged—and righteously so.

That didn’t preclude her from racing against them to finish the task before they could. But first, she needed to rescue Yoreno and his friends.

Dantera stood, glanced over the rocky terrain and mountains leading up to the encampment bellow and prepared to make her move as soon as an opportunity presented itself.