Something about the fight just…disturbed her—aside from the fact that Alyson and Jacob were the only two that lived. Alyson would complain if the thought didn’t scare her; Jacob kept glancing at her as if she’d pass out, while Iztris silently cleaned and bandaged her wounds before moving on to the prince.

It took a while before Alyson said anything. “Iztris—do you know what happened?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” he replied. He finished bandaging Jacob’s wounds and looked back at her.

Alyson glanced at her bandaged wounds, some red already coming through, as she continued. “We were outnumbered, for one thing. And for another, those knights had more training than I do—that’s why they were sent with us. I could’ve sworn I had more wounds than this. Shouldn’t I be dead, too?”

“Please don’t say ‘dead’ and ‘I’ in the same sentence,” Jacob said quietly. “Or any variation of the word ‘dead’ in reference to yourself.”

“Sorry,” Alyson murmured. She looked back at Iztris. “The question still stands, though. You said that the gods made sure that we would live.”

“The gods intervened,” Iztris replied simply. “I can’t do anything, but some are capable of some measure of control from their realm. They watched the battle and intervened when necessary.”

“They couldn’t bother to help anyone else?” Jacob asked.

“They only offered to help you two,” Iztris explained. “In this particular sense, they actually listened to themselves. There’s not much point in dwelling on all of the scenarios that could’ve happened instead—just take the rest of the day to recover. I can try to determine where the group went, and we can follow them. The gods are still helping the process, so I’d assume your wounds would heal by the time I find Elsyn’s group.”

He stood up and left them, leaving silence. Alyson and Jacob eventually left the room after a moment to, finding Iztris starting to move the bodies. Jacob helped, since Alyson’s wounds still hurt. There wasn’t much words said for the rest of the day.

They stayed the night, still dropping off money for the innkeeper that wasn’t there, and left that next morning. Their first matter of business was to go where the townspeople had left to—a town that the servant’s group had already gone through—and gave them a brief explanation of what happened and reasoned that they could return. The townspeople thanked them and decided to wait another few days before heading back, and the heirs and Iztris moved on.

Alyson could tell they were following the other group based on the towns they passed through; when they got close to Elsyn’s group, they opted to avoid it. They managed to get past the group in a few days, they advised the townspeople to leave. Fortunately, they all listened after Alyson and Jacob shared their positions.

Her wounds healed a bit quicker than they would otherwise—they were close to half-visible scars in two weeks—which Iztris explained simply as the gods still making sure neither of the heirs died. Jacob was fine within a few days, so they were able to move a bit quicker once Alyson recovered. They managed to get about a week ahead, and when they stopped at a town to try another confrontation, Alyson refused to let any of the townspeople stay. There was no point in evening out the numbers if the rest of the group would die.

Iztris wordlessly agreed to stay on watch, and the other two were making sure they had enough supplies to last until the servant’s group came.

“With any hope and luck, Elsyn will be with them this time,” Iztris said. He glanced back at the heirs. “If they are, try to focus on them. I don’t think the people following them will fight for much longer after they’re dead—and if they do, Cheryn’s knights should be able to handle them. You two can return to the capital after that.”

“You’ll be hiding out again, right?” Jacob asked.

“Elsyn’s first task would be to kill me if they’re present,” Iztris replied simply. “As long as I’m still here, the gods will know when to intervene and step in. It may seem hard and you may need to retreat, but ultimately neither of you will die in this conflict.”

“At least this might be over soon,” Alyson said. “That’s…mostly reassuring. Even if the servant doesn’t come here, we can still figure out where they are. I’m ready to be home without feeling bad about it.”

Jacob murmured his agreement, and they fell into silence for a little while. They spent their time planning and training, hoping that this could be the end. Alyson didn’t want anyone else to die in this.