Aiden gently shook her awake, explaining that they had arrived and how he didn't want to leave her alone and asleep in the back of the wagon. She peered through the drawn flaps at the back of the wagon to see that they had pulled off to the side of the road at the edge of town.

As she rubbed at her eyes, he hopped out of the cart and disappeared.

She could hear the sounds of life through the canvas that surrounded her. Horses breathing, wheels turning, food steaming. In the distance, she could hear a blacksmith hammering away at a piece of metal, as the annoying pings continued, she wished he would stop altogether.

Crawling over to her pack, Selene dug through it until she pulled out her last apple and the waterskin. Patiently waiting for her companion to return with clothes, she ate her food and drank her water. She hadn't realized how dry her throat had been until then and she nearly sucked the whole thing down.

An hour had passed and Selene was growing restless. She peeked over the wall that backed the driver's seat to peer at the horse that had been pulling her.

It was a decent sized horse, his grey coat lined with sweat and his white tail swished back and forth as it swatted at the flies. Aiden had parked them under the shade of a tree and the horse nibbled at the fallen leaves and grasses below.

She wondered why the old man that owned this horse before was so willing to give it away. She uncovered her leg and ran her thumb over the four scars in her thigh. She could only imagine what she had looked like when Aiden found her, bloodied and naked, her leg in ribbons. They must have scared that man half to death.

She ran her hand across the wooden floor, feeling the grooves and bumps. The only reason Aiden hadn't stopped moving was because he feared more demons coming after them. It probably tore him up inside to be steering her closer to such a terrible place while she was unconscious.

She wondered how far they'd traveled and how long she'd been asleep. It couldn't have been long. By foot they should have left the road in three days, on wagon it would've been one and a half maybe two. If she had to guess, she would say she fought the bat demons yesterday.

She peered out of the canvas flaps again and looked up at the sky. It wouldn't be long before the sun began to set. She figured they'd be camping there for the night, set up a fire outside, and come into the wagon to sleep.

Wrapping the cloak a bit tighter around herself, she leaned back and continued to wait for Aiden to return.

It was nearly dark outside when she heard the sound of his feet as he approached. He pulled himself into the bed of the wagon and closed the curtains behind him.

"Sorry I took so long," he said, "I had to find someone willing to exchange some food and clothes for work. I spent all my money on this wagon."

He pulled a leather bag off his back and pulled the string as the top open to dump its contents on the floor.

There were the clothes he'd promised, which he then handed to her. He'd also managed to get a good amount of dried meat, apples, pears, some bread and, to Selene's surprise, he even had a bottle of wine.

"What did you do to get all this?" she asked as he organized the ridiculous amount of food.

"The woman who owned the tavern offered to give me the clothes with no charge once she heard the story, but if I got rid of a few annoying drunks for her, she said she'd let me pick from the extra food she had. The bottle of wine she gave me for good luck."

"You told her that your friend fought two giant bat's and burned all of her clothes off?" Selene asked, not quite believing it.

"Of course not!" he said as he took a bite from a pear, "I told her my wife and I got a bit distracted and someone came and stole everything from our wagon, including your clothes."

Selene's mouth hit the floor, "You told her what?"

"What else was I supposed to say? There's a naked woman in the back of my wagon. Got any clothes?"

"You could've just said...," she tried to think of another excuse, "Why were my clothes the only ones that were taken?"

He grinned and she held up her hand, "Don't answer that. Just give me the clothes."

He left to start a fire and feed the horse a spare apple while she quickly shimmied on the pants. Unwrapping the cloth on her torso, she checked to see what the other wounds she had looked like.

They looked like bad cuts more than anything. She'd gotten away lucky. If she hadn't fought against the bat's talons, she might've ended up just like the poor orc woman. Selene balled up the bloodied rags and threw the loose shirt over her head before stepping out of the wagon.

Aiden knelt next to his firewood, bent over as he gently blew on the embers. She sat down beside him and when his eyes glanced over at her, he sucked in air and with it a spark flew down his throat.

"What are you doing?" he said as he coughed.

She furrowed her brows at him confused.

"Your leg," he said, "You shouldn't be walking."

Selene reached down and rolled up the pant leg to reveal healthy, unmottled skin. One look at his wide eyes had her explaining the abilities of raw magic and how she'd learned to use them in the week after they'd left Cyan.

Seeing the elf wounded is what made Selene start wondering what raw magic was capable of. She didn't know how the elf hadn't already realized that it had numerous uses rather than just expanding your senses and letting you search a wide area.

As she told Aiden, she hoped one day he'd be able to deliver the message to her.

"Incredible," he said as he reached out. His hand stopped a few inches from her ankle and he looked at up her for permission. When she nodded, he gently took hold of her leg and touched the skin.

"You shouldn't have been able to walk again."

"The wonders of magic," she said back.

He nodded and went back to starting their fire, but Selene couldn't help but notice how crestfallen he looked.

He was hoping she wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

Later that night, after Selene had taken off the bandage around her head and brushed through her hair with her fingers, eaten a few slivers of the dried meat, and drank enough of the wine to feel dizzy, she turned in to sleep. Aiden would soon follow as he finished off the wine and stood to put out the fire and check on the horse, which he had unhooked from the cart and tied to the tree.

Laying down on the bed of feathers, she made sure to leave enough room for Aiden before curling up. It was too hot to use his cloak as a blanket, especially now that she had actual clothes to cover her.

She heard him climb into the wagon and kick off his boots. He released a rush of air as he collapsed next to her. She tried to close her eyes as the alcohol made her more and more drowsy, but the spinning of the room made her open them every so often just to make sure she wasn't floating away.

Aiden had no problem falling asleep. He even began to snore with his mouth wide open after a few minutes.

Soon enough, she followed him.

***

She woke as the sun began to pour through the cracks in the canvas. Aiden was still asleep beside her, his arm flung across her torso.

As gently as possible, she lifted his arm off her and jumped out to hook the horse to the wagon. He flicked his ears in annoyance at her for having disturbed him, but she gave him a few reassuring pats on the neck and he didn't fight as she led him to the front and hooked him in.

They were on their way not long after, passing by small village that was already alive with activity as people went about their morning duties. A few women waved as she passed, most likely wishing them good luck in their travels.

It wasn't until an hour later that Aiden woke and climbed over the wall and into the seat next to her.

"No hangover?" he asked her.

She shook her head, "It takes more than half a bottle of wine to give me a hangover."

He grunted as he rubbed the sleep from his face.

The rolling of the wheels filled the sound as they made their way down the road. By now, summer was in full swing and the trees were lush and green. Animals chirped and chattered at them as they passed. At one point, while they ate some food, Selene spotted a wild horse through the trees.

Both his coat and his mane were pitch black, sparkling in the sunlight. Its eyes watched them as they made their way by, his mouth at work as he finished eating a long stalk of grass. Selene took a few big bites of her apple and tossed the rest onto the road for him to eat once he got the courage to leave the trees.

Aiden just smiled and shook his head.

It was well past noon when they reached the part of the road that turned west. Packing up all they could carry, and setting the horse loose, they left the wagon on the side of the road for whoever wanted it.

They walked through the forest until the trees began to thin and the grass grew higher and higher.

Soon the tree line broke to reveal plains as far as the eye could see. A sea of green and golden grass that blew in the wind like waves. Selene stopped in her tracks as she gazed out in amazement. She had never seen so much grass.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Aiden called from a few paces ahead.

I just might, she thought.

She blinked out of her haze and followed him.

Being out in the open here felt much like being back in Valdir. She had to watch all sides of them, being on guard at all times. There were no longer any trees to cover them and being here, they were like sitting ducks.

She kept a hand on the dagger at her hip, the familiar handle giving her some reassurance.

Aiden knew the situation they had walked into as well because their talking ceased. Walking behind him, Selene could see how tense he was, ready for anything that jumped out at them. This would be the longest part of their journey, Selene knew. Not because of the distance, but because of how they had to travel. As if they were prey.

A quail lept from the grasses, its wings flapping. Both Aiden and her unsheathed their blades and stood with them pointed at the bird. It took them a moment to relax and put away their weapons.

Selene didn't have a clue how'd they'd get through the journey like this, constantly expecting something to jump out of the grasses to kill them.

They were being hunted. And that fact hung over them like a sword waiting to fall onto their necks.

She just prayed they would make it through without any more incidents.

***

They had been making good progress in the three days they had been in the steppes. Though it was a much more difficult route, it was the fastest and came with a few perks.

At night the stars shone so brightly, Selene would stop in her tracks and just stare up at them. Since entering the woods, she hadn't been able to see much of them. Especially when she was in Valdir, the overcast being too thick. But here, they were brighter than even when she was home.

She would stare at them long into the night, sleep never finding her. They gave her a feeling of safety in these dangerous times. Sometimes, she would find herself sending up prayers to them. Not for anything in particular, just sending up her thoughts, wondering if they heard her.

Soon she would carry out the destiny they had given her. And it would all be over. All of the pain and suffering that the king found so much joy in delivering.

Aiden was just as restless as her, tossing and turning at night. Usually, he would get up, say he was keeping watch, and disappear into the grass.

Whenever he left, Selene would reach out with her magic to find him. Partially to practice, and partially to make sure nothing had come upon him in the night. Nothing ever did. He just sat by himself for hours. Selene wondered what he thought about.

She knew.

They still had yet to speak of what would happen when they reached the Rein mountains, and she knew he was going to bring it up soon. For now, though, she drew her magic back and turned onto her side to sleep. She wasn't ready for that discussion yet.

The next morning, they continued as usual. No signs of demons. The more Selene thought about it, the more she wondered what races had pledged their allegiance to the dark king. In the story Aiden had told her all those days ago, the dark witches and the Dwellers had been on the council's side. But she hadn't a clue what either of them was. The dark witches were self-explanatory, but where their also light witches, or good witches? What were they called? And what were the Dwellers?

She voiced her thoughts to Aiden.

"Yes, there is a breed of witches that are considered good. The only difference between the Dark and the Light are the types of magic they use. The Dark witches use necromancy. They experiment on people and animals and after they die, they bring them back as something foul and use their bodies to fight for them. They created that Akirir you and Cyan fought. They were a valuable addition to the Council's army. The Light witches have banned any magic of the sort and those who use it are banished from their kingdom."

"The Witches have a kingdom?" Selene asked.

"Yes and no," responded Aiden, "There's no specific area of land dedicated to them. They're vagabonds, traveling in groups around the continent. I'm surprised you've never seen them."

"My town was small. I doubt they would have found us worth stopping at. Now, what about the Dwellers?"

"They are a foul race. They like to live below ground far to the southeast primarily, where the ground is acidic and the plants all but withered. They're small but bulky and work in groups like ants. You would want to avoid running into a group of them. All they want is to kill you."

Selene nodded, now understanding why the Council had used them and why they had pledged themselves.

"What happened to them after the war?" she asked. There must have been some repercussions.

"The Dark witches were driven out to the small islands the sit around the continent, never allowed to return or else they'll face death. The Dwellers were hunted to almost extinction by the orcs. They had been responsible for their capture and enslavement. The orcs are a proud people, and being servants to those creatures was a devastating blow to their dignity."

"Do you think they're working for the king now?"

"It's possible," he said after a moment of thought.

That didn't sit well with Selene. At any moment, something besides a demon could show up. Eventually, the king would realize that he needed something more dangerous to send her way. She just hoped they made it to the castle before then.

She recalled the story Aiden had told her of Ovryrre The Eternal, the dragon who could control the demons and even death itself. Not only did Icarus control an army of demons, but there was a chance that he also had those old races backing him up as they did the Council of Six.

If so, it was even more important for her to succeed.

"Do you know of this army that Cyan seems to be a part of?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment, long enough to make her wonder why. Then he said, "I heard of it before you told me, yes."

"But, you're not a part of it?"

"No, not really."

She chewed on her cheek. Why not? When she had first told him about the army, he seemed reluctant to do anything. Was it because he was scared? He didn't seem like the type to run.

"Would you ever join?"

"Why would I need to?" he said, a hint of venom in his voice, "You're going to kill the king aren't you?"

She furrowed her brows and slowed to a stop. He stopped as well, a few feet in front of her.

"I'm sorry," he said to the ground, "I haven't been feeling well lately."

She closed the distance between then and turned him so she could press her hand against his forehead. He didn't have a fever, but his skin had grown paler in the past few days. And his scarred eye seemed bloodshot and irritated.

"Maybe we should stop for the day. You can get some rest."

"No!" he said, almost cutting her off. He winced as if in pain and placed a hand over his eye. He took a deep breath, let his hand drop, and said, "I just want to get under the cover of some trees."

Then he turned from her and began to walk. He didn't say another word for the rest of the day.

Selene had let herself live in a fantasy for too long. It was time to wake up.