“We are three families,” the Torestan man said. “Two from Toresta and one from Eastern Lochlanach near our borders.” He pointed to a man with a mop of stringy brown hair and gaunt cheeks. “My name is Chun Aval. I worked as King Gavriil’s chef until I did magic to save my daughter from a severe burn in the kitchens. It was then, as we packed to flee, that my brother also admitted one of his sons is Lashed. Weleft in the night without a word and found this Lochlan on the path, facedown and near starvation. He had been beaten. We could not leave him when we saw his lash marks.”
The Lochlan man put his hands behind his back, as if on instinct, and stared down at the ground.
So, this man Chun had worked for the royalty—that explained he and his family’s language education.
Chun introduced them to everyone in their group: his wife, daughter, brother, and two nephews. Only Chun, his nephew, and the Lochlan man were Lashed. Paxton set down his pack and joined the men sitting on fallen logs while the Zandalee went to explore the lake.
“What brought you to Kalor?” Paxton asked.
“Rumor of Prince Vito’s Lashed sympathies,” Chun said. “Our king and leaders in Toresta do not trust the prince, so I wondered. And it has been true. Twice on our journey we encountered Kalorian tribes who let us be when they saw our markings. Some even traded goods to have their tribesmen healed of various ailments. Each time they pointed south and told us, Lake Rainiard. So we have come. We have been here three days and seen no one.”
“But there were signs that others were here just before us,” the Lochlan man said quietly from the other end of the log.
“What is your name?” Paxton asked him.
“Konor. Konor Shoal.”
“What signs did they leave, Konor?”
“They’d buried their scraps and covered their fire, and the dirt looked fresh.”
Paxton was riveted. Was Prince Vito truly breaking the Eurona Pact by allowing magic and giving refuge to Lashed from other lands?
“We are not sure who to trust,” said Chun. “While we are glad for our safety, we fear the Rocato woman who has created these creatures in all the lands. If Prince Vito is in partnership with her—”
“What did you say?” Paxton’s heart was a hammer inside his ribs. “They’re in partnership?”
“It is rumored among the Torestan nobles,” Chun answered. “I heard a great many things while serving meals.”
This was not good news. “And what do you meancreatures in all the lands?”
“Haven’t you heard, man?” asked Chun. “There were notices on all the paths. . . .”
“We kept off the paths,” he explained.
Paxton’s head began to split. The beast was dead—all was supposed to be safe. He wouldn’t have left Lochlanach if he had thought otherwise. What was happening there?
The other Torestan man, Chun’s brother, pulled a worn, folded paper from his pocket and handed it warily to Paxton, who flipped it open and ran his eyes over the words in disbelief. They were written in all languages.
Granddaughter of Rocato . . . created the beasts with Lashed powers . . . burn Lashed lists . . . terrorize all the lands until the laws are changed . . .
“One group of travelers said they think this is where shecomes to—what is the word?” Chun thought and snapped his fingers. “Ah,recruit. I do not know what to think of this woman. Some speak of her as evil, while other Lashed revere her as a savior. She is building an army of Lashed from those like us who want to fight for our freedom to do magic.”
“Extraordinary.” Paxton handed the paper back to the man, careful not to let his panic show. “Excuse me a moment. I need to inform my companions.” He moved swiftly toward the water, where the Zandalee had taken off their head scarves and looked ready to brazenly strip down. The women turned at his quick approach, their eyes widening when they caught sight of his pale face.
“There are more.” He sucked in a deep breath to steady himself. “More beasts, and they’re inallthe lands now. Rozaria Rocato—she has an army of Lashed, and they’re threatening to kill innocents until the laws are changed. It seems that she and Prince Vito are possibly working together, which would mean she has more backing and power than anyone knew.”
Zandora cursed harshly in Zorfinan and translated for her sisters, whose nostrils flared with anger.
“If Zorfina is under attack, we must go there,” Zandora said. Paxton nodded. He understood. But he could not go with them now.
Aye, he wanted freedom for the Lashed, but not by Rozaria’s extreme means. He’d seen innocents killed firsthand. That wasnotthe way. He had to be smart. Where would he have the most advantage over the enemy? If there was achance that Rozaria Rocato would come here, he knew he needed to stay, though it took every ounce of his willpower not to return to Lochlanach that very second to check on his family and Aerity.
A scorch of envy and loss filled his chest. Aerity had Lief to look after her. And she was smart. Resourceful. Paxton needed to remain in Kalor and attempt to find the Rocato woman on her own turf.
Zandora reached out her arm and took Paxton’s shoulder. He did the same, blocking the two of them in. Her hair was long and wild outside its wrap, black as night. She had a smudge of mud along her jaw, and Paxton’s heart swelled. He realized he would miss her. He held tight a moment longer before releasing her. At Zandora’s side, Zula kissed her fingers and touched them to her shoulder, a gesture of love and respect. Paxton nodded.
Zaleek grasped the side of Paxton’s head and pulled him down to kiss the corner of his mouth. Zandora punched her youngest sister in the arm and shoved her away, but the girl only laughed and rushed off, pulling her head scarf around her hair as she went to her horse. Zandora gave Paxton one last roll of her eyes before putting on her own head scarf and swinging herself onto her horse’s back.
