Lilia stared at the group that emerged from the trees.
They were not shadow creatures—but men and women. They wore smoke-grey thick quilted robes that reached just above the knee, cinched in at the waist with wide leather belts. The robes had bell-sleeves and underneath they wore dark, high-necked tunics. Men and women alike wore fitted leather leggings and high hunting-style boots.
Some gripped quarter-staffs in their left hands, while others held burning torches aloft.
Lilia glanced at where Ryana stood, frozen, next to her. She studied the way Ryana held the staff she’d brought with her from Orin—and realization dawned.
These were members of the Order of Light and Darkness.
A man stepped forward from the group. He was good-looking, strikingly so. Tall, athletic, with chiseled features, grey eyes and long white-blond hair, he looked to be in his early thirties at most.
His gaze swept over the group before him, gathered in a tight knot in the center of the clearing, before his attention fixed upon Ryana. She stared back, a muscle ticking in her jaw.
A heartbeat later, snapping in the undergrowth to the south of the glen made the man jerk his gaze from Ryana. He turned to the group of around twenty behind him.
“Form a perimeter,” he barked. “We camp here tonight.”
Without hesitation, the men and women bearing torches, fanned out—a group of six who formed a wide circle around them.
Lilia swung round, facing south at where a tide of writhing figures spewed forth from the tree line.
It was too late—the shadow creatures had found them.
Heart pounding, she edged closer to Dain. Howls filled the glen as the same horrors they had seen decimate The Brotherhood’s encampment closed in on them.
Voices rose above the shrieks, grunts and howls—words shouted in the tongue that Lilia had heard Ryana use. She watched the six torch-bearers cast their right hands in an arc before them. Once again, Lilia recognized the gesture; it was the same one Ryana used to gather the Dark.
Golden light exploded in the heart of the glen; so bright that Lilia cried out and turned away, shielding her eyes from the glare. When she straightened up, removing her hand from her smarting eyes, a shimmering veil of fire surrounded them. It was semi-transparent; she could see the outlines of enraged shadow creatures beyond. Some threw themselves against it, only to fall back howling; while others clawed and spat at the glowing barrier, before withdrawing, hissing in fury.
Stunned, Lilia shared an incredulous look with Dain, before she turned back to the man who appeared to command this group. She found him looking at Ryana again. The pair of them were watching each other warily now, as if waiting for the other to speak first.
Saul stood on the edge of the group, slightly apart from his three companions. Unaware Lilia was observing him, his gaze narrowed and his mouth pursed as if he’d just tasted something bitter. These enchanters had just saved his life, but he didn’t appear grateful.
Meanwhile, Ryana and the blond man were still staring each other down.
It was the newcomer who eventually relented. Grey eyes crinkling at the corners, he inclined his head slightly. “Hello, Ryana.”
Ryana drew in a shaky breath, her face pale. “Asher,” she murmured. “This is … unexpected.”
The man, Asher, snorted. “We searched for you for years—who would have thought I’d stumble across you here?”
Around him, grey-robed enchanters moved about the wide circular space that was to be their home for the night. Some were erecting low tents, while others built a fire on the bank above the trickling brook. They’d fallen into what must have been a nightly ritual—each appeared to have a role they carried out without question.
However, like her companions, Lilia didn’t move. She didn’t know what to say, or what to do. She didn’t even know if she was safe.
Ryana’s behavior unnerved her. She had promised to bring Lilia to the Order of Light and Darkness. But now that they’d met up with them on the road, she didn’t look that happy about it.
Ryana didn’t speak. She just stood there.
Asher watched her for a few moments more, before speaking again. “There’s no point in looking like a hunted deer. You know now the wards are up—nothing gets in or out of this clearing till dawn.”
Saul stepped up beside Ryana then. “Friend of yours?”
She cast him a quelling look, her mouth thinning before answering. “This is Asher, Enchanter of the Light. Years ago, we apprenticed together.”
“And yes, we were friends—once,” Asher spoke up, answering Saul’s question. His gaze hardened as it swung back to Ryana. “Before she betrayed us all.”
A fire burned bright in the center of the clearing, long tongues of flame licking into the sky. The scent of wood smoke tickled Dain’s nose. His belly was full after the enchanters had shared their supper with them—yet he found it difficult to relax.
Not with those malevolent shadows creeping around beyond the light sphere.
The enchanters took turns at the vigil of holding the torches aloft, and keeping the barrier in place, with the second watch taking up their posts shortly after supper.
The ground in the glen was soft, a bed of grass and moss. Yet dampness seeped through the layers of Dain’s clothing, even through his thick cloak. Still, he didn’t mind the discomfort—he was basking in relief at still being alive.
At dusk he’d thought the end had come.
Never had he been so pleased to see strangers. The mood this eve was tense; especially after the discussion earlier.
Saul had learned of Ryana past—and he’d been furious.
He brooded now, sitting by himself as far away from them as possible, his cloaked back turned to them all. He’d been as angry with Dain and Lilia as with Ryana though.
“You knew what she did, and you trusted her?” he’d bit out the words in a rare show of temper, for Saul was usually too cunning and controlled to reveal his true thoughts to his traveling companions. “You’re both fools!”
Dain didn’t entirely disagree with Saul. He’d never been comfortable knowing that Ryana had been responsible for the first half of The King Breaker ending up in the hands of The Shade Brotherhood, yet her candidness with them when she’d told the tale had made her seem trustworthy.
Of late his thoughts had been on other matters. This journey had been so fraught with danger, he’d given little thought to what lay ahead. He’d assumed Ryana had been telling the truth—that it was time to return to the House of Light and Darkness and face her past.
However, watching her hostility as she faced Asher, he felt a tickle of concern.
Perhaps that hadn’t been her plan at all.
Likewise, Lilia had gone quiet next to him. She watched Ryana and Asher, who sat a few feet from each other on the other side of the fire, her gaze flicking from one to the other.
Dain studied Lilia, taking in the delicate lines of her face, her warm-brown eyes, beautifully drawn mouth and the scattering of freckles across her pert nose.
He hadn’t planned on kissing her earlier that day—one moment he’d been helping Lilia to her feet, the next she was in his arms. If Saul hadn’t interrupted them, he would have gone on kissing her indefinitely. She was delicious; the memory of the softness and taste of that rosebud mouth made his blood heat.
Unfortunately, she’d been strange with him afterward, acting as if the kiss had been a mistake. Dain longed to get her alone again, to show her it wasn’t.
The events just before dusk had caused Lilia to forget her discomfort around him, and Dain was relieved that she sat close to him now, her thigh close enough to his that he could feel the warmth of her body.
Across the fire, it was Asher—as it had been earlier—who broke the weighty silence.
“Why did you do it?” he said, his voice cool, almost dismissive. “Just tell me that.”
Ryana’s mouth twisted. “Why do you think?”
“I have no idea, that’s why I’m asking you.”
Ryana stared into the flickering fire. “I did it for Gael,” she murmured after a few moments, “and I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“So that harpist was behind it all?”
Ryana nodded. “I never realized he was one of The Brotherhood. He found out what we’d discovered in Fellmere and he cast a charm over me, forcing me to do his bidding.”
Asher’s face hardened. “So you’re saying he made you do it?”
Ryana swallowed, before nodding. “I’m sorry for it,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Not a day has gone past that I haven’t regretted it.”
Silence stretched out after these words. Asher’s handsome face was expressionless, although his grey eyes were hard. Likewise, the faces of many of the enchanters seated around them were unfriendly, their gazes watchful.
“So you’re taking these three to the capital?” Asher asked. “Why?”
Ryana’s expression turned hunted. “On an urgent matter—one we can only share with Thrindul.”
Asher watched her. “We were friends once. Why won’t you tell me?”
Ryana glanced about her, as if expecting to see the servants of the shadows pressed up against the fire sphere, listening to their conversation. Her shoulders trembled slightly, suppressing a shudder.
“It’s not safe out here to speak of such things,” she said. “Take us to Thrindul and you’ll find out soon enough.”
Asher raised an eyebrow. “You’d face him again, after what you did?”
“I would.”
Asher’s look of incredulity increased before he glanced over at Dain and Lilia. “So you two won’t tell me either?”
Dain shared a look with Lilia and curtly shook his head, hoping she understood to keep silent. Lilia met Asher’s gaze and favored him with an apologetic smile. “Ryana’s right. This isn’t the place for such a discussion.”
Asher glanced over at Saul. “And your man of Anthor here—is he too sworn to secrecy?”
Saul turned, scowling at Asher before casting Ryana a resentful look. “That lying bitch has been a boil on my arse since we set out on this journey, but she speaks true. You won’t get the answers you seek out of me either.”
The air grew tense in the clearing, for some of the enchanters were watching Ryana with open hostility, while others muttered amongst themselves. Dain shifted on his damp, mossy seat and met Asher’s eye.
“What brings a group of enchanters out here in the wild?”
Asher let out a long breath, glancing across at where dark, elongated shapes danced beyond the protective barrier. “The Servants of the Shadows grow bolder with each passing night. Only enchanters of the Light can keep them at bay so we’re patrolling the road to make sure travelers haven’t been stranded.”
“We haven’t passed anyone since Hillbrook,” Dain replied. “The Eastern Road has been forsaken for the time being.”
Asher nodded, his expression bleak. “These attacks have cut off the capital from the rest of the kingdom. No one will be getting in or out soon at all if they don’t stop.”
“And do you know what’s causing them?” Saul asked from a few yards away.
The enchanter’s mouth twisted. “I don’t know why this is happening, but I can guess at what it means.” He paused here, his gaze flicking back to Ryana who was staring down at her clasped hands. “The last time shadow creatures walked abroad so boldly, Valgarth ruled. I don’t know how or why, but somehow The Shadow King’s power is awakening—and his servants are answering his call.”