POV -> Maddison

  There had been no saving Bervolt.

  With the sheer amount of loss that had happened there, Maddison imagined it would be too painful for most of the townsfolk to return to even if they had the choice. Caleb’s arrival was nothing short of a stroke of luck. A few moments more and everyone else would have joined the pile of burnt bodies the Spinner had left.

  It was just Maddison’s luck that he had run into the only Agent of Death in a hundred mile radius, and an Archon. But then again, his run at normalcy as a mercenary had come to an end the day he fished up more than he could handle out of a river.

  There was still plenty of hate in his heart for magic. But one that gave help, unwitting to its cheery host, was one he had room to tolerate.

  Some boons came without choice - and Sariel seemed to be in that boat.

  The survivors of Bervolt were not keen on Maddison’s destination when they asked, settling instead on a shorter and safer journey to Stonesong. Caleb had already set flags for a cleaning squadron to rebuild and claim Bervolt. A life under the Heroguard’s banner was unavoidable for them.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Tarson had paid Maddison nothing short of a burning glare as he departed for Stonesong with five whining orphans. Or, arguably… three whining orphans. Sajus still hadn’t said much, and Timber had taken to swinging around a dagger for practice after Maddison had told him he wasn’t strong enough to join his guild.

  Caleb had taken the Follower.

  Strikes or not, Maddison still didn’t feel good about that.

  The White Knight had stayed for less than six hours finishing rescues and marking banners before a conjured bird swooped him and dropped a letter in his hands. And then he was gone. Off to his next summons.

  Hopefully to never cross Maddison’s path again.

  But there was one problem he couldn’t quite shake. It was currently right next to him, hair blazing as it complained over its shoulder to Sariel about its sore feet.

  Cody.

  It was a shared interpretation that whoever was walking the furthest ahead of the group was the one being followed. So there they were, side by side as though friendship was at the helm of their relationship.

  Maddison still wasn’t sure what he was. If not an infernal being, the only guess left was a fire sprite. But those didn’t have skin. Regardless, the coin toss either landed him on the side of a dead god or a calamity, and Maddison wanted business with neither.

  The first step in his plan was ditching the warlock.

  His second, finding Sariel a safe place to practice her magic.

  And his third, blessed, peaceful, solitude once more.

  If all went well, he was going to find all of these things on the way home to Lovlos.