The morning sun had burned away the frost as Lioren paced. Tomas, Mira and Kale stood and sat a short distance away. Tomas bobbed on his good leg, arms crossed with a look of worry contorting his bruised face. Mira sat on the rock Lioren had cracked earlier her own bruise darkening her cheek. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, looking as nervous as Lioren felt. Kale leaned on the rock next to Mira, not looking at Lioren but side eyeing her.

  Lioren glanced back at camp, hoping someone would come and rescue her from this moment. She could take a life without blinking. Torture? Sure. Confessing her secrets? She would rather run for the hills and never return.

  Kale took a breath, ready to tell her to get a move on, but surprisingly, Tomas shushed him. He looked back at Lioren, rather sheepishly and gave her an encouraging nod. Lioren’s pacing slowed, just a little bit and she took a deep breath.

  “After what happened last night, I needed to reflect on some things.” She bit her lip and came to a stop, eyes on the small trail she had created in the grass. “There is something you need to know about me, now that it’s caught up to us.” Kale took another deep breath, like he was getting impatient but Mira shushed him this time.

  “Those weren’t bandits last night. They…” She took another breath, fighting through the suffocation of nerves. “.. were a part of the Order of the Four Locusts.” She finished.

  “How do you know that?” Mira asked from her rock, anxiety stiffening her shoulders.

  “Because, I recognized the insignias on their uniforms.”

  “Why were they out here to begin with?” Kale asked, his voice hard.

  Lioren rolled her shoulders as she turned to continue her pace. “Hard to say for sure, but my guess is because they were looking for me.”

  “Why would they be looking for you?” Tomas asked this time, more curious than hostile. Mira tightened her arms, realization dawning on her face.

  “So the bounty poster… it was you?”

  Lioren paused and tilted her head towards Mira. “What bounty poster?”

  Mira swallowed and released her knees. “There was a bounty poster in Whistle Hollow. It was hung by the Order and it described a female with your features.”

  Lioren pinched the bridge of her nose.

  Some else took your bounty poster this morning. The guard's words echoed in her ears. Mira must have been that person.

  Mira took it because she recognized me. And the Order was probably watching for anyone who would take the poster.

  “Yea, it probably was.” Lioren admitted after a moment, one hand on her hip and the other other her forehead.

  “Why are the Locusts after you?” Tomas asked again with a side glance at Mira.

  Here we go…

  “Because I am.. Or was one of them.”

  Silence.

  “You what?!” Mira’s voice spiked high as Kale whipped his head toward her. Tomas stood frozen with his lips pressed in a line.

  “Three years ago, I was sent to do something for them. And I…” Lioren paused, her eyes brimming and her breath turning ragged as unpleasant memories haunted the edges of her mind. “I couldn’t go through with it. So I failed the mission, and left.”

  “Three years ago..” Tomas spoke, half to himself, before his eyes went wide. “That’s when it was discovered the Locusts were trying to infiltrate the Northern Councils. They planned to assassinate a council member so one of their own would rise to the seat.”

  Lioren winced. She hadn’t hoped to reveal that much but she nodded anyway.

  “So, you were supposed to kill the councilman?” Kale asked, his voice angry.

  “Yea, I was.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Mira had silent tears running down her cheeks, her shoulder trembling as if she wasn’t ready for the answer. Lioren’s throat tightened at the look of betrayal in her eyes.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Because it wasn’t just one life at stake. Killing him would’ve sent the city into chaos.” Lioren winced at the word. Fuck Kaelrix.

  “I didn’t want Viremont to fall into the same trap Catheris did a decade ago.”

  The memories surged: fire, screaming, death. She had just been initiated into the Order when the hammer fell.

  Now, Catheris was ruled by a tyrant. A Locust tyrant.

  No one spoke.

  The wind stirred the grass. Somewhere behind them, a bird cried out—sharp and lonely.

  Lioren didn’t look up. She couldn’t.

  Then softly, Tomas broke the silence with a slight chuckle. “You stopped an infestation. You… saved a city.” He shook his head like he was trying to rationalize the words coming out of his mouth. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to share that little secret.”

  Lioren slowly turned her head to him. Was he seriously trying to make a joke?

  Mira stood, staring Lioren down. Her breath was steady, even as tears fell freely from her eyes.

  “I trusted you.” She whispered and spun to turn her back on Lioren. She hugged herself, trembling. Kale moved from the rock and pulled her into his arms. The sight broke something in Lioren. She lowered her head, desperate to hold back her own tears.

  Thought you didn’t care? The thought pricked her like a cactus spine.

  “So if you are trying to avoid being found, why are you going closer to enemy territory?” Kale asked shortly, his eyes closed as he consoled Mira.

  Lioren’s shoulders fell as the weight of her truths were coming to light.

  Round two…

  “Because I have questions that only the South has answers too.”

  “What questions are those?” Tomas took a hesitant step toward her. Not to hold her or comfort her, but to let her know that he was still there.

  Lioren stalled. Seconds turned to minutes. Then she pulled her shirt sleeve up to reveal pale, unblemished skin and then exposed her ribs with her other hand.

  Tomas looked confused, like he didn’t understand. Then it hit him like a gut punch that stole his breath. Mira turned her head and Kale looked as well. Both had the same confused look. Like they weren’t sure of what they were supposed to be seeing. Then like dominos, realization dawned on their faces.

  No open wounds, no scabbing, no bruising. Areas that should have been marred were clean, healed. Impossible. No evidence that Lioren was ever hurt.

  Tomas rushed to her side, not caring that Lioren flinched as he took her arm to inspect it. His fingers traced over the faint scars of the bite as he turned her arm over and over. His brow pinched closer and closer with every turn as if he expected the wound to suddenly appear.

  “You… there was infection.. Your skin was black..” Tomas stuttered and Lioren looked away, trying to breathe. “I cleaned this wound,” Tomas whispered. “I smelled the rot.”

  “I don’t know.” Lioren admitted as Tomas moved to inspect her ribs. “There is an old legend in the South. I’m hoping Vorthane is close enough to have some answers.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Tomas whispered, finally looking into her eyes, pain lacing his once caring words.

  Lioren tried to meet his gaze. “Because it scared me. I woke up from a real nightmare with no evidence to prove it wasn’t a dream. And if it scared me…” She trailed off, not wanting to voice the rest.

  “Then it might have terrified us.” Tomas finished with a gentle squeeze of her shoulders like she was still injured. Lioren nodded and wiped away a tear before it could fall. She wasn’t going to cry. Lioren’s fingers twitched, not with anger, but with the effort it took to stay still. To stay soft. She could snap a neck easier than she could stay silent right now.

  “How do we know you are telling the truth?” Mira asked, her voice white hot with accusation. “You have been lying since Whistle Hollow. All those times we asked if you were ok and you were playing the victim when you never were!” Mira ended, screaming her anger and Lioren could only face it. Kale put a hand on Mira’s shoulder, not to silence her, but to remind her to keep her voice down.

  Lioren took a deep breath and held her arms out as if to show Mira she was telling the truth. There’d been a time—not long ago—when she wouldn’t have flinched at Mira’s words. Would’ve brushed them off like they meant nothing. But she didn’t want to be that version of herself again.

  “I did what I was trained to do. Weakness gets you killed. I didn’t know what was happening when I woke up and I was scared. So I hid.” Lioren paused, holding onto the part of her being exposed. Her mind wanted to pull it back, to hide once more. She wanted to not care anymore.

  “It was wrong of me to think I was the only one who was scared after that night.”

  Mira didn’t speak. But her fists loosened at her sides. Her jaw clenched like she had more to say, but nothing came. Just silence.

  Lioren’s arms slowly lowered. Her breathing was ragged but she didn’t drop her gaze this time. No one moved for a long while. The only sound was the distant bubbling of the creek and the gentle breeze through the grass.

  “So… what now?” Tomas asked, more to Kale and Mira than to Lioren. His shoulder brushed hers for just a second. Just enough to say: I’m still here.

  Mira kept her gaze on the distant hills, her voice coming soft. “We still have a caravan to escort. And…” She paused with a hesitant glance at Lioren. “A festival to attend.” The ghost of a smile touched Lioren’s lips briefly as Mira began to turn away, pausing with one last look at Lioren before heading back to camp.

  “We move soon, better get your stuff.” Kale added and followed Mira without another word or look.

  Lioren blinked, small tears running a race down her cheeks. Not forgiven, not completely. But nor was she condemned. Even Tomas’ small, crooked grin didn’t erase the ache in her chest—but it helped. A little.

  For now at least. The next two weeks were going to be long.