Lucien looked over his shoulder for but a moment to see William standing there. He didn’t know if the other’s were near, but that didn’t matter. He turned his attention back to the graves he had found himself kneeling in front of.

  He felt a thumping in his chest as he took in every last detail. Staring as if expecting, hoping, that something would happen.

  Of course, nothing did.

  His vision was blurred, but at the same time startlingly clear. His mind was in a daze, the fog he had fought so hard to banish was creeping back into his mind.

  All the emotions he had been trying so hard to bury were now becoming impossible to ignore. Now that he was here, everything came rushing back.

  It should’ve been me.

  He reached out towards the graves, not noticing the tears that were streaming down his face. His hand stopped just before the graves, and dug into the soil.

  His body was shaking, but with just a bit more effort he’d be able to start digging his own hole to join them again.

  His hand stopped. He clutched the soil between his fingers. The feeling of the cold earth that clung onto every nook and cranny of his fingers helped to clear his mind, if only just enough to catch his breath.

  In. And out. In. And out.

  He pushed the fog out of his mind little by little with each breath. It didn’t entirely disappear. It felt like it had just been pushed somewhere else. Into a tiny recess of his mind, waiting for another opportunity to catch him off guard.

  But he was, at least, a little clear headed now. Enough to talk to William.

  “This is my wife. My sister. My son. And my daughter.” He went down the line one by one, introducing them to William.

  “If you don’t mind me asking. What happened here?” William asked softly, as if careful to not wake them from their rest.

  “You should already be able to guess,” Lucien sighed. “The bandits attacked, and in a matter of hours, everyone was gone.”

  “How did you escape?”

  Lucien paused for a moment, his lips twitching ever so slightly into a sardonic grin. “I got lucky. I was in the woods at the time. Looking for something. It was all over by the time I got back.”

  Saying that, Lucien got up, wiped his hand on his pants to get rid of some of the dirt, and turned around to William, his features having gone back to normal. “Sorry for running off like that. We should continue with our mission.”

  William looked at him for a long while before nodding. “Alright. Let’s go back then.”

  The two round the corner back to the front of the house, where Lucien sees the rest of them waiting. The captain is sitting atop her horse. Anthony is feeding his while running his hand through its mane. And Clara, Noah, and Edward are sitting on the ground, talking quietly.

  Looks like they all followed me here.

  Captain Vernon locked eyes with Lucien, and nodded after seeing that he was fine. “Let’s get going,” she ordered.

  The others groaned as they got to their feet and climbed back on top of their horses.

  Lucien did the same, and once again the group set off, passing through the ruins as they returned to the main road. They were able to see a lot of graves in the backyards of the ruined houses they rode by.

  Having heard the story from Lucien, the way William looked at this was slightly different from the others. He knew for certain that Lucien had done all of this himself. And that either that was the reason he lost his arm, or he did it all with just the one arm to begin with. Either way, the way William looked at Lucien had now changed.

  It wasn’t long before they reached the centre of town, and Uther’s grave.

  “Let’s stop here for a moment,” Lucien said.

  Captain Vernon nodded, and everyone came to a stop, this time staying on their horses. Frequent stops like this wasn’t a great idea when they had such an important mission at stake, but none of them felt like they could say anything about it.

  Lucien rested his hand on the pommel of the sword that was still standing upright in the dirt.

  “I’m back,” he whispered. “It won’t be long before I solve the problem. You can rest at ease now. Thank you, for everything.”

  He carefully stood up, his hand removing itself from the pommel as he returned to his horse. Steadying his mind, he nodded to the rest of them, and they rode off.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  They left the village, and it didn’t take long for them to reach the edge of the forest. They continued on horseback for a while, albeit at a slower pace, until the branches became too dense, and it became meaningless for them to stay on their horses.

  “How far now?” asked Vernon.

  “Still a little ways off, but they should notice us once we get closer to their home.”

  The group could hear the animals all around them. Near and far. The sounds of the birds. The rustling of bushes. It was both comforting and concerning.

  The group remained vigilant due to the lack of any visible predators. They weren’t stupid enough to think that there wouldn’t be anything dangerous in this forest. Of course, they believed that their numbers and weapons would do good at keeping most things from getting close, but it was still better to be safe than sorry.

  The group continued forward at a steady pace for a long while, and slowly, the forest started to change around them.

  The sounds of the animals somehow became more pleasant. The birds songs were more sonorous. The trees became larger and less packed together. Smaller trees and bushes dotted the land, but none of it marred the majesty and wonder that the group felt. Everything was in harmony with one another in a way that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

  They couldn’t tell exactly how long they were travelling for. The sun obscured by the towering trees, only allowing the faintest of glimmers through on occasion. But still somehow, the forest was bright enough for them to make out the blades of grass beneath their feet and the leaves on the trees.

  Lucien looked around and determined that they were now firmly in the Eternal Forest.

  “I’ll take the lead from here,” he said. At least if they shoot, I’m likely to be the first they hit.

  The captain nodded, slowing her pace down slightly and allowing Lucien to move in front.

  “Halt!” A stern voice shouted from somewhere in the trees. It was distant, but also felt like it was coming from right next to Lucien’s ear. It echoed all around them, making it impossible to discern where it was coming from and where the person was.

  Whiz! Thunk!

  An arrow lodged itself in the dirt a step ahead of Lucien. If he had not stopped as soon as he heard the voice, there was no doubt that the arrow would have shot right through his body. At worst ending his life, and at best putting him out of action.

  Of course, he knew that the elves wouldn’t kill someone that showed them no harm. But it didn’t stop him from imagining it. “We mean you no harm. I’m Lucien, from Locham. I spoke with Elder Aerin several months ago.”

  No more words came from the forest. But neither did any arrows, so Lucien took that as a win. Elder Aerin’s name proved important enough to at least make the person stop and consider what he was saying.

  The forest stayed silent for a while, awkwardly silent. Unsure if the person was still listening or not, Lucien decided to continue. “I have given word to his Lordship, and an army is already on its way to take on the bandits. We would be honoured if you could help us find them.” Lucien bowed slightly.

  The forest stayed silent as the group did their best to remain unperturbed. Without even knowing where potential threats would be coming from, they knew that being too defensive would only make matters worse.

  “Lucien, it’s good to see you again. And you’ve brought company.” A familiar voice resounded in the forest as Aerin suddenly walked out from a tree right next to them.

  Everyone else stepped back, having not even sensed when she had got there.

  Aerin still looked the same as ever. Several weeks passed in barely a flicker to someone as old as she was.

  Lucien felt relieved to see her, and renewed his bow. “It’s good to see you as well, Elder.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t decide to get revenge on your own. It would have pained me to hear of your passing in such a foolish endeavour,” she said, although her face remained as calm as ever.

  “I did certainly think of that, but I knew it wouldn’t achieve anything,” Lucien admitted honestly.

  “Come.” Aerin walked deeper into the forest without stopping, expecting them to follow her.

  After a bit of hesitation, the group did just that.

  The walk wasn’t a long one, but the silence and the tension made the group feel like it was longer. Even though they knew that the elves were their allies, some of them had personally never met any elves, and they all felt too troubled by being in another culture’s most sacred home.

  Lucien, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as worried as they were. He had already been here before, and it helped that he had some interactions with elves in the past, namely Cassandra. It allowed him to feel at peace amongst the trees hear.

  The horses started to tense up and panic the further along they went, as if they sensed something dangerous was nearby. They pulled on their reins, trying to break free and make a hasty retreat.

  Everyone clung tight to the reins and tried to calm down their steeds, but nothing was working. The horses continued with renewed vigour, trying desperately to escape from whatever was waiting for them further ahead.

  “Calm,” Aerin’s gentle voice rang out as a burst of magic washed over the horses like water. Wave after wave gently lapped at them, as the horses slowly calmed down and ceased their panicked attempts at escape.

  Under Aerin’s lead, the group reached a small clearing where several giant wolf-like beasts were currently resting. The group stepped back the instant they saw the creatures, now knowing what the horses had sensed.

  They were gigantic, and looked like they could shred through them in a single bite.

  Despite their hesitation and fear, the group had no choice but to follow Aerin as she walked into the clearing, within full view of the creatures.

  “Leave your horses here. Someone will make sure they’re returned to you. For now we need to move as fast as we can. Get on.” Aerin disappeared from where she was standing, appearing on the back of one of the wolves.

  Each wolf was big enough to carry multiple of them, but they would still need two of them at the minimum to ride comfortably.

  While Aerin guided her wolf towards the group, another rose from the ground, its snout high in the air before it suddenly turned and bounded towards them.

  The group steeled their resolve, adrenaline pumping and their nerves frayed. Having such a large and terrifying creature charge at them set them on edge. Lucien took a step forward, towards the towering beast that was threatening to bowl them over.

  The creature rushed at them far faster than the one Aerin was riding. It was getting closer.

  Lucien reached out with his palm facing the creature. The rushing wind pushed his hair back wildly, but he stayed put.

  The creature’s feet dug into the dirt as it slammed to a halt right in front of Lucien and licked his hand.

  “It’s good to see you again.” Lucien smiled.

  “Let’s go.”