A soft wind stirred the forest, rustling leaves as sunlight filtered through the interlaced branches of Dartrey Forest.
Birds twittered overhead while crickets chirped from the undergrowth, their sounds weaving together into a deceptively peaceful summer chorus.
Towering pines dominated the landscape, interspersed with spruce, fir, and tamarack.
At the heart of the woodland lay a broad lake, its surface smooth as glass, reflecting the blue of the sky in tranquil stillness.
At the base of a tree's buttress roots sat a knight.
He held a double-edged dagger in one hand and a small slate stone in the other, drawn from the lake's edge.
With slow, deliberate strokes, he ran the stone along the blade's edge, pouring water from his flask to wet the steel before continuing.
'Shreet.'
The rasping sound of honed metal carried through the clearing.
Three captives heard it.
Bound tightly, wrists and ankles secured, mouths gagged with wads of cloth, they writhed helplessly.
Muffled screams escaped as they watched the knight work the blade, terror twisting their faces. Their struggles were futile—the ropes bit into flesh, and their bodies were too weak to resist.
The stench of urine drifted through the air.
The knight lifted his head, cold eyes flicking toward them.
Sunlight glanced off the dagger, illuminating the hard planes of his face. He had ignored their pleas since the moment of their capture, showing no sign of relenting.
Footsteps cracked twigs and crushed leaves nearby.
The knight rose at once, senses sharp.
One glance toward the sound was enough. Recognising the presence approaching, he slid the dagger back into its sheath.
Moments later, the commander emerged from between the trees.
"So these are the ones," Kyren said, his low voice steady as he regarded the captives.
Noah, the knight tasked with hunting them down, inclined his head.
"Yes. All three. The fourth was already dead."
"I know," Kyren replied calmly. "I snapped his neck. Castrating someone after a bath is unnecessarily messy."
Noah glanced at the captives. Their bodies trembled violently, fear overtaking them. Their trousers were soaked through.
These were the slave traders who had taken Anna.
They had been locked in a freezing, lightless cage for nearly a month, starved and almost forgotten after a mysterious man captured them. Today marked the first time they had seen the sun since.
Learning that their accomplice—Brian, whom they believed had escaped with their 'merchandise'—was dead shattered what little hope they had left.
"Remove the gags," Kyren ordered. "I want to hear them scream."
Noah obeyed.
The moment the cloth was torn free, shrill cries filled the clearing.
"Please—please don't kill us!" Bill sobbed. "We'll give you everything we have! Anything! Just let us go!"
Kyren stepped closer, gaze glacial.
"Why would I?" he asked quietly. "You didn't spare the woman you caught. You planned to auction her. And your dead friend tried to r*pe her."
The men froze.
"The girl—we don't have her!" Jake shouted. "She escaped!"
"She is my wife," Kyren snapped, voice rising like a blade drawn from its sheath. "And you harmed her."
"We didn't know!" Dean cried. "We thought she was a prisoner of war!"
"She was bound when we found her!" Bill added frantically. "She said the Bargesians were hunting her!"
Kyren's fingers stilled against the hilt of his sword.
That was not what he had been told. The account he received mentioned bandits—nothing about the Bargesians.
"Untie them," he ordered.
Noah hesitated only a fraction of a second before obeying. The ropes fell away, and the three men collapsed to the ground, grovelling, thanking him in broken voices.
"What else do you know about her?" the commander asked.
"That's all!" Dean insisted. "She barely spoke!"
"She mostly cried," Jake added weakly.
Kyren scoffed. What woman wouldn't?
"Then you are useless to me."
Realisation struck too late.
They ran. But Kyren moved faster.
Steel flashed as he drew his sword, the blade arcing high before descending in judgment. Screams tore through the forest as limbs were severed and blood sprayed across the earth.
Kyren wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, annoyance sharpening his gaze as their screams rang in his ears.
"Too loud."
He raised the sword again.
Three swift strikes.
Heads fell, and silence followed.
The commander surveyed the bodies with cold satisfaction. As promised to Anna, they had paid for what they did to her.
"Hang their bodies along the border fence," he instructed. "Let them serve as a warning."
"Yes, Commander."
"Noah."
The knight paused mid-motion and turned.
"I want you in Constance," Kyren said.
"Ardel?" Noah asked, raising a brow. "For what purpose?"
"Learn everything you can about my wife."
Noah arched a brow. "You suspect something?"
"She was hunted by the Bargesians," Kyren replied. "I want to know why."
"Why not ask her directly?"
"She may not wish her past known to me," the commander said. "Investigate discreetly."
Noah considered this, then smiled faintly. "Allow me a few days to observe her first."
Kyren's gaze sharpened. "Why?"
"No one betrays their secrets faster than themselves," the knight replied calmly. "Sometimes, all it takes is watching."
Kyren held his gaze, weighing the request, then nodded.
"Very well. Speak to her if you must—but do not frighten her."
"Understood," Noah said, smirking. "I'll report before I leave."
Uncovering secrets had always been his speciality.
And learning the truth about a woman, he thought, would be effortless.
Or so he believed.