The sun was barely a streak on the horizon when Alaric's party rode out of Eldoria.
Their cloaks were plain and their weapons hidden. To anyone watching, they looked like merchants heading north for trade.
Only the sharp eyes of Marcus and Carlden, and the discipline of some of the Shadow Knights flanking them, betrayed the truth.
They had been on the road for three days long, winding through the forest borderlands and into the neighboring kingdom where the Dowager had hidden herself.
Carlden rode up alongside him. "We scouted the route. The border patrols are light. No sign we've been followed."
"Good," Alaric said.
Marcus broke the silence. "Regent Majesty, forgive the question, but… do you trust her? If she's been gone this long, why appear at all?"
"I don't trust anyone until they've proven they deserve it." His gaze flicked toward the horizon. "But she is blood. We'll give her a chance."
