Chapter 72
By the time I reach the expanse of piled stone, I am drained. The guards recognize me and emerge from their rocky hiding places.
“I brought supplies,” I say, catching my breath.
Hoack steps forward, smiling. “Thank you. We will store it. That much medical equipment will come in handy on a rainy day.”
I straighten. “You don’t need it now?”
He looks around at the calm, healthy guards, with a confused expression. “No, Your Majesty. There may be a few in the cave who might need a bandage or disinfectant, but the rest is surplus.” He scratches his chin. “The mineral rocks will be nice to have. Our supply has been waning.”
Baratrum cold sinks through me and the guards around me stiffen. “There was no rogue attack?”
Hoack’s thick brown brows bunch together, and his breath is visible when he says, “Rogues? No, Your Majesty.” He taps his finger in the air. “Actually, there was an attack. We just stumbled upon it this morning.”
He waves for me to follow, and my feet drag as I do. He leads me and another guard down a rocky trail a few hundred yards away to a bloody mess.
A dead woman, torn apart by rogues. Her face is frozen in agony. Her eyes are wide, her stiff arm stuck reaching for help that never came and nothing but bloody dismemberment below that.
“See that blood trail?” Hoack points to a long bloody mess that stretches as far as the eye can see. Where the blood touches the soil, a cloud of deep auburn stretches out from it, turning the soil darker. “Looks like she was dragged from Zarr city.”
My gaze returns to her face. I’ve seen her before. Not in person, but from a memory. Nizzara’s memory.
It’s Palko’s wife.
“This is the rogue attack?” I ask, fists curling.
He nods. “The only one I know about.”
Why would Jasper lie?
Why would he send me here?
Ice cracks along the ground because no answer I can think of is a good one. I point at Hoack. “Double the guards around camp. Do not let anyone pass.”
His grip tightens on his spear. “Is there a threat, sir?”
“I don’t think the threat is here but be ready. Just in case.”
He dips his chin. “I will, Your Majesty.”
I turn toward the horizon, and that’s when I see them.
An army of rogues.