Shadows of Demise (The Warrior Angels Trilogy - Book 3)

Chapter Seven

Light formed over the hills and dry grass of the surrounding fields, and Ashton watched the sorrowful northern region come to life. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and yawned.

"I told you to rest," Richard said. Ashton blinked hard and looked over at him, now sitting upright. "I would've taken over for a few hours."

"I should be fine," Ashton responded. He couldn't deny how desperately he wanted to close his eyes, though.

The night had been still and silent. He'd expected an ambush, a fire, or any sign that Inferum cantivat knew what had occurred and were starved with vengeance. Perhaps they did know and simply didn't care about their own. Either way, Ashton wasn't sure he trusted the silence.

"We should wake everyone and head back," Richard said, rising to his feet. He turned toward their captors and sighed. "I truly hope taking these two with us proves to be worth the trouble."

The woman snarled up at him. "We won't tell you anything."

"I believe you, but the captain will still want to try."

Ashton widened his eyes. "I'd almost forgotten about him." He got up and wiped down his trousers. "What are we going to do about that, Richard?"

"Nothing at all." Richard smiled at him. "Trust me, Ash. I have an idea, but you will need to follow my lead."

"I have a feeling this means I need to remain in the shadows."

"For the time being."

"I certainly hope so." Ashton squinted at the captors. While the woman continued to sneer at them, the boy kept his head bowed. While everyone slept last night, Ashton considered healing his eyes. He would've too had he not heard the boy mumble about how his greatest regret would now be never seeing Her Majesty's head on a stake.

"If they don't speak, what will become of them?" Ashton asked Richard.

Richard scratched his head. "I'm sure you know the answer to that. It's never easy. None of this is—"

"They would do the same thing to us. We speak or we die. And even if we do speak, we are stuck with them. We lose no matter the outcome."

"I suppose you're right." Even so, Richard's face fell even further. "When we return to the castle, we should talk more... about everything. There is still so much for us to discuss."

Ashton swallowed hard and looked away entirely. He knew there was plenty for them to discuss. He knew Richard likely had a list of questions he wanted to ask. Ashton would willingly answer all of them, too. There were quite a few questions he had himself. Yet he couldn't fathom wasting a moment in doing so right now. Or perhaps it was his lack of sleep that had his head hurting with the mere idea.

"Awake and ready to go?" Ailith called out.

Ashton turned his head just as she reached them. "Good morning. We were about ready to wake you."

"Yes, we should be hurrying to head back," said Richard. "I'll alert everyone else." He nodded at her and then at Ashton before leaving.

Ailith hummed. "Last night was quite interesting, wasn't it? I didn't expect Queen Beatrice to join us. It is not that she isn't welcomed, but she normally prefers to stay away from the fights and bloodshed if she can. She has assisted us with her magic whenever we have been in a pinch, though."

"Magic..." Ashton glanced down at his hand. "I was... astonished to see how far she's come. Back then, she didn't often have control."

"She mentioned once that she is saving her energy to use all her magic when the right moment comes."