I let Brunz dismount first, then I joined him on the ground. The lead guard stared at me while his men cuffed us.

  “One moment, you pretend to be looking for a hairpin, and the next, you steal a horse. What went through your head?”

  Nothing. I just trusted Cherub. After all the miracles they granted me, I didn’t think twice when this horse came to me. So far, Cherub had never gotten me in trouble. Why would I imagine that what looked like any other miracle would get me arrested?

  I sighed. “I saw the Almighty’s hand in this horse who was galloping with one leg caught in his reins. He should have hurt himself and he didn’t. It looked like a miracle, so I believed I was meant to ride to my destination.”

  “Blasphemy! How could the Almighty ever condone theft?”

  “I intended to return the horse!”

  The lead guard’s eyes wished they could throw knives. His mouth was a fine line when he pointed at Brunz.

  “Tell me, Great Hero Al, does this man look like a hairpin to you?”

  I looked down at my feet. “I traded the hairpin for him.”

  Angry boots stomped in front of mine. “For a man who looks like a nobody, and a filthy one at that? How important can he be?”

  “Everyone’s important.”

  I finally found the courage to look up at the lead guard, but his glare was too much to sustain. I let my eyes slip towards the Citadel’s tiled roof, which took bright red hues in the morning light. I’d been meaning to bring Brunz there as soon as possible. Now, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go back. King Esthar would be furious. Princess Nigella would be disappointed. Kossi would be embarrassed. All because I asked my guardian angel for a miracle and forgot to challenge their solution.

  “Come on!” shouted the leader of the guards, reaching behind my back and pushing me forward.

  Brunz and I walked, hands cuffed, with a whole group of horsemen riding around us and barring us from going anywhere but to our common destination. My own heartbeat threatened to deafen me. The Citadel stood out against the orange and blue sky, ready to swallow us. I’d go through an unpleasant moment, for sure. But what about Brunz?

  “What’ll happen to us?” he asked in a whisper.

  The closest guard visibly frowned. Despite having celebrated a betrothal, his appreciation of the Foleshian language looked moderate, to say the least.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  I’m in for an unpleasant moment, for sure, but at least, the power in place considers me valuable. I can’t say the same about Brunz. People who see him as just another servant, an expendable nobody, might dispose of him the way Princess Jilu already did. Or worse.

  Had I pulled him out of the frying pan, only to throw him into the fire?

  As we came closer to the Citadel, three carriages came out of the gates and followed the road away from our group. They were fast. And they all bore the emblem of Sottarn, the wolf upon a purple chevron.

  Was the king leaving without me?

  So many questions and nobody to answer them until we reached our destination.

  The guards pushed us into a cell built into the old fortifications, and not much refurbished when the place was repurposed, judging from the general look of the stone walls. We were left there for a short while, still cuffed, set apart from a couple of guards by thick iron bars. Despite the total lack of privacy, I tried to talk to Brunz.

  “Look, I’m a complete idiot. I should have walked to the farm like we did yesterday. We might have missed the convoy to Carastra, but at least we’d be free.”

  “Didn’t we miss the convoy anyway?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure. There were more than three carriages on the way here.”

  Brunz sat against the wall, staring into space. I’d seen such an attitude before, when a friend got dumped and didn’t know what to do with her life. She’d been stunned for a while, purposelessly cruising through her life instead of living it, until she fully processed the events and became herself again.

  Then the door opened and Commander Asturi walked into the room. The guards stood on attention, but he ignored them. He glared at me instead.

  “There you are,” he spoke in a voice that struggled to sound calm. “King Esthar and Princess Nigella already left.”

  My heart sank. This is it. I’ve made one mistake too many, and my hero status is revoked. Still, I walked to the iron bars and put my cuffed hands on them.

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  “Did they leave you behind because of me?”

  “Mostly. But they also wanted to take sail as soon as possible, and the rest of their suite will be following.”

  He paced along the fence, gesturing nervously as he spoke.

  “King Esthar thought you were running away again, and he wanted your head if you failed to come back on your own. Luckily for you, you were just… running a weird errand, apparently. Princess Nigella said she knew you’d be back.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  Commander Asturi glowered at me. “She’s still furious, and rightly so! Did you learn nothing over the past two months?”

  If anything, I learned that I won’t get much done if I must get a monarch’s permission first, so I need to take initiatives on my own. Still, I messed things up this morning, quite badly. I should make amends.

  I lowered my head. “Look, I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t put the king and crown princess in too much trouble, but I had a promise to keep and I saw no other way.”

  Commander Asturi nodded with a doubtful expression.

  “Princess Nigella said you were supposed to discuss it last night, but you left right after supper and she only remembered it when your room was found empty, with your bags packed but no sign of you. Then a report came that a woman matching your description had just stolen a horse outside the Citadel.”

  He sighed.

  “Since you’re asking, it’d take more to put the king in real trouble, but you’re a great source of shame for him. Congratulations on being the worst Great Hero we could imagine.”

  You’re only saying that because my neighbor Alberto, the doomsday prepper the summoning ritual initially targeted, is beyond anyone’s imagination in Brealia. But I get your point.

  I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry.

  “I’m a terrible hero, and I’m thirsty, too. Do you think I can have something to drink while you go back to Carastra and leave me here to rot?”

  Commander Asturi raised his eyebrows.

  “No, you can’t. There’s plenty to drink on the boats.”

  On the what?

  “Do you mean I’m still going to Carastra?”

  “Kept under close surveillance, just like the dragon Kossi.” He designated the lock with his chin. “Sirs, you can open the door, now.”

  One guard stepped forward, but I pointed at Brunz, still sitting behind me.

  “Wait! I’m not leaving this man. I want to hire him as my assistant.”

  Commander Asturi shrugged.

  “You can hire anyone you want, on your own money. By the way, King Esthar wants you to know that your allowance is suspended, and that your movements will be restricted on the palace grounds.”

  “Restricted? But I live there!”

  “I’m just transmitting orders. Now, come, and bring your servant along if you like. You’re both detained anyway.”

  When I asked Brunz if he still wanted to follow me after I betrayed everyone’s trust, he only nodded and stood up. We were both brought into the courtyard, under heavy guard. A few carriages were waiting, and I recognized my bag on one roof.

  They didn’t leave my luggage behind, thank the Almighty.

  I was hoping we’d share our ride with Kossi, but he rode in another coach. From the Citadel to the small river port on the Rekario, it was only Brunz, me, and a bunch of armed men who shot death glares at us.

  If any of them works for whoever wants me dead, now’s the moment. They have the perfect alibi. Aren’t I a criminal, after all, sneaking out at dawn to meet my foreign accomplice?

  My stomach twisted and dehydration made my head spin. I still tried to maintain my composure. No, I wasn’t melting inside out of fear. I was a hero and I knew what I was doing. I smiled at Brunz.

  “Now that you’re hired, do you want to discuss wages?”

  He shrugged and looked at the window, past the guard sitting next to it.

  “It doesn’t matter. You reached out to me when no one else would, and I’m extremely grateful for that, but since this position is temporary, I don’t need much, for now.”

  It’s a good thing. I didn’t put much aside, because I felt more comfortable giving money to people in need, and with my allowance suspended, there’s no more money coming from the king’s treasury.

  I nodded. None of the guards looked about to stab me.

  “Well, Brunz, I’ll do the best I can.”

  Was I really conducting a job interview in a moving coach, with both hands cuffed and several guards looking upset every time they heard me speak Foleshian?

  I’d giggle if I wasn’t scared to death.

  “You’ll be my assistant as long as necessary. What do you want to do next?”

  Brunz’s sigh could sink a ship. “Go back to Folesh, of course!”

  “Oh. I was thinking maybe you’d like to settle in Brealia…”

  He shook his head. “No, I mean…”

  He bit his lips. His breath was shorter and his brown eyes were shining.

  “I must go back, Lady Al. I have a daughter. She lost her mother a while ago, and Her Royal Highness wouldn’t let me bring a child with me, so I left Sagra with relatives, but I was supposed to come back home!”

  He choked, trying to suppress a sob. A tear ran along one round cheek.

  “I can’t stay here. This is why I couldn’t jump off the cliff, either. I must go home, because Sagra needs her dad.”

  I nodded in silence.

  Of course. I knew there was more to Brunz than he was willing to tell me yesterday. But right now, I’m unable to give him what he needs. I’m not even sure I can keep myself alive.

  “How old is she?” I finally asked.

  “Seven, my lady.”

  This is young, even though in Brealia, children this age are supposed to be more independent than in my native world. I wonder what it’s like in Folesh.

  I crossed my arms.

  “I understand. Look, Brunz, I promise I’ll do my best to send you back to your homeland and reunite you with your daughter Sagra. But right now, I’m the one who needs you. There’s a complex situation to sort out, and I don’t think I can do it on my own.”

  Queen Epona and Prince Sorosiel’s death was probably not accidental, for the Almighty’s sake! And the same people want to get rid of me. Could they be allied to Faur? Or to someone else?

  “I’ll work for you, my lady,” Brunz answered in a broken voice.

  “What in the Almighty’s name were you talking about?” asked a guard after a moment of silence.

  I opened my mouth and stopped just short of answering it was none of his business.

  Brunz and I had spoken in a foreign language for a while. Maybe one of the guards understood Foleshian. At least, I’d find one for the mission if I was in charge of transporting a couple of criminals. But there were six guards packed with us in this carriage, and I supposed that, to most of them, our conversation was mysterious. In their minds, we were either talking gibberish or plotting against Brealia.

  So I sighed instead of snapping back.

  “This young man here, who only speaks Foleshian, was telling me how much he misses his family back home.”

  The guard looked Brunz up and down.

  “Is that all?”

  “It is. He’ll be working for me until I find out how to send him back. And by working for me, I don’t mean much. Just carrying my stuff and watching my back.”

  “Watching your back while you steal horses?”

  “Hopefully not.”

  The small port was now in sight, near the estuary of the river Rekario. And at this point, nobody was trying to kill me. Yet, I couldn’t help but wish someone could send me back home, too.