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A long, forking whip of blue lightning crackled and snapped above her, lashing into the Keneshire men and ripping them apart like they were made of straw. Elwyn was too terrified to move for a second, but then she heard Alice screaming, and she rolled over to look for her sister.
The little girl was in the ditch with Edwin, five feet away, and Rohesia seemed to be trying to cover both of them at once with her body. Elwyn crawled over and joined them, doing her best to shield everyone, and terribly aware that there was no way she could. Then Lily was there, and the driver, too, and they all tumbled into the bottom of the ditch under the cover of a spreading row of vast honeysuckle bushes and tried to get as low as they could while a storm of flame and light raged over their heads.
After what felt like hours, but must have been only a minute, the noise and the unearthly storm ended, and Elwyn dared to look up over the edge of the road. Two riders were approaching through the fog, one rather taller than the other, both dressed in mail, with studded leather pauldrons and gauntlets.
“You can come out now,” said the taller of the two, in a deep, familiar voice. “You are safe.”
It was Lord Caedmon Aldred, of all people. Then Elwyn realized she knew the other rider, as well: Lady Moira Darrow, the hillichmagnar who had run off to the Empire with Legate Faustinus four years earlier. Moira had always been Elwyn’s favorite among the court sorcerers. And not just for her unerring fashion sense. Despite the fact that Moira was nearly a century old, she had a youthfulness and vibrancy to her that Lady Jorunn and Caedmon Aldred notably lacked.
Moira adjusted a lilac-colored riding glove and gave her a cheerful wave. “Hello, your royal highness. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“What are you doing here?” asked Elwyn, picking herself up out of the mud.
“A rescue party, I assume,” said Lily, staggering up to join her.
“I was starting to get a bit worried at Cramstone,” said Moira, “so I thought I’d better come looking for you.”
Elwyn turned to Lily. “Do you mean you’ve been working for Moira all this time? And Faustinus, too?”
“You could say that. You’re not mad, are you?”
“No....” Elwyn shrugged. “I mean, obviously not. You saved me and my family, but...I wish I’d known.”
Lily’s face flushed. “I’m sorry if you feel like I misled you.”
“It’s not that,” Elwyn said, hurrying over to take her hand. “It’s just that, well, I’ve always liked Moira. So if I’d known you were working for her, I wouldn’t have been such a bitch to you at first.”
Rohesia came up now, with Alice clinging to her like a vine. “So, if you’re working for Moira and Faustinus, I must assume you are also working for Empress Vita and Emperor Tullius. For Earstien’s sake, did they not tell you to alert me of your presence?”
“Well, protecting you all was not really what they originally sent me here to do,” explained Lily. “I wasn’t entirely sure what I could tell you.”
Rohesia shook her head and then turned her gaze on Caedmon. “And you, Lord Aldred, why are you here? Not that we aren’t grateful for your help, of course.”
The famous hillichmagnar bowed from his saddle. “It is a pleasure to serve you, your majesty. I was on my way from Diernemynster to Formacaster. The Freagast refuses to support Lord Gramiren’s claim to the throne, and I was carrying a message to that effect. Before I could reach the city, however, I received a magysk request for help—a spell carried by a bird. And naturally, I could never refuse a lady’s request.”
Moira beamed at him. “Oh, you’re too kind, Caedmon.”
The two sorcerers dismounted and came over to exchange bows and curtsies and—in the case of Moira—hugs with everyone. They discussed what little they knew of the battle around Formacaster and which roads might be open to the east.
“It seems the Duke of Leornian was defeated,” said Caedmon, “but he and his troops are falling back in good order. I think it would be wisest if you retreated to Leornian, as well. I would be happy to escort you there, if you wish.”
“That sounds like a very wise plan,” said Rohesia.
“Thank you,” said Caedmon. “However...,” he stepped around her and knelt in front of Edwin. “Is that what you would like to do, your majesty?”
The boy’s eyes went wide at the sight of the most famous hillichmagnar in Myrcia kneeling to him. In a nervous squeak, he said, “I think that....” He cleared his throat, and, trying to make his voice a bit deeper, went on. “I think that your plan seems very wise, Lord Aldred.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” said the hillichmagnar, as he stood again. “However, as you are king, it might be best if you got used to calling me ‘Caedmon.’”
If Rohesia was offended at this little show of deference to Edwin’s wishes over hers, she didn’t act like it. She and Edwin and Alice stood talking to Caedmon, while Moira and the soldier went to the barn to get the carriage ready.
And that left Elwyn alone with Lily. They walked through the hedge and a little way into the woods beyond. “You and Moira are coming with us, aren’t you?” asked Elwyn hopefully.
Lily sighed. “No. I was only ever going as far as Cramstone, remember? I have a feeling Moira wants to get back north as quickly as possible. If your Cousin Broderick wins this battle—and it looks like he will—then the Empire will have to figure out what to do next.”
“You should help us,” said Elwyn. “Not only the Empire in general, but you, specifically. You can come down to Leornian and work from there. It’ll be perfect. The Bocburg is a huge old castle, and there are lots of places we could go and...get lost for a while, if you know what I mean.”
“I can’t promise that,” said Lily. “And I don’t want you trying to promise me anything, either. It’s not fair to either of us, Elwyn. We had a lovely time, and I care a lot for you. And who knows? If I do end up in Leornian, then maybe we’ll see what happens. But for now....” She put a hand to her face, unable to continue.
“For now,” Elwyn said, putting her arms around Lily, “for now, we’ll say goodbye.”
It was time. Beyond the hedge, they could hear the carriage rolling up. They both cried a little as they kissed. But it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as Elwyn had feared it would. This had to happen eventually, and so why not now, when they had escaped and they were both headed off on new adventures?
Hand-in-hand, they walked back to the hedge, and Lily said, “I hope you find someone nice—a boy or a girl, either one.”
“I hope you do, too,” said Elwyn. “Someone better than Pellus, anyway.”
Lily laughed. “That won’t be too hard.”
At the edge of the road, Elwyn squeezed Lily’s hand and let it go. Then Lily went over to join Moira, taking the horse Caedmon had ridden, and Caedmon walked Elwyn to the carriage. Twice, in that short space, Elwyn stopped and looked back at Lily, who was looking over her shoulder, too, as she rode off.
The second time Elwyn paused, Caedmon cleared his throat and said, “Moira gave me to understand that you and Miss Serrana became quite...er, close.”
Elwyn felt her face burn and said, “We were...um, friends, yes.”
He looked at her from under those great glowering eyebrows, and she knew he understood what she meant all too well.
“H’m. Yes. I am sorry for you both, then. I can only tell you what I have told generations of your ancestors: be glad for the time you have had.”
“So...you’re not angry with me?”
“Angry?” He shook his head. “Princess Elwyn, two of my very best friends have been King Edmund Dryhten and Legate Servius Faustinus. I cannot imagine where people get this notion that I am not broad-minded.” He might have even been smiling as he said it. With a bow, he motioned toward the carriage. “Come now. Your family is waiting.”