Here are three new chapters this week, and next week I will finish this novel (finally!) and upload the final three chapters!

So check back next week as well to read the end of the story!

45

Another voice cried out over the sound of the crowd, and I turned to hear someone exclaim, "Sasha? Sasha! I don't believe it!"

Gaea burst through the soldiers and hurried up to me. I smiled awkwardly as she ran into me and swept me up in an emotional embrace. "You're alive! But how did you …?"

"It's a crazy story," I laughed, my arms wrapped around her shoulders. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"I can't believe you're alive! Reinhardt told us what happened," Gaea gushed, holding onto me. "When he came back, he told us … well, we all thought you had been killed!"

I managed to push her off, and said, "I know, I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise. But right now we have something more important to talk about."

"What do you mean?"

Cavorian and Skjoldr were still talking, exchanging formalities, and I had to interrupt them to get Cavorian's attention. "Captain, I have something I have to tell you. It's extremely important."

"What?" he asked.

"I don't think I should say it in front of everyone," I said carefully. "Let's walk over there a little bit so we can't be overheard."

When Skjoldr gave me a questioning look, I added, "It's okay, it's not about you. But you can come as well if you want to hear it."

I brought Cavorian, Skjoldr, and Gaea out of earshot of the rest of the Legion soldiers and tried to think how I was going to break the news.

"Well?" Cavorian said.

"I don't know if you're going to believe me," I said, shaking my head. "But I know who is in charge of the group of mercenaries who attacked us. I saw him with my own eyes when I was held captive at their camp. It's Falx Carius, the previous commander here at the fort."

Gaea stared in shock, her mouth hanging open. Skjoldr didn't seem to care much, his arms crossed over his broad chest. But Cavorian merely narrowed his eyes and studied me for a few moments.

"You're certain of this?" he asked quietly.

"I saw him myself, I even spoke with him. And it's not just him, Carnius Magius is there with him. He's one of the East Empire people."

"Yes, I know who Carnius Magius is," Cavorian spat. He gritted his teeth and hissed out an angry breath, and then turned to stare out toward the sea.

"Captain Carius?" Gaea said in bewilderment. "But he was … how could he?"

"I'm sorry, Gaea," I said. "He's the one behind all of this. I couldn't believe it either, but it was him. He and Magius are the ones in charge."

"But … but why?"

"The ebony mine," I said. "They want to steal the ebony."

"The ebony?" Gaea asked, incredulous. "That's what this is all about?"

I shrugged helplessly. "Falx has some kind of grudge against the Legion, but in the end, they're after the ebony, him and Magius both. They arranged all of this so they could sneak in and steal the ebony while the Nords and the Legion are fighting with each other."

Cavorian sighed deeply, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. But he wasn't reacting like I might have expected him to. He didn't seem shocked or stunned by the news, he just looked frustrated and angry.

I stepped over to him and waited until he noticed me. "You don't seem surprised," I said quietly. "You suspected this already, didn't you? I already know that Reinhardt Red-Spear works for you. The Legion was investigating Falx long before this, weren't they?"

Cavorian glanced at me with a neutral expression and then sighed before shaking his head slightly. "No, we weren't," he said. "We were investigating Carnius Magius. We've long suspected that Magius was skimming from the mine. For months, we've been getting conflicting reports from him and from the mine manager, Falco Galenus. We suspected Magius, but we never had any idea that Captain Carius was involved."

"Reinhardt never reported anything suspicious about him?"

"No, he never saw any evidence that Falx Carius was involved."

"Then I guess he fooled everyone," I said.

Gaea walked up beside me. "So what are we going to do about it? We can't just sit here all night."

I nodded. "We have to go after them, and we have to do it now. They have a head start on us, but we can catch up with them."

"Right," Cavorian said. "We'll send as many men as we can spare. Chief Wolf-Runner, will you send your men as well?"

"We came here to face the enemy," Skjoldr said. "Yes, my men will gladly chase them down like the dogs they are."

"Excellent," Cavorian said.

He went off to shout orders at his men. Most of the Legion soldiers would have to remain here to take care of the injured and to keep an eye on the fort, to possibly retrieve any supplies that survived the fire. They would also have to remain on guard throughout the night, just on the off-chance that any of Falx's men returned, although that was highly unlikely. At most, I suspected Cavorian could put together a group of twenty soldiers, but combined with Skjoldr's men, that amounted to a significant force.

Gaea stood close to me, and set her hand on my shoulder. "You know," she said softly, "You promised me that you would tell me the truth about your background."

"Yeah," I said. "I think that will have to wait."

"It's okay," she said. "Reinhardt told me some of it. I had already figured out some as well, I guess. I understand why you kept it a secret, though."

"Where is Reinhardt, anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, he's with the other wounded," Gaea explained. "By the time he made it back to Raven Rock, his arm was swollen. It got infected and he's got a fever right now, but he's okay, he'll recover in a day or two. We managed to get him and the other wounded miners from Raven Rock to safety just before we were attacked."

"Let's go talk to him," I said.