about nine hundred warriors and his right arm,” Bryn explained. Nevyn’s face went a shade paler than it normally was.
“He was one of our best,” Nevyn said softly.
“Ya will need to talk to Alchan and Luykas more about it, but we’re pretty certain magic is involved. Those two should have more intel by now. I’ve been out here for eight days, so I don’t know if anythin’ else has come up.”
“Okay,” Nevyn said, nodding. “So…”
“I was supposed to start heading back already. Alchan didn’t want me out of the village longer than two weeks.”
“For obvious reasons.” Nevyn groaned. “Come back to our camp. We’ll catch up, then tomorrow we’ll help you. We won’t make you go back. If you want to spend more time out here, we’ll fight with Alchan about it with you.” Beside the warrior, Varon nodded.
Together, they broke down Bryn’s camp and put out the fire, sending up giant plumes of smoke. It was a short flight to their camp, which made Bryn want to laugh even more.
“I can’t believe we were so close,” he said in disbelief as he looked over the other warriors who had gone on the mission with Nevyn and Varon. “How did yer mission go?”
“We did well, no casualties. Elvasi didn’t know we were there until we were gone.” Nevyn puffed out his chest with pride. “It felt good to be doing the same stuff I did in the first war, even though I’m a general now.”
“That’s better than what we’ve been hearin’. I don’t think we’re getting everyone back from the other missions,” Bryn said, sighing. “And we think our scouts might be compromised. That sorcery problem I was mentionin’.”
“That’s not good,” Nevyn said, pointing to a spot in the dirt. “Sit down, eat with us. We’ll keep the fire going all night. Tomorrow, we’ll join your hunt.”
Bryn sat, and another warrior handed him jerky to chew on and a bowl of wild stew, made from fresh game, wild onions, and berries they must have collected during their travels. He settled into sleep near Varon and Nevyn, glad to have the company after a week alone in the wilds.
He was the first awake when he heard something moving through the bushes.
“Shit, there’s a fire,” someone whispered. Bryn knew the voice immediately, even in the dark. His heart started to race.
“Mat?” he called out. He was used to hearing Mat’s soft night voice. They had spent years sharing a bedroom. He was certain it was Mat.
“Bryn? By the fucking Skies.”
Bryn could hear him stomping now, and it started to rouse the others in the camp.
“Mat!” he called out louder, jumping out of his bedroll. He ran out of the camp, searching for the source of the noise. He didn’t see Mat first—he was grabbed into a bone-crushing hug, then put down.
“We need to keep moving,” Mat said, his eyes wild when Bryn could get a look at him. “We’re being stalked. Have been for weeks, trying to get them off our tail. We’ve been running all over the fucking mountains, trying to make sure we didn’t lead them back to the village, but they won’t leave us be.”
“Who? What?” Bryn tried to stop him, so he could hear more, but Mat made his way for the camp. He ran after him, realizing Zayden and another warrior were also following.
Nevyn was frowning at Mat as the big male started to stomp out the fire.
“Not happy to see us?” Nevyn asked, crossing his arms.
“Very happy, but there’re about a dozen gryphon riders who have been tracking us for weeks. I think they’re trying to figure out where we’re going. They harass us every couple of days to remind us they’re around, so we need to keep moving, or we’ll die. We’re due for them to show up. We haven’t slept in over a day, waiting for them.” Mat was terrified.
“Where is the rest of yer unit?” Bryn asked, looking at Zayden, hoping for an answer, hoping to hear the rest were hiding somewhere.
“We’re the only three who made it out of the mission,” Zayden explained. “We lost two in the Elvasi camp and thought we were getting out when the gryphon riders started following us. They killed or chased off everyone else. They’ve been playing games with us, but we never have time to set up a proper trap to do any damage to them.”
“So, you could have made it home, but you have a situation. Perfect. That means we can fix it,” Nevyn