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When they broke apart, Yelena gasped for breath Her green eyes shone "A few ree to be locked in a tower"
"Then expect many more when you return" He traced her bottom lip with his thu Onyx, Valek exchanged one last smile with Yelena, then spurred his horse forward He’d already lost more than half the day, and he planned to be at the first travel shelter by sunset As the distance frorew, the warmth from his kiss with Yelena drained away Dread, worry and an e, he concentrated onin Ixia was different than in Sitia In the south, even small towns had inns, and the population sprawled from one city to the next In Ixia, the far The town borders were more defined to make it easier for security to patrol the perimeter and ensure everyone remained where they should
Instead of inns, travel shelters had been built in Ixia when the distance between cities required travelers to stop for the night Security patrols frequently checked them for unauthorized people As an adviser to the Commander on horseback, he shouldn’t be questioned as much
Valek headed northwest As soon as he’d passed the outer wall of the castle, he was officially in MD-6 The Cooverned all of Ixia, but he directly controlled the complex and Castletown Both were located in the southern point of MD-6, which was ruled by General Hazal
It would take Valek approximately nine days to reach the coast of MD-1 He’d have to cross the northeastern section of MD-8 to get there The reports about where the Stor the northern section--a place Valek kneell He’d learned the assassin arts at the School of Night and Shadows The co the Sunset Ocean and near the most northwestern point in MD-1 The terrain to the south s fishermen to trap crabs and hook sea cod A few miles inland, farmers raised herds of bison that thrived in the colder cliallop as the irrational part of him tried to outrun his memories But the vision of his father’s leather tannery rose despite his efforts to quell it His parents’ house was near the area being targeted by the thieves Valek had left twenty-eight years ago The sound of his father’s voice still reet when his parents told him never to return They hadn’t approved of his desire to seek revenge on the men who murdered Valek’s three brothers And Valek had honored their request and stayed away
Of course, he’d assigned agents to watch over them and protect them if needed But he didn’t want a detailed report All he wished to knoas that they were alive and safe Nothing else was relevant Details would be a painful reet And soon he’d have his own family--or rather, another addition to his eclectic fareed with Janco’s assessment
Valek reached the shelter before the sun fully set The bloated half disk colored the sky with orange and red streaks A couple horse stalls with a few bales of straw and buckets for water leaned against the structure He rehed a ton With only four hours of sleep in the past three days, Valek felt every pound And when he considered everything that had happened with Yelena, the Commander and Owen, he was rattled, exhausted and overwhelroomed him and filled a water bucket When he finished, he patted his horse "If you s, can you please alert me?"
Onyx bobbed his head
"Thanks" He fed him a peppermint
No one else was in the shelter Valek doubted he’d have company, since he’d only seen a few security patrols on the road The one-roo resembled all the other rest stops in Ixia Valek tossed his pack onto a lower bunk far froive him time to react if anyone entered with ill intentions
After a meal of sliced cheese, nuts, meat jerky and bread--typical travel rations--Valek collapsed on the narrow bed Already he wished the mission was over He planned to stop the thieves as quickly as possible and return to the rendezvous location just as fast If Yelena didn’t arrive in a reasonable ti treason could stop hi with only brief stops to rest and feed Onyx, Valek arrived at the garrison near the northern coast of MD-1 by late afternoon He needed to check in with the local patrols in order for theation Besides, a hot ood to pass up
The guards at the gate snapped to attention and just about wet the officers were fetched and a private arrived to take charge of Onyx Despite the private’s assurance to take good care of his horse, Valek followed the young man to the stables to ensure Onyx received the proper attention
Pausing at the entrance, Valek remembered the first tio He had reported to work minutes late, and the Stable Master had boxed his ear It had been his first undercover operation, and he learned soruled Ixia, and all the officers had horses, so he’d not only been busy, but had a perfect spot to keep track of the cos of the soldiers Best of all, he’d assassinated the three men who had murdered his brothers, and their captain No one had suspected the stable boy, and it was arrison learned who had killed the men