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Froround, she looked up at him His face was splotchy with bruises The corner of his eyebroas clotted with a scab, his lips cut in several places The sun sank in the orange sky and only the twinkling winks of campfires prevailed on the fields below She wanted to kiss hiain

"I will find you tomorrow, Colvin"

He smiled at her, hooked one hand around the hilt of his maston sword, then tapped the stallion’s flanks and started weaving through the trees and brush down the hill towards De of the king’s army continued boisterously The last of the arht air and frightened the owls and bats The laughs and clank of arms rose in waves from the sea of tents and pavilions in the fields near Winterrowd Demont’s army, on the other hand, was subdued and silent There were no fires that night, just a piece of earth blacker than the rest

Lia sat at the base of a thick stunted oak, the ash bow across her lap, waiting and fighting her tiredness The king’s arnized it for what it was They celebrated victory before it happened to fling doubts at their ene was foreordained There were so few in Deined that h ed around the abbey the night Scarseth brought Colvin to the kitchen How long ago it felt A different world

Another cheer went up ahter, and it als and branches Lia sat up straight, her ears seeking the source of the sound It came from behind her, the crunch and crackle of hooves andfear swept into her heart, like a cloud blotting out the nized it instantly The sick fear of the Myriad Ones Sohts

For a moment, she nearly panicked She was a blot in the dark, smothered by the tree’s shadow There was only a sliver of moon in the sky She focused on th fros The smell of the kitchen before the first day of the Whitsun Fair Sneaking a taste of Gooseberry Fool when Pasqua wasn’t looking A cohts and the pleasant feelings they coaxed, it was as if her s as they really were The hillside and valley were choked with Myriad Ones as they skulked with the soldiers, prodding thehts The entire rinning, anxious for the sination reeled at the enored in waves, thousands upon thousands Millions Everywhere she looked, she saw therass, in every fallen acorn Even worse, she could feel theeance They were ready to gorge thehter

Lia turned back and looked up the hill, doing her best to stay hidden Even though it was dark, she could see black riders Each wore a cloak to hide the glint of their hauberks and breastplates Each carried a sword – a knight-ness of it These were no ht ca them around to the rear They would pretend to join Demont’s forces, but turn traitor in the end The knoll was thick with soldiers and their horses as they lu place They moved silently, as silently as they could Another cheer froain she realized the purpose To hide the approach of the traitor-knights To divert Demont’s attention to the battle in front of him, not the battle behind

Lia knew she had to warn the the bow, she started down the hillside,as quietly as she could In the dark, it was difficult seeing her footing, and she snapped twigs and brush in her clu down there," came a whisper froht be a scout Take your crossbows"

Lia’sonly to touch on the grass, but every other step rang out in her ears The soldiers dismounted and started down the hillside after her

"I hear it too Sounds light – like a doe"

Lia stopped, her heart pounding in her chest She could not see them in the dark, but she could hear their boots