"Dark, I'm so sorry. I saw you captured and stole into the camp to learn where you were held, but I had no time to warn the others. I saw the soldiers crowd around the pyre. I heard you scream and thought they'd burned you as well." Apparently realizing he could not recognize a voice from the low whisper, his rescuer said, "I'm Chardin. Renze's daughter."

Though it had been some time since he'd seen her, he remembered her well enough. She'd been a tiny girl with bright brown eyes and a tongue just shy of impertinence, a child no older than Baron Janosk's bloodthirsty brat. Now she was fighting alongside her father, and Renze, always protective, let her. How desperate they'd all become.

"I stayed in camp and listened to the baron plotting," she went on. "They plan to invade Sundell."

Dark bowed his head. Baron Janosk would use the wealth of Sundell to buy his people's loyalty. The move made sense. Dark had been captured while trying to cross the border in hopes of convincing Baron Peto of Sundell to assist them. It most likely would have been a futile gesture, for Peto's neutrality was well established.

His neutrality was far less likely now.

"I have water… I stole a little of the soldiers' food…" Chardin paused after each statement, waiting for a response. "We have a small camp in a hill cave a few miles from here. Father is there with some of the others. Can you walk?" she finally asked.

He nodded again and let Chardin help him to his feet. The terrain they traveled was far from level. Though Chardin was attentive, Dark stumbled often, falling once and instinctively catching himself with his burned hands. He managed to stifle a cry, but it was some time before he could find the strength to go on.