She still can’t believe it—so close… She is so close to bringing this to an end. But the ball of light created by one of the young men in front of her has once again delayed everything.
They had found Saca and the last boy of the Gryton clan. Unfortunately, the two had found refuge in the camp of these outsiders.
At first, that hadn’t been very worrisome. After all, in front of them were only two boys in a camp which, judging by its size, couldn’t possibly hold many more people.
Considering that the group present here, led by her grandson Neven, consisted of eight members—all capable and experienced fighters—these two youths should not have posed a threat.
What had truly made their determination to block them from reaching Saca and the child strange. What was aiding them was their mule's stubborn behaviour, keeping itself in front of anyone who tried to approach, but it kept them stalling.
Too bad for them that Neven was about to order an attack.
But just as Neven was about to give the order to attack—an attack that would have ended everything, ensuring that no one could ever take revenge for what they had done, and completed her plans—the blond boy extended his hand and created the ball of light that now illuminated them.
The display of magic had itself caused a pause; it wasn't every day that her people saw magic.
But what had made her signal Neven to wait was the fact that the other boy had begun talking, clearly still stalling for time while waiting for someone.
Thus, the light must be meant to alert another member of their group. And if one of them was a mage. The one they were waiting for might have also been a mage, creating the possibility that her clan might risk declaring war on someone they shouldn’t.
After all, these boys might have been merely lackeys or disciples of some old and powerful wizard. And so she could not risk that, now that they had almost rid themselves of their ancient enemies and the endless fights between them, they might gain a new and perhaps even more powerful adversary.
Which left them here, now, staring at one another, waiting for only the gods knew what. Though she was reasonably certain that if this old mage arrived, she could probably convince him to hand over the girl and the child.
After all, what would someone with true power, someone from somewhere far away, have to gain from protecting them? Oh, she could understand the boys acting like heroes, led astray by the girl’s beauty… but surely their master would be more pragmatic.
Of course, if that same master arrived and found his companions dead for defending the girl, he would surely unleash destruction upon her clan. Hence, the wait.
That was when she saw a reaction from the youths. They moved toward the mule—the creature that currently served as their first line of defense, while a tight line of trees protected their back—with a mix of joy and worry. Like children seeing their parents arrive to save them from trouble, while also realizing they might be in trouble with them for the mess created.
This brought a smile to her lips, confirming many of her suspicions—especially that they themselves were uncertain of the mage’s approval.
Turning in the direction they were looking, she could indeed see two figures approaching, illuminated by the fading light of day.
At first, she didn’t even register the heavy silence that fell. But quickly she understood the strange image before her. Leading the way was—not as she expected—an old mage, but another young man, and even more confusingly, this one looked even more poorly dressed than the other two.
But what must have caused the silence was the fact that behind him came Sena. Her helping Saca escape had been the great surprise of the attack. The rivalry between the two should have prevented such a thing, yet here they were.
An event that certainly bothered her, for of the two, she preferred Sena. An active and dedicated girl who had always devoted herself to her grandson and the clan. Unlike Saca, who, aside from youthful joy and her beauty, brought little of value.
The beginning of the rift between Sena and the clan began when Neven had to marry Saca as well. But that had been necessary to create the conditions for the Grytons to lower their guard.
She blamed her grandson Neven for this—had he managed to get one or even both of his wives pregnant, those children would have ensured their loyalty to the clan. Oh, Saca might plead for her family, but surely she would protect her own child first.
Setting these thoughts aside, she focused her attention back on the young man. For a moment, she considered that this might be some mistake, and that perhaps the real mage had yet to appear. That this young man could be another disciple, like the other two.
But seeing him approach, new doubts arose, for he walked with a calm frustration that confused her. Even worse, when he reached the line of clan members standing between him and his companions.
He reacted by paying them little mind. Oh, he observed them carefully—including her—but he continued walking as if the armed group in front of him simply didn’t matter.
The strangeness only grew with Sena walking behind him. She hesitated, looking around with fear and worry, falling slightly behind from time to time, only to quickly speed up again to remain close to him.
An action that, she could see by his tightening jaw, displeased her grandson.
But strangely, no one moved. They simply let the two pass without issue. In part, she thought this might be due to curiosity—to see what would happen, but also due to the certainty that neither of them would be able to escape anyway.
What concerned her was that, observing the scene. She grew more and more confused, as if everything in this image was simply outside anything she could comprehend.
That feeling did not improve when they finally reached the two boys, who began talking at the same time:
“Nero, we have nothing to do with this!”
“The girl and the others showed up out of nowhere. It’s not our fault!”
What she would have expected to hear from them upon their master’s arrival—not this young man’s.
Worse still was the relaxed way he listened to them, given their tension. It showed who was really in charge among them. To the point that the only idea she had was that perhaps this was the mage’s favourite disciple, and that was his source of authority.
Nearly ignoring his companions in front of him, he instead gestured for Sena to go ahead. Which she did, running to Saca’s side, and to the shock of everyone who knew them, the two embraced emotionally as best they could, with Saca holding the child.
As for the boy, he turned to face the clan head-on and declared:
“Relax. I already have a good idea of what’s going on.”
Words that seemed to lift a tremendous weight from the shoulders of the other two, who appeared relieved despite standing before Neven and his men.
“I’ve already had the misfortune of encountering some of your friends. You know…”
He gestures with his head toward the girls behind him. “When I found her.”
So, with a smile that was almost friendly—but failed to reach his eyes—he says,
“So I would appreciate it if…”
And letting the fake smile drop, with his voice turning cold, adds:
“…you disappeared from here.”
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