Jaina brushed the dust from the explosion away from her eyes and watched as the invaders fell into chaos. The leader, still standing over her, was shouting commands, while several others were shouting at him. The soldiers, who had turned into spectators during the ritual, attempted to switch back to fighting mode, but simply ended up scrambling off in all directions. They were clumsy, undisciplined, confused. It was the first time since the invasion had started that they seemed anything less than a perfect fighting force.

It made Jaina feel good, if only a little. And she had done her part to get them there, taking the final cage just far enough away from the Godknight to give him the chance to make his successful escape attempt. The cage itself, now devoid of any hint of the magical energy that had started to fill it, had rolled lifelessly away when she had crashed to the ground, now appearing to be utterly useless. Whatever they had been trying to do, she, Kal, and Lilly had succeeded in interrupting it.

She could still see the Godknight in the sky, flying slowly away. He moved like a wounded bird, bobbing and dipping. More than once Jaina thought he was about to crash back to earth, only for him to recover and continue on.

The leader was still shouting commands. Jaina glanced around her and considered if now was her chance to try to escape, while they were all busier with more important things. The leader’s back was turned and the soldiers were all hurrying away. Perhaps if she hurried, she could take advantage of the confusion and disappear among them, the way Kal and Lilly had, and return to where the High Elder and Windham were waiting.

Deciding it was now or never, Jaina put her hands on the ground and pulled her knees up, bracing herself to break out into a sprint. But the leader somehow sensed her movement through all of the chaos and spun on her. His eyes were still blazing with rage, and now focused solely on her. He shoved his finger in her face, nearly poking her in the eye.

“Don’t you even think about moving, you treacherous wench!” he spat. Jaina shrank away, back to her sitting position. Nobody had ever spoken to her that way, especially not someone so powerful and intimidating. She had no doubt he could finish her off with a flash of his fist, and despite everything, she found she wasn’t quite ready to meet her end. So she capitulated, offering no resistance.

Someone nearby shouted “Look!” and all eyes turned skyward towards the still-puttering Godknight. He was heading downwards, towards the ground, and Jaina felt sure her efforts had been wasted. He was crashing. Finished.

He disappeared into the crowd of soldiers for only a second, and when he rose again he had someone tucked under his arm. He cradled her sloppily, her legs hanging behind him and her arms pinned at her side. It only took Jaina a moment to recognize the figure: Lilly.

Once airborne again, the Godknight surveyed the crowd once more. He appeared to identify his target and dove a second time, once again disappearing momentarily from view. When he emerged he was carrying someone else in his other hand, grasping onto the back of his armor. It was who Jaina expected to see, and she recognized him at once: Kal.

He hung with even less dignity than Lilly, dangling in the air with nothing but the Godknight’s fist to keep him from falling.

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Thank Goddess, Jaina thought. He’s returning the favor and coming to rescue us!

But he didn’t turn around. With Lilly and Kal in either hand, and the Godknight still barely managing to keep himself aloft, it seemed to be taking every ounce of strength he had left just to carry the two of them.

She watched helplessly as he continued northwards, towards the outskirts of the city, finally disappearing from view.

The soldiers who had been gathered around her were mostly gone now, and the leader appeared to be done barking out orders. He motioned for a couple of what looked like high ranking guards, and they hurried to his side.

“Take this one to my tower,” he sneered, gesturing at Jaina. “I want to talk to her.”

The pair of soldiers grabbed her under each arm and yanked her harshly to her feet. For a moment, she was facing the leader, and though he was considerably taller, they were essentially eye-to-eye.

Jaina grinned at him, somehow digging deep for a little bit of defiance to mask her terror.

“He’ll be back for me,” Jaina said to him. “And when he does—”

The leader bent down sharply, so they truly were eye-to-eye.

“Look around you, fool,” he said, his tone dripping with a satisfied arrogance. “Do you see anyone here to help you?” He raised his hands to the sky, which was now empty of any flying gods.

“He’s not coming back,” he said. “Nor are your friends. They have all abandoned you, little hero. Was it worth it?”

“No!” she cried. “He’ll come back! You’re wrong!”

“We’ll see,” he said, finally calming. “In the meantime, my Sentinels will see that you are treated as my very special guest.”

He motioned towards the guards grasping her, who immediately began dragging her away. She looked back over her shoulder, struggling to keep her feet moving in pace with the soldiers. The leader had already forgotten about her and began to move away.

He was wrong, she thought, still scanning the sky. Still waiting for the Godknight to return for her, as he had for Lilly and Kal. The Godknight was a hero, the guardian of Brightholme, and she had just helped save his life. Surely he wouldn’t abandon her, like the leader had said. Surely he would return for her too, wounded or not.

But what if he couldn’t? What if he had used all of his remaining strength just to escape, and had risked collapse just to pick up Lilly and Kal?

Then Kal would come for her, she thought with certainty. She didn’t know how he would manage it or how long it would take. But he would come for her.

She barely knew him… but she felt like he had nakedly revealed his heart to her in their short time together. There was no way she could think of him in the way he was thinking about her, not with Stegran so recently murdered. But she didn’t have to. He was a good man, who had rescued her once. There was no chance he would leave her behind to face whatever dire fate awaited her alone.

He would come for her, she reassured herself. She felt unexpected calmness amid her absolute confidence in that fact.

He was a hero, after all. There was no way heroes abandoned their friends.

He would come back for her.