“I-it’s you…” the woman’s eyes widened as she finally noticed all four of us.

“Yeah, and you just led a group of hostile people straight to my cave!” I snapped angrily. “So, once again, give me a reason.”

Her eyes flashed down to the incapacitated humans and then back to me. “I-it’s even. Four on four.”

“Carmine.”

She pulled her blade and held it to one of the unconscious human’s necks.

“Don’t!” She cried out. “O-okay… we’ll… we’ll surrender.”

That had been a test. I had no intention of killing the humans. Rather, I wanted to see how they reacted. This woman seemed to care about these four humans, and whether they lived or died. If they were just packhorses that meant nothing to them, then I might not have let them live even a bit longer. Although it was four on four, I didn’t feel like they’d be able to defeat us. They were already injured and tired, while we were rested and also had a route of escape.

I waited with my arms crossed until she gave a nod to the guards and they all dropped their weapons. Garnet fetched them all, and only then did I give Carmine a nod. As she pulled her sword away, the noble gave out a breath of relief. She wasn’t the only one. Bernice did the same. Did she think I was going to kill this woman? How little faith did she have in me? Then again, I didn’t have my blessings, so I wasn’t subtly influencing her to like and trust me as I did with the other women.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You… just who are you people?” the blonde woman demanded.

“Why are you traveling with humans?” I asked.

She jumped, refusing to look at me. “That… it’s… not important.”

“Kaia, come out! I know you’re in there!” A woman’s voice called from the cave’s entrance.

I looked to see a woman just outside the barrier created by Kaia. She was riding something that looked more like a bear than a horse, except that it had scales. She was a pretty, tall, blonde-haired woman. Behind her were a group of well-armed guards that made the girl in here’s group look like riffraff.

“Nerissa…” She hissed.

“Who are they?” I demanded.

She bit her lip, her eyes looking to Carmine. “I don’t know if you really are a noble. The reason I followed you to the inn was that I feared you were one of my sisters tracking my movements. That’s why I didn’t follow through after leaving.”

“I take it Nerissa is one of your sisters?” I frowned.

“She is.” She nodded. “She hadn’t entered the town, but she had been tracking us from outside the city.”

“What does any of this have to do with us?” I asked flatly.

She bit her lip. “Those four… they’re escaped slaves. That man is one of the leaders of the slave revolt.”

“Okay.”

When she didn’t see me react one way or the other, she nodded to herself.

“It’s too late to be cautious, so I’ll just say it. I was helping them escape, but my sister grew suspicious. If she finds us here, I will be labeled a traitor and locked in a dungeon. She may experience a similar fate if she’s important to the noble family.” She nodded toward Carmine. “However, my guards, the humans, and all of you, my Sister will kill you all to keep this secret!”