Lane squinted into the bright noon sky. On either side of her the nine barons did the same. Five minutes ago one of the guards, a loyal one, they’d left on watch had come running into the dining hall shouting about something in the sky flying their way from out of the badlands. Everyone had rushed into the courtyard then up on the southern wall. Either Damien was returning or he’d failed and the Bandit King was coming to exact his revenge for the barons’ failure to live up to their agreement.

When the object got close enough Lane recognized it as a golden sphere. It had to be Damien. A warlock’s power would be darker. Some of the tension went out of her. He’d survived. When one day passed, then another, she’d feared the worst for her young bodyguard.

The sphere passed over the wall and Lane realized it was bigger than she’d thought. It settled in the courtyard and vanished. Dirty women and children in torn clothes surrounded a slumped-over Damien. She joined the barons as they rushed down the stairs to seek out wives and children. Most of the normally stoic men wept openly as they gathered loved ones in their arms.

Damien straightened, caught her eye, and grinned. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. An ugly red burn decorated his cheek, but other than that he looked intact.

“The barons give you any trouble?” Damien asked.

Lane choked back a sob. He was worried about her. This young man she hardly knew, who’d just gone through hell if his face could be believed. She hugged him and he patted her back.

After a moment she let him go. “They behaved like gentlemen. Once their minders fled they had no more reason to be hostile. They threw the assassins, along with the servant in your wardrobe, in the dungeon before the bindings wore off. I think they were waiting to see if you succeeded in rescuing their families before they hung all four.”

Damien nodded, seeming neither shocked nor surprised at the self-serving ploy. “What about their complaints against the kingdom?”

“They were pretexts to do what the Bandit King wanted. We had a meeting after your barrier vanished and they explained everything. With their families returned I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble.”

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“I hope you’re right, but the king will have to make some changes down here all the same. The barons are too vulnerable to blackmail. I doubt His Majesty will leave them in charge of border security after this debacle.”

Lane saw his point, but feared any drastic change would raise the prickly nobles’ hackles. She wanted to ask what he thought the king would do, but the barons and their families had turned their attention to Damien. Everyone wanted to shake his hand and several of the wives and children hugged him with tears in their eyes.

Damien bore it all with a disconcerted look that made Lane smile. When the last of the hugs had been distributed Baron Trasker and his wife moved to the fore. As the oldest of the barons he often seemed to take the lead. Did that annoy the others or had they gotten used to it?

“I don’t know how we can thank you for saving our families. It seems a miracle you returned everyone alive. Anything within our power to grant you, just ask.”

“Which one of you is in charge of Allentown?” Damien asked.

That seemed to surprise the barons as much as it did Lane. Baron Kannon moved to stand beside Trasker. “Allentown is within my lands. Is there some problem?”

“The Lord Mayor is corrupt and I intend to remove him on my way back to the capital. I suggest you think of a replacement, one less susceptible to bribes and underage girls.”

Kannon stiffened at Damien’s cold tone. Lane would have to give him lessons in diplomacy on the trip home.

“Is the Lord Mayor’s removal the reward you desire for saving our families? He’s my cousin and it will be difficult to convince him to renounce his position, but I can manage it.”

Damien’s expression turned hard. “I require no reward for doing my duty, nor do I require your assistance or permission to remove the Lord Mayor. Eliminating corrupt officials is one of the responsibilities of a kingdom sorcerer. If I find the accusations against him true his head will decorate a flag pole at his residence before dark tonight.”

Baron Kannon stalked off, muttering to himself. Lane debated going over to try and soothe him, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. If he knew about his cousin’s actions he was lucky Damien decided to only punish the mayor himself.

“Are you ready?” Damien asked.

“What about horses? The bandits stole or drove off every mount in the stable.”

He smiled at that. “I think it’s safe to assume everyone knows I’m a sorcerer. How about I just fly us home?”

Lane looked away. She’d never been comfortable trusting a sorcerer to keep her from falling to earth. It seemed like such a precarious, unnatural thing, to fly without wings.

When she thought about flying with Damien she felt no doubts about his ability to keep her safe. If she were honest with herself the only real reason she hesitated was because the trip would only take two days and then they’d be home and go their separate ways. She found the idea left a hollow feeling in her chest.

“Flying would be okay, I guess. I started packing yesterday, more to keep busy than anything.”

Damien nodded. “Then let’s finish packing and get out of here.”