“I can see the town.” Peter stood on top of the hill they were about to cross, waiting for his wife and daughter to climb to him. They have been on the way for nearly two weeks now. Tiredness and worries are visible on their faces. Daria reaches the top of the hill briefly before Ariana, offering her help with the last steps. The last days were emotionally exhausting for her. Peter worried their pursuers were getting closer, so they were waking up before sunrise and rushing through the wilderness until the sunset. Not even once had they started the fire. They eat only what they can find on the way from the random sellers marching from one homestead to another or the leftovers they had dried in the bag. Dreams also haunted her every night. She saw Marcus holding her not yet born child while staring at her with a cold dead gaze. She wanted to scream at him to give her the child, but no voice came out of her throat. When she stretched her hand towards him, the bars blocked her from comi

Peter greeted the guards standing on each side of the main gate. He expected them to ask for his identification, but to his surprise, they simply let him in without a word. Entering the city seemed to be much easier than he imagined. Once Peter enters, he almost instantly blends in with the crowd, adjusting his speed to match the regular passerby not to stand out. The city looked smaller when Peter observed it from the top of the hill several days ago. Surprisingly, the streets here are as wide as those in the capital. They are bursting with life as well. People walk from shop to shop, checking the goods and deciding what to buy. Shopkeepers hire youngsters to stand in front of their shops, shouting promotional discounts just to attract potential customers and sell as much as the people can buy. It didn’t take long for Peter to guess the actual size of the town. The strategist inside let him quickly understand how they constructed the city. Longcron was the biggest city in the region

For the past three days, Peter had actively visited villages and farms situated around Longcron. He bought food and ingredients from farms to secure highly nutritious meals for his daughter and the child she carried in her womb. The day after he returned from Longcron, he also searched the foothills of the mountains for a cave. It took him half a day to find one which could offer not only excellent protection from the weather but also cover the fire, which he needed for Daria to cook food. On the third day, Ariana finally looked better. Her cheeks turned partly pink and the horrendous black bags under her eyes were half gone. Ariana’s entire complexion improved rapidly. “We will move tonight,” Peter announced as they were eating their lunch. He returned early in the morning from his visit to the nearby farm, bringing a small chicken and some potatoes and other vegetables farmers stored for themselves to survive the winter. Yesterday, Daria also caught two rabbits for Ariana to hav

“Sir, there has been a movement of troops close to our borders.” David went to report to the king. Daniel sits behind the desk, going through the mountain of papers lying on his table for the past few days. He spent his time riding a horse, hunting and walking through the town, speaking with his people instead of dealing with political matters. “Which borders?” He asks, but even without David answering the question, Daniel knows exactly which border has the unwelcome activity. The east border which he shares with Allus Sierra is the only one they are watching for any kind of movements.“Close to Heyward, sir,” David replies, earning the full attention of his king. Daniel lifted his head, staring at David, speechless. Heyward is the city close to Reichard. There is no border on that side. The entire area is impenetrable by any army, especially thanks to the mountains forming a natural border between the two countries.“Are you serious? What kind of army can cross Reichard? Did you re

Peter scanned the entire area around the town, standing tall on the east wall of Hayward. At one moment, he thought he saw a movement down in the woods, but a second later, he found nothing but a shadow among the moving trees. Peter knows Marcus won’t leave them alone, not even in this foreign country. No father would leave his child willingly. In his case, the urge to protect his heir is much stronger than Peter’s sense of responsibility towards his own baby girl. Peter had no doubts about it.“Is he down there?” Ariana talks to her father, startling him. She shouldn’t be out here. For the past three days, she had rested in the tavern, taking short strolls around the street, but her parents didn’t allow her to walk any further into the town. She suffered from dizziness spells and morning sickness, and had not entirely recovered from the trip. Her pregnancy takes away her entire energy.Peter remembers the day when his mate came home from work, telling him about her pregnancy. He coul