Night had fallen by the time Aria and Rowan reached the mountains.
They built a small fire near a rocky cliff.
Neither of them had spoken much since the attack.
Rowan stared into the flames.
"Someone powerful sent those riders," he said.
Aria nodded.
"Yes."
Rowan looked at her."You know something."
Aria stayed silent for a long moment.
The fire crackled between them.
Finally she spoke.
"When I was a child… my father once told me something strange."
Rowan waited.
"He said our family wasn't just a royal family."
She looked at the mountains in the darkness.
"He said we were guardians."
Rowan frowned.
"Guardians of what?"
Aria slowly reached into the small bag she carried.From inside she pulled out a small metal pendant.
The same symbol as the royal crest.
But older.
More complex.
"My father said one day people would come looking for this."
Rowan leaned closer.
"And what does it do?"
Aria's voice was quiet.
"I don't know."
She looked up at him.
"But whoever sent those riders…""…they think it's important."
The wind moved through the mountains.
Somewhere in the darkness, a distant horn echoed.
Rowan slowly stood.
"That," he said quietly, "doesn't sound good."
Aria looked toward the dark valley below.
Far away…
torches were moving.
Dozens of them.
An army was coming.
And suddenly Rowan understood.
The riders this morning had not been a threat.They had been a warning.
The real hunt had just begun.