But I wanted Adelaide safe.

   For that, I’d swallow my pride. Tom was right about the numbers and my knife. If having him along bettered my odds, so be it.

   “We have to move faster!” I shouted at one point. “We have to overtake them!”

   “We will,” he called back. “I’ve seen their horses. They’re adequate but nothing like these. They can’t maintain this kind of gallop.”

   Maybe not, but it still seemed like they had too big of a lead. I berated myself for not having thought to finish the painting deal myself. I could’ve done it all in one day, but we hadn’t known about the Westhaven representatives in town.

   Tom slowed, and I started to chastise him when I caught sight of a light ahead of us. A lantern sat on the road, illuminating a cluster of men and horses.

   “Told you,” he said.

   We raced forward, and the men turned at the sound of our horses’ hooves. Just behind them, I spied Adelaide standing in the road. She looked unharmed, and a man near her clutched his calf in pain.

   Our presence set the brigands into disarray.

   “Pirates!”

   “Tom Shortsleeves!”

   “And Lady Aviel!”

   Tom and I drew our blades. “You have something we want,” he said. “Leave Lady Witmore with us, and go.”

   Two of the men actually started to run away, abandoning the horses they’d dismounted. Maybe image really was everything. A broad, burly man—less intimidated by us—strode forward, a knife in his hand. “She and her reward belong to us. Get out of here before we—”

   Tom slammed his sword’s pommel into the man’s head. I charged forward into another of the brigands and stabbed his shoulder with the dirk. He grunted and reached into his coat for something. A gun? A knife?

   I jumped off the horse and jabbed at his stomach. He made a lot more noise this time and pressed one hand to where I’d hit. His other hand still kept moving and produced a gun from the coat. I struck his arm with the dirk, and a kick to the knee brought him down. A follow-up kick to the head made sure he stayed down.

   I spun around, searching for someone else to hit, but only Tom stood there. He regarded my fallen foe with interest. “Well, well, it looks like you have a dark side after all.”

   “Where is she?” I demanded. “Where did she go?”

   “Not far. She got on her horse during the fight and went north.”

   The remaining brigands were either unconscious or wounded. Tom slapped their horses, sending the animals back toward Cape Triumph. “Just to make things a little more difficult.”

   He and I rode on and came upon Adelaide pretty quickly. Her horse was hobbling. “You don’t need to worry about those men anymore,” Tom told her.

   “Dead?” Her posture and voice were both filled with distrust.

   I averted my face and made sure my Belsian accent was strong. “Maybe. Or they ran.”

   “Well, it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going with them, and I’m not going with you.” Her defiance made me proud.

   Tom mostly seemed amused. “We don’t want to take you away. Wherever you’re going, we’ll help you get there safely. We’re your escorts for the night.”

   “Why?” she demanded. “What do you want?”

   “Nothing that you need to worry about. Our interests are our own. All you need to know is that you’re safe with us.” He tilted his head to get a better look. “Your horse is lame?”

   “Not yet,” she said. “But she threw a shoe.”

   “Then we’ll have to take you on ours,” Tom said.

   After looking between us and her hobbled horse, Adelaide reluctantly agreed. She tied Gideon’s horse to a tree, and I was forced to ride with Tom so that she could share the mare with her painting. After one more uneasy glance at us, she gave a nod, and the three of us set off toward Crawford at a brisk pace.

   When we reached the village’s outskirts, we all agreed that Adelaide should go on alone while Tom and I waited by the road. Masked strangers skulking in the night could be taken the wrong way.

   As soon as she was out of sight, I jumped down and paced. “Am I that bad?” Tom asked after a while.

   I turned my back to him. “Just stretching my legs.”

   “Aviel, I wish you didn’t hold such a grudge.”

   “Stop talking. I didn’t even want you here tonight.”

   His voice grew uncharacteristically serious. “I’ve always meant it when I said you have potential. I really wish you’d reconsider. We all miss you. So much is about to happen, and you should really be a part of it. In fact, I’ve actually got—” The sound of hooves cut off whatever he was about to say, and he turned to watch Adelaide ride up. “All done? Then let’s get you back. Dawn is coming.”

   The tired horses managed an aggressive speed to Cape Triumph. The eastern sky was already lightening to purple, and the trial would be resuming soon. Adelaide still had to complete the transaction with the Westhaven representatives.

   We left her near Cape Triumph’s main entrance. “Thank you for your help,” she said as she dismounted. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Either of you.”

   “Our pleasure.” Tom made as much of a bow as he could from atop the horse and made up for the lack of cape flourish by sending her off with an old Lorandian farewell that Osfridians and Sirminicans often used. It meant, “May Ariniel guard you.” Even though I knew Tom was showing off, I repeated the words in my head and hoped the angel was listening. Adelaide had a strength I’d underestimated, but she still looked small and alone as she walked away.

   I returned the new dirk to Tom, turning down his insistence I keep it. “This is Lady Aviel’s last outing,” I told him. “I mean it this time.”