"You'll ride with us to confirm that description properly," I said, gesturing for Kell to secure the prisoners more firmly for the journey ahead. "The Princess will want every detail you can offer, and I suspect she'll offer considerably better terms for cooperation than whatever coin the Vanes promised you."
The ride back toward the capital stretched long through the remaining hours of darkness, the recovered chest secured carefully across my own saddle, the bound mercenaries trailing behind under close guard. Exhaustion pulled hard at every muscle in my body, the accumulated weight of a full day's fighting finally catching up now that the immediate danger had passed, but satisfaction burned bright enough beneath the fatigue to keep him upright and alert through the final stretch of road
