I MADE IT TO THE EDGE of the village in one piece.
Nobody tried to stop me. Here and there, people gave me vague smiles, or raised a hand in greeting, but I hurried on. If my tear-stained face raised any eyebrows, I didn’t stick around to find out.
Only one face stood out among the townsfolk I passed. Elder Frey stared at me as I hurried past the meeting house. He was in the upper window, standing in the same place I’d been when I first laid eyes on Ronan. His face was unreadable, not smiling or frowning, just... watchful.
A tremor ran down my spine, but I kept going.
As I reached the gates, I’d worked myself into a rage so powerful I was fully prepared to start kicking them down if they didn’t open.
But they did. I didn’t see who was manning the watchtowers, but I passed between the
