No one moved for a long moment — the party frozen at the ridge, the dozen figures unmoving at the archway below, firelight throwing long shadows between them like a held breath neither side wanted to break first.
"Weapons down," Alistair said quietly, and Reyna's head snapped toward him in open alarm. "I mean it. If they wanted us dead, they'd have attacked before we ever reached the ridge. Whoever they are, this isn't an ambush."
"That's a significant risk to stake on a guess, Your Majesty."
"It's not a guess." His eyes hadn't left the figures below. "Look at their stance. They're not braced for a fight. They're braced for a conversation they'd rather not be having."
He was right. As the party descended, weapons lowered but not sheathed, Eva could see it too — the guardians stood in l
