Chapter 4

I woke up to the pungent scent of medicine hanging in the air.

When I opened my eyes, the familiar canopy overhead told me I was back in my old bedroom at Sutton Manor.

"You're awake?" A raspy voice drifted over from beside the bed.

Leonard sat heavily in the chair, with dark circles under his eyes and his stubble unkempt.

In his hand, he held a cross.

The one I'd begged for seven years ago, before he left for the border wars. I traveled to a distant chapel, and with every third step I knelt in prayer, until I…