Aveline returned to the carriage to find it empty; not empty in the elegant, peaceful way a room could be empty, but empty in the very rude way of a breakfast that had clearly gone on without her.
She stood there for a moment, blinking at the quiet interior, then settled herself on the carriage step with both hands cupping her cheeks like a scolded child. Theron was nowhere in sight. The knights were nowhere in sight. Even Kael seemed to have evaporated into whatever dark place that man crawled back into when he wanted to be unpleasant.
It was beginning to feel strangely personal.
Where did all of Theron's people go? Did they simply appear when they wished to intimidate, then vanish when it was time to eat? Were they shadows? Was that the job description?
Aveline sighed and rested her chin on her palms, staring at the trees while her stomach made a delicate, offended noise.
Then she heard it.
A faint rustle behind the trunks.
