The walk was rougher, though. As focused as Lana was on getting to the cabin as quickly as they could, it was still impossible not to notice that the forest was a beautiful place. It looked like an ancient forest and was virtually untouched—most likely because most of it belonged to Rex Pimetrius. She wondered if the family she’d seen was the family of a former royal guard. The old guy had looked big enough and mean enough to have been a soldier. Without the paint, the armor, and the hair cut, he hadn’t looked anything like the warriors she’d seen and it hadn’t occurred to her at the time, but she supposed he must be retired military. He’d had a pretty nice place, but then he’d had plenty of help, too, in building it into a farm. The other one—maybe, maybe not. If he’d been a warrior, it certainly hadn’t helped him or his wife. She had to wonder how long they were expected to serve the king. How old was considered too old to be a royal guard anymore? She surveyed Corin speculatively.
