Luna said, trying to buck me off. “You don’t understand. The tower has been discovered.” I tightened my grip on her shoulders. “Then shouldn’t we proceed with caution? If someone found your home, we should—” I was rewarded with a swift kick of her boot directly to my shin. I grunted. She might be small, but she packed some force. That’s all it took. She wiggled out from under me. I pushed to my feet after her. She was almost to the hilltop when I caught her. She released a startled cry, and I covered her mouth with my hand, cutting off the noise. Dragging her down, I draped my body over her squirming one. I peeked over the hill above her head. The familiar tower loomed tall in the murky air—surrounded by an entire company of soldiers, a hundred strong garbed in the blue and black colors of Relhok. I knew the colors well. I scanned the faces. It had been two years since I last mingled with the Relhok cavalry, but I had grown up with some of those boys. I pressed my mouth near her ear.
