He hoped that the bare-branched copse of Swamp Maples had provided enough shelter for them. Now that the violence was over, he was grateful he’d ordered the soldiers to remain out of sight and to not attack any rival forces, no matter how close the other battalion came to them. He understood the hearts of soldiers. That their instincts and training would make it difficult for them to sit back and watch while Elena’s army invaded their land. But he needed them alive, now more than ever. He needed to find Charlie. He stayed behind while Claude went to collect the others, wanting to assess the destruction left behind by the enemy army. He wasn’t sure what he expected to gain from the inspection of the decimated village—he could see from his vantage point on the hillside that the Astonian soldiers had left no witnesses to their rampage—but his curiosity called to him all the same. The black smoke that coiled and twisted through the air stood out against the pale morning fog, like an obscene reminder of the night’s events.
