Blood and Iron

The scent of blood still lingered in the air as Alina and her forces rode south. The battle had been won, but there was no time to celebrate.

She wiped a streak of crimson from her cheek, her expression hard. The enemy hadn't expected them to strike first, but they had recovered too quickly. That wasn't the behavior of an unprepared force.

They had planned for this.

Which meant Aldric was walking into a trap.

Varin pulled up beside her, his horse snorting in the cold night air.

"That wasn't a scouting party," he muttered. "They were testing us."

Alina nodded. "And they learned more than I'd like."

Varin glanced over his shoulder at their troops. "We lost twenty good men."

"Better than losing the whole company."

His jaw tightened. "If we ride through the night, we can still catch up to Aldric's main force before—"