"You’re lucky, humans," Gedelin said quietly as they descended the hill into the valley toward the colorful tents. "Lucky that it was naive fool Ioran who met you in the Forest. He still believes in friendship between our peoples. Anyone else in his place would have welcomed you with an arrow, and I think they would’ve been right to do so. But remember: this is your first and last visit to the Enchanted Forest. Humans have no place here."

  "Strange, but after such a warm welcome, my belief in centaur hospitality is fading," Woody said with biting sarcasm. "Completely fading!"

  "Silence, human, this is no joke," Gedelin hissed, sharply turning to him. "We have reasons for our hatred, oh yes! I know what you do to sacred places, how you turn temples into brothels and monuments into garbage heaps! That’s your nature. That’s why the Forest is for centaurs!"

  "Don’t judge all by one man, Gedelin," said Kairu quietly, wearily.

  "I’m used to standing by my words, human. And believe me, I know you’re all the same. That’s how your god made you. Even though Chiron the Bright was once your teacher, in the millennia since, you’ve forgotten the lessons of the wisest of beings."

  "As far as I can tell," Woody couldn’t hold back again, "the only thing you taught us was selfishness. You taught us that we should always think first about ourselves and those we consider our own, and all the troubles of others don’t matter. That kind of thinking led directly to racial discrimination, which we now see everywhere... Don’t you get it, centaur?"

  "That belief came out of necessity. And don’t flaunt your pitiful scraps of knowledge in front of someone with the experience of millennia… As for racism, the theory itself isn’t foolish. People simply forgot that centaurs are superior."

  "Then why don’t you prove your superiority? Why is it you, not us, who are forced to hide in the Enchanted Forest and guard it so zealously? Why do we dominate while you have remained stagnant for ages, unwilling to accept that progress is already happening?"

  Gedelin turned away. He didn’t answer immediately.

  "I would change everything, human. I would fix a lot, and I’d flood this land with blood. Your blood. Because there aren’t as few of us as you think, and many know that all our sorrows and suffering, which will never end, are because of humans… That’s the fate of the centaurs. We are not destined to find peace in this life. They say the world will never change for us, and sooner or later we’ll die out because we’ll never be able to reconcile with you. Never. I know I won’t."

  Kairu said nothing.

  ***

  The next day, just as the sun rose over the earth, Kairu and Woody left the city with Ioran, traveling the hidden Forest trails leading northeast.

  They traveled for a long time, and the road was far from dull—because, as Kairu had already learned, in the Enchanted Forest, one could savor every moment of life… while also feeling how the moments of happiness and euphoria slipped away, leaving behind days and weeks. February was drawing to a close. Centaur settlements appeared less frequently, and they more often had to sleep under the open sky. The road seemed to rise as they moved across high plateaus already touched by spring. Ahead, beyond the trees and far in the distance, the eastern spurs of the Olmaer Range began to appear—at first just a faint line blending into the clouds. The range stretched along the northern border of Aktida down to the southern deserts and subtropical forests.

  On the evening of February 22, they descended from the hills and approached a small grove, in the middle of which stood a tall stone arch carved with runes. The sky was a dazzling summer blue, with light clouds and the sun tinged with a reddish, sunset glow. They turned their faces toward the sun's last warm rays, wrapped themselves in the cloaks gifted by the centaurs, and followed Ioran through the arch.

  A cold wind swept over them, and frost stung their cheeks. They were now in the dim chill of a thicket, among snowdrifts crusted with ice beneath bare trees. The sky here was thick with clouds, twilight had already fallen, and the sun was gone. They descended to a wide road marked by wagon tracks, where Ioran stopped. Across the road, about a hundred feet away, stood a low-roofed inn with stables. Farther along, the road led toward a break in the trees, where a pale patch of sky marked the exit from the forest. An ordinary one, not Sacred.

  "This is where we part ways," Ioran said. "This road leads exactly where you need to go—Asternia. You can also follow it around the Forest and reach Dellivrine a hundred miles north of the Mainor Bridge, which will help you cross to the other side. And here, Kairu, I’ll wait for you, so we can head together to the Dragon Forge. Remember: March fifteenth. Noon. Farewell… If you stay the night at the inn and leave for Asternia in the morning, you’ll spend one night in the open, and the next day you’ll reach the city."

  "Thank you, Ioran," Kairu said softly. "For everything you’ve done for us, thank you."

  "Thanks," Woody added. "Hope to see you again in the battle for Mainor! Do try to persuade your king… and the queen too. They are… well, smart centaurs, they’ll realize it’s in their interest if humans crush the pirates under Mainor."

  Ioran just smiled.

  "Goodbye, humans. Thank you too, for visiting the Enchanted Forest."

  He raised his hand in farewell, turned, and galloped off toward the gateway into his world. Kairu and Woody stepped onto the road and crossed it, heading toward the inn. The sign was worn away by time, the name illegible, but there were several horses in the paddock and lights in the windows. Kairu glanced absently toward the stables, and froze. At first, he lost the power of speech, unable to believe his eyes. Behind the fence, towering at least two feet above the other horses, shaking its mane, stood a black Hellsteed, tied to a post with a rope.

  There could be no doubt—Kairu instantly recognized the massive, proud horse with blazing red eyes as the Hellsteed bred by Petros. He had one exactly like it himself, and in that moment he remembered, that he could have called for his horse back in the Forest. It would have found him, no matter where he was. The journey through the Forest would’ve been much faster… But there was no point in regretting it now. Instead, Kairu exclaimed, his thoughts suddenly racing:

  "Look! That’s a Hellsteed! But who…"

  A sudden thought struck him.

  "Maybe…" he said quietly, stepping closer. "Maybe Petros came back from another time?"

  "That’d be great," said Woody, who knew nothing about Hellsteeds but was eager to meet Petros. "He could get us to Asternia safely, explain what’s what… Maybe his conscience got the better of him, and he decided to help defend Mainor?"

  "More likely he has business in the Enchanted Forest. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has connections among the centaurs."

  Kairu opened the tavern door and stepped inside, shaking the snow off his boots. It was warm inside. Candle-lit lamps flickered, and a small stove radiated heat. In the left corner, near the staircase leading to the second floor, stood a counter behind which the innkeeper dozed. There weren’t many people; some of the tables remained unoccupied. Glancing over the guests quietly conversing over mugs of beer or hot grog, Kairu suddenly shuddered and froze in astonishment, because from the shadowy corner near the stove, from behind a small table, someone was looking at him with a strange mixture of surprise and interest on their face. Someone painfully familiar.

  It wasn’t Petros. Of course, Woody had no idea who it was and didn’t pay attention; besides, even for Kairu, a year of separation hadn’t passed unnoticed. He barely recognized him, and only three barely visible scars on the cheek gave away his childhood best friend, Yuf Lainter.

  ***

  He had changed greatly—thinner, gaunt, with new scars covering his already pale and worn face. Kairu wouldn’t have given him twenty years now. His once light brown hair had turned dark and dull, streaked with early grey. A decent razor hadn’t touched his chin in ages, and his cloak and clothes showed that he had been far from civilization for a long, long time. His hands were dirty and scratched, and a deep, ghastly scar, like from teeth, marked his neck, where a wound had been crudely stitched with cord. The cheerful guy Yuf was gone; in his place sat a twenty-year-old old man with deep wrinkles and dark eyes.

  For several seconds, they stared at each other, and Kairu realized that Yuf was no less surprised. He stepped forward, flinched, something held him back; he turned away and approached the innkeeper, who perked up at the sight of guests.

  "Do you have any money?" Kairu asked quietly, leaning toward Woody.

  "I should!" The thief was clearly proud of himself; he reached into the lining of his poorly patched pants and pulled out a few coins. "Ten gold pieces left from Mainor. I knew we’d need them! Jeremy lent me some for new boots. Damn, he’ll definitely remind me, if we both make it out alive."

  "It’s enough," Kairu decided. "Enough to get us to Asternia, at least. We’ll figure out the rest later." Scooping up the coins, he handed them to the innkeeper, saying, "A room with two beds for one night… And let’s have a proper breakfast tomorrow," he added, turning to Woody. "We’ll have to sleep in the open field, so let’s eat well before we tighten our belts."

  The innkeeper silently handed them a key with a crudely scratched room number.

  "You go ahead," Kairu said, glancing again at Lainter. "I’ll… sit here for a bit. Need to catch up on some news. Who knows what awaits us in Asternia."

  Woody gave him a strange look but said nothing, took the key, turned away, and headed toward the staircase leading to the second floor. Kairu slowly made his way between the tables to Yuf. When he reached him, he sat across from him and met his gaze boldly. A vivid image flashed through his mind, as if from another life. A cold March in 1453. The Nubel estate. The evening before the fateful fire… Yuf was studying him thoughtfully, and Kairu guessed he was also searching for familiar features in his old friend.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Well, how’s life?"

  Kairu didn’t answer immediately. The question was asked so casually and naturally, as if they’d parted yesterday, not a year ago.

  "I should be asking you that," he said slowly. "Looks like we both have plenty of questions for each other. What are you doing here? How did you end up here? And what’s with all those scars? Oh, and I almost forgot: what happened back at the Nubel estate, what were you secretly corresponding with Petros about, and why didn’t you try to contact me even once?"

  "To anyone listening, it wouldn’t sound like two best friends reunited after a year apart," Yuf muttered, pouring himself some beer. "Where do you want me to start? Or should I ask a few questions of my own? No, never mind—I've already asked the only question I needed to. I already know everything else about you. I’m just curious—how’s life after everything that’s happened?"

  Kairy felt his joy quickly give way to frustration.

  "And don’t you think that maybe it’s not so great?"

  "I figured. Still, I hoped you’d tell me something good. Didn’t believe it, but I hoped."

  "You dragged me into that expedition," Kairu said, feeling the anger boiling inside him. "And then you didn’t even try to help me. We were a week’s ride from my home, but Petros forbade me from going there. Why didn’t you help me yourself? Why did you leave me a hostage to Petros? And what the hell good could have come out of it? What were you hoping to hear? That everything worked out great? No, Yuf, I’m knee-deep in mess, and you know that damn well. Where the hell have you been all this time?"

  "Did it ever occur to you that I might have had things to do?" Yuf replied with visible irritation. "I heard from Petros what you’d been up to for almost a month in his camp. Sunbathing, swimming, brushing up on your education. Then I met with Viggo, Remiz and Rita, practiced fencing in the fresh air, and at the same time helped Petros in his search for the crossroads of times… And I was just loafing around. Like a tourist, I crisscrossed Aktida and Vaimar. That’s how you see it?"

  "Maybe it is!" Kairu snapped. "Maybe that’s true—because you know nothing! Because it was my parents the pirates killed, because I actually had to fight, and not only in Nalvin but in Mainor too, and I’ve already had my share of hell! And what exactly were you doing all that time, if you don’t mind me asking?"

  "I’m glad that you asked," Lainter said, leaning forward and sipping from his mug. "I think Petros already told you that I left Nubelrain right after the fire and went to Nalvin. First, I helped Viggo and Remiz, while you were nicely settled with the professor who fed, housed, and pampered you. Then I worked. Long and hard. I didn’t sleep at night, because a lot of things had to be done at night. I didn’t get out of the saddle. I chased mysterious figures over rooftops, I froze in the forests in autumn and winter… I traveled half the world, and I didn’t do it for myself, but because it had to be done."

  "Who needs it, Yuf? Aktida is engulfed in war. Nothing else matters anymore. All people really need is to get out of this chaos and restore peace. Nubel, the man you worked for, is dead, Petros disappeared into the crossroads of time and hasn’t come back. So who needs your heroic self-sacrifice?"

  "You want to know? Then listen. It’s a very long and complicated story, and it has nothing to do with the Lake of Aktida or Saelin. Petros isn’t a fool, Kairu. He saw that sooner or later this would turn into a full-blown world war. And it wouldn’t be about who wins. Everyone would lose. I suppose I don’t have to explain the political situation in the country? Saelin rules through fear, and the Lake of Aktida sows discord among the kings. I know, it’s enough to make them tear each other’s throats out over it, even though the Lake is far away now, in Saelin’s Castle. The newspapers don’t write about it, but Vaimar has already started quietly assembling an army to attack Aktida if Saelin loses and Emerlun seizes the diamond. Jake is smart enough not to strike first… and that’s why Saelin isn’t rushing either."

  He paused, took another sip of beer, and passed the mug to Kairu.

  "Want some?"

  "Later. You still haven’t said what you’ve actually been doing all year, why you’ve been wandering around Laugdeil. So far, I’ve only gathered that you worked with Petros just like you used to with Nubel. Changing masters like gloves?"

  "I don’t work for Petros!" Yuf barked. "He’s my friend, got it? And I owe him my life for pulling me out of a pit no one ever returns from! That’s why I agreed to this mission. There’s another reason too. We share the same beliefs, ones we’re both ready to die for. Petros has already proven it. Now it’s my turn… Promise you won’t tell anyone a word!"

  "Well?"

  Lainter lowered his voice to almost a whisper.

  "Petros and I are planning a revolution."

  He clearly expected this to have a dramatic impact, but Kairu remained completely unmoved. He asked indifferently:

  "The Cassians?"

  "I see you didn’t waste your time in Mainor," Yuf smirked. "Or did Petros tell you?"

  "He told me nothing, just made everything even more confusing. I actually found out everything in Mainor. Met Dalid Eyring. We also found out that Rita’s parents were Cassians too. So, you’re part of that… sect?"

  "It’s not a sect, Kairu. It’s a secret society."

  "Whatever. We were nearly hanged just for showing up at one of their meetings—and all we wanted was to learn more about Rita’s parents. I don’t even know what happened to Dalid afterward, or anyone else who was there. They raided us, Yuf..."

  "Maclevirr," Yuf ground his teeth. "He’s been after us seriously lately. I’m sure Rita’s mother’s murder was his doing, maybe her father’s too..."

  "So all of this was Petros’s idea? The Cassians, the revolution? He wants to kill the king?"

  "It’s more complicated than that." Yuf leaned in close, spoke barely above a whisper, constantly glancing around in alarm. "Apparently, Petros didn’t think it necessary to tell you about this, you play a different role in his plans… A revolution is a coup. People in the country unite and demand reforms from the king by force. If necessary, they overthrow him… I suppose you’ve never heard the word ‘democracy’ either. But believe me, Petros and I are fighting for a better world. One you’ll like a lot more. This idea came from the ancient Nocturns thousands of years ago, but then our ancestors ruined everything. Petros and I can make it work, if we manage to recruit enough supporters. Now do you understand?"

  "I understand." Watching Lainter light up, describing his revolution with genuine childlike enthusiasm, Kairu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "So after you abandoned me in Nubelrain, you went off to handle revolutionary business?"

  "Exactly. Sorry, brother, but I had a very important task, I couldn’t help you at the time. I hoped to come find you in the summer, but I got buried in work..."

  "I see," Kairu repeated. "Now it all makes sense, Yuf. You’ve gone mad. Open your eyes! You’re wandering around the world, high on your bright-future ideas, and you don’t even notice what’s happening in reality! Do you even realize what happened in Nalvin? Our garrison had five thousand men, only fifty made it back to Mainor, and only thanks to Cassander’s grace. I still don’t know how I managed to survive... You didn’t see what I saw, Yuf. You remember my dreams, my nightmares that I retold you when we were kids? Now they became a reality, Yuf! I saw in my dream how the pirates looted Surrell, sank ships, burned homes, killed everyone who couldn’t escape, even the elderly, women, and children! A massive fleet razed that city to the ground, drenched it in blood! That’s when I understood what true evil is. And I understood that it’s absolute. No idea or high moral can justify what happened in Surrell."

  "And Nalvin!" Kairu went on mercilessly, slamming his fist on the table. "You weren’t there, how can you know what war is, real war, the kind that’s happening right now? It was hell! Blood, fire, and sweat! I thought I’d drown in all that blood—not mine, someone else’s! But I was a bit luckier than the rest…"

  "And then where do you think I went? Not to Mainor to play hero! Though there’s no shame in that, only pride… I went back to the village, Yuf. The place I couldn’t go before because of your beloved Petros. I found a charred skeleton of what used to be our house and my father’s body in a heap of corpses in the graveyard! The only survivors were a handful of refugees too scared to even go near the place. I buried my father with my own hands. Remember the day you came to the village, returned from your travels and invited me on that expedition? Remember what it looked like? It’s all gone now! Turned into ashes!"

  Lainter said nothing, avoiding his gaze. Kairu caught his breath and jumped up so hard that the chair behind him crashed to the floor. Dishes clattered, the barkeeper flinched; all the guests were now watching them.

  "And Mainor!" he shouted, unable to contain himself. "Were you there during those twenty days of nonstop siege, when we choked on gunpowder smoke and collapsed from exhaustion, falling asleep right on the battlements, in the snow?! Where were you when Woody Miles and I went down into Mainor’s sewers, lost and searching for a way out? Where were you when we swam across the ice-cold Ilvion, fleeing from pirates, and fought off a giant rat on the eastern bank while freezing to death? You were sitting in a tavern, drinking beer, pretending to be someone important! You know who you are to me after all that? A coward and a traitor."

  Breathing heavily, he dropped back into the chair. Silence fell. It seemed that at any moment, Lainter might hit him. But Yuf restrained himself.

  "Kairu…" he said hoarsely.

  "How can you even drink that beer?" Kairu snapped, slamming his fist on the table so hard the bottle fell and shattered on the floor. A dark, wet stain spread on the wooden boards.

  "Kairu," Yuf said quietly. "You’ll understand later… in time. When we both have the chance to confess our own hardships to each other. If your only point in saying all that was to prove you’ve done more for Aktida than I have, then you’re wrong. This isn’t the time to prove anything… And I believe in Petros. I believe he truly cares for Aktida and doesn’t wish it harm."

  "I believe in him too," Kairu said bitterly, "but I think you’re both floating in the clouds. What matters to us is the real danger, the one that’s come to our doorstep and is knocking on the door. Not the one beyond the horizon."

  "Beyond the horizon…" Yuf repeated. "You’ll see, Kairu, that it’s almost the same thing. Time doesn’t matter anymore, and what’s meant to happen… will happen. And, Kairu, you’re not just being unfair to me."

  "Oh yeah?" Kairu cut him off. "And were you fair to me? I don’t give a damn anymore what Petros wants. My family were killed by pirates, because of them and because of Saelin, my life fell apart. That’s why I fight them. I don’t care which king sits on the throne, to me, they’re all the same. All I want is revenge… and peace. I want things to be the way they used to be! I wish I’d never agreed to that damned offer from Nubel!"

  He stood up and headed for the stairs, calling over his shoulder:

  "Yuf, if you still want to be my friend, not a traitor who sits on the sidelines while others bleed, then do everything in your power. I’m going to Asternia now, to ask for help and bring an army to the city gates for the final battle. Go wherever you want, to Boreain, to Petista, to Vaimar, even to hell itself—but bring reinforcements. Spring is coming soon, there’s no time to waste. Anything’s better than sitting around daydreaming... Goodbye."

  He didn’t look back. But just by the stairs, Lainter’s voice called after him:

  "Kairu..."

  Kairu turned around.

  "I’m a patriot of Aktida too, Kairu," Yuf said softly. "And I have the right to choose what will help it, and what won’t."

  When Kairu went upstairs and entered the bedroom, Woody still hadn’t fallen asleep. As Kairu was pulling off his boots, he asked:

  "Well? Did you get any news?"

  "Yeah," Kairu answered grimly, collapsing onto his side. "Not the best ones."