"What's on your mind?" Lilan asked as we walked. Kev and Lano had put together a makeshift litter to carry Ophelia on, so she was no longer tossed over his shoulder.

  I ran a hand down my face and looked at his expecting gaze. It was already late morning, and we'd been traveling for hours despite Lilan’s promise that his people were ‘just a little farther.’

  "Just thinking," I told him. "There is a lot I need to do."

  I didn't lie. I was thinking. Not about any plans, though. I'd had another dream the night before, laying on those tree limbs in the forest. Sleep had come easy once I'd settled in next to Ophelia, my body curled against hers. It had been a sad attempt at keeping the both of us warm, but it had worked out well enough.

  I'd used [Insight] on her after waking up—the lack of any System response had been a reassurance that she hadn't worsened overnight. Despite my worry for her, and the pang of hunger in my gut, I couldn't quite shake the dream from the front of my thoughts. Even there, walking next to Lilan, I could still see it just as clearly as if it had actually happened…

  ***

  "Guards! Get her!" The merchant yelled as I swiped a loaf of bread from his table and a coin purse from a waiting customers hand.

  I took off at a sprint, using the tight alleyways of the Eastern Quarter to break that pursuing guard's line of sight. I slowed when I reached the alleys of Merchant's Row, the sound of my footsteps slapping on the cobbles quickly blending with the soft sound of water running down one wall of a nearby building. A fountain, if I had remembered correctly.

  I couldn't quite place why I knew it was a fountain. But I did. I was sure of it. I took a bite of the loaf of bread, savoring the still warm inside as I chewed it and began to count the coins in the purse I'd snatched. I'd been halfway through the loaf, still waiting on someone to arrive—though I couldn't recall their name—when the faceless man had appeared.

  He'd approached like any other beggar, a hood pulled tight over his face, the cloth hiding any identifiable features, his back hunched. He'd called me something because I remembered hearing it. Remembered looking up at him, the piercing gaze that emanated from the shadow beneath the hood almost locking me in place. I couldn't remember the name he'd called me, but something within me had answered to it.

  "A great threat is coming," he said, his voice like rocks scraping against metal. The air seemed to warp around him, shifting from red to blue and yellow, the swirls ripping at his clothing, as if the cosmos themselves were fighting his existence and trying to pull him from reality. "You are needed elsewhere."

  The bread had turned to ash in my mouth and I'd begun coughing. Pain erupted through my chest and I dropped the bread and the coins, clutching above my heart. Something within me was growing. Expanding. But I couldn't understand it. I didn't want to understand it.

  I just wanted it to end.

  As my body gave out, my connection to it slipping away like sunlight slipping beneath the horizon, I felt another presence—one much stronger and much brighter—fill the space that I left behind.

  ***

  I shook my head, this time banishing the thoughts to the back of my mind where they belonged. I was no dream reader—we hadn't been blessed with a proper one of those in centuries that I knew of—so wasting all my time thinking about the meaning of my dreams was unlikely to get me any closer to what I needed to accomplish.

  "I need to get back to the capital," I said after a moment. There was a small, nagging part of me that was worried Sil and I were walking out of one trap and into another.

  Lilan only nodded. "I just want to show you something first, then, if you choose to leave, we'll give you everything you need to get back to the city."

  I agreed, and we continued in silence. After a while, I slowed my steps, letting Lilan pull ahead as I met back up with Sil near the back of the group. His face had completely returned to that of the soldier, though his hair was still as white as ever. He flashed my a slight grin, his sharp fangs showing just behind his lip.

  "We'll see what Lilan and the others have to offer and then we make for the capital. As nice as the forests here are, I don't want to risk getting caught out in one of the first winter storms if we can help it." I shivered as I spoke, the wind blowing through my hair and sending gooseflesh rushing across my skin. Yeah, we really needed to get back before the winter storms settled in. Otherwise, we might not make it back in time. I had no real idea how long the human body might last under such conditions. Dragon skin was much tougher, and better at keeping its warmth in.

  *** *** ***

  We walked for three more hours; the sun beating down upon us, offering a very small semblance of warmth as the weather continued to grow cooler. Some of the group were just beginning to tire and slow when Lilan held up a hand, bringing us all to a stop. A shrill whistle erupted through the forest from all around us, and then Lilan responded in kind, his own whistle rising through the air. A moment later, three men—all dressed in dark clothing and hoods—came walking out of the forest. The man in the center of the group lowered his hood, revealing a square-cut jaw, tightly shaved black facial hair, and neatly cut hair that stopped at the top of his ears. He looked every bit a soldier as the General had back at the camp.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Ah, what a relief it is to see you coming back, Lilan," the man said. His voice carried an accent I couldn't quite place, perhaps something from beyond the Irindor Sea. It had been centuries since I'd ventured that far east and lived among the land's people.

  "You as well, Brenk, holding everything down while I've been gone?" He offered the man a rueful smile and then embraced like brothers.

  "As well as can be expected. Empire's soldiers have been busy, gathering up people as quick as they can find them."

  "Yeah, we know," Lilan responded, motioning to the rest of the group that had come with us. "We've just left behind one of their camps, about a day and a half's walk from here. Not sure what state it's in now. The prisoners were rioting when we left."

  "Sounds like a good day's work then." Brenk's smile stretched across his face, the joy in it reaching all the way to his eyes.

  I was only a little jealous of how happy he was. But the cold was getting to me and I wasn't sure how long they might prattle on before finally realizing the rest of us were still waiting.

  "Not to interrupt," I said, pushing toward the three newcomers. "But I believe getting out of this wind would be a nice change of pace for those of us who have been traveling for the past day and a half. I also wouldn't say no to an opportunity to bathe, though I assume that's likely outside your range of offerings, isn't it?"

  Brenk's eyebrows rose and he looked between Lilan and I. "And what strays have you brought home today?"

  Lilan gave the man an exasperated look. "Brenk, this is Aria. She helped us escape by causing a distraction for the soldiers."

  "I'm the one that caused the first spark of the fire that hopefully burned down that godsforsaken place," I added, painting a smile across my mouth. "You can thank me for it later. After I'm out of the cold. I mean, come on? A fire? A tent? Anything?" I made a gesture of looking around, as if their camp might suddenly

  Brenk chuckled, a sound that almost made me want to punch him. Almost. I refrained, as any good empress would.

  "We have a place just around the bend," he noted, turning to his companions. He whispered something I couldn't quite make out—oh how I missed my draconic hearing—and then they hurried off the way that they'd come. "They'll get everything prepared for us."

  "Perfect. And that bath?" I used [Insight] on him and was relieved to find that he didn't have any connection to the System. That, at least, was reasurring—even if I was still unsure how extensive Lilan's connection was.

  He tilted his head to the side, flashing his teeth in a wide smile. "Afraid that one is a bit outside of our offerings at the moment. But a nice warm cup of wine should help warm your bones up. Come on, this way." He patted Lilan on the shoulder, the other man rolling his eyes as Brenk led us into the forest after his two companions. Eventually, the path narrowed until it headed into a thin ravine between two mountainous cliffs.

  We continued, following the trail until we reached a small valley with several tents scattered like pale mushrooms against the dark earth. The smoke from a central stone hearth spiraled upward, trapped within the natural chimney of the cliffs before it thinned out into the cloudless sky. That explained how they remained hidden despite having so many people.

  The camp was surprisingly quiet, but it wasn't the silence of sleep—it was that of discipline. Men and women sat by low fires, sharpening blades or mending cloth and leather. Their movements were economical and hushed. Practiced. They weren't anything like what I'd expected from a group of rebels hiding in the forest. Instead, I could see why we had always struggled to root out these groups before they struck somewhere populated. If the rest of the rebels throughout the empire were even half as organized as this, then my impersonator had quite the job ahead of her.

  And I had quite the tool at my fingertips.

  Brenk led us toward a tent made of heavy, oiled hides that stood slightly apart from the rest. Beside it, a large iron pot sat nestled in a bed of coals, steam rising from the open lid of the kettle. He picked up two mismatched ceramic mugs and dipped them into the pot, the scent of cinnamon and bitter grapes rising in a thick cloud of steam. One he held out to me, the other he offered to Sil.

  I took the mug without complaint and held it in my hands, letting the warmth seep through my palms. The heat from the coals was also a welcome relief, and I settled onto a log that had been placed near the cooking pit. Sil settled down next to me, taking a small sip of his drink.

  "That is delicious," he noted, taking another sip.

  I used [Insight] before taking a sip. When the System didn’t scream at me about any kind of poisons, I chanced a small taste, letting its sweet flavor cascade over my tongue. It carried hints of cinnamon mixed with an almost bitterness that bit into the tongue after a moment, a subtle balance of relaxing and invigorating tastes.

  Lilan took up a spot before us, his hands cradling a mug of his own. "So now that you've seen what we have to offer—at least on the surface—what do you think?"

  "About joining up with you?"

  He nodded.

  It was an interesting proposition, and one that could benefit me. If I could find a way to use their plans and schemes in my own, then it would not only help me get a nice foothold in the empire as I was now, but it could also help provide me with more allies to use in my fight to take down the imposter wearing my skin. There was also the messiness that getting into bed with rebels would bring. Eventually, I would have to cut ties with them. Whether that was because of Lilan's knowledge of the System, or because of my own choices and goals for the empire was another matter entirely.

  Either way, it would mean turmoil.

  On the other hand, if I did get into bed with them, then I could possibly shift them in the direction that would benefit me most. Stopping my imposter's plans to move the capital west was a good start, and it could prove worth exploring as a way to test the strength of our budding relationship, as it would be one less thing I'd need to deal with down the road once I’d taken control of my empire again.

  There was also the matter of figuring out who I had been before, which was something I was quickly coming to understand the importance of. I wasn't sure why I felt so intrigued by the prospect, but if this body had had an entire life before mine, then that meant it had connections I might be able to leverage in my pursuits.

  "I'm not against working together," I said, meeting his eyes. I kept my tone neutral, almost nonchalant. "But I won't be joining up. I have things I want to accomplish in Caelthara. I have an inn. A place in the Eastern Quarter called The Slumbering Drake. Once I've dealt with the small rodent problem I have there, I'll be able to operate out of it without issue. Perhaps we could come to some arrangement to help with any efforts you’re making within the city. Your people need a place to rest, correct? In return, you tell me anything you learn about the empire—and I mean anything. I’ll step in further when needed. Deal?"