Moving a decent distance, River sat down on a moss-covered rock. Why did the Academy send Erin? It is obvious that she will not be useful to Prince Salman, she's no good as a witch. Then what is the reason? The answer was self-explanatory: Erin was just an excuse to wage an open war between the two Councils. If a girl dies, the Light Council can easily accuse Shadowa of disrupting a diplomatic mission. If she survives, of course, Ziona will not tolerate that power in Moghara will be given to Clyde and his minions. What Mogar - the whole state will lie at its feet! The prince will be able to persuade his father.
"But why did Ziona decide to take this step? After all, it is clear that in any case, for her this situation is a losing one," - puzzled River. "Either the Council in her person will be accused of the premeditated murder of the envoy or will have to send a new mercenary. What are the benefits?
All of this had to be thought through, but not now. River now felt sorry for the girl who was drawn into the war between the Soviets by fate. The fact that she was elected a victim was already clear. It was necessary to understand how to rid her of this fate. Why did River have to do that? Money? No, the money had nothing to do with it. But there was another feeling of pity that the mercenary didn't want to know about.
- Did you find anything? - Hopefully, Erin met her. River spread her empty hands and noticed the girl's outstretched face and hurried to add:
- Nothing, there must be a town or village nearby, where we can buy food.
- Do you have money? - Erin asked her mistrustfully. River smiled.
- No.
- But how...
- We will earn," the woman winked at her.
- Yeah," Erin jumped up, grabbed her bag, and hurried after the mercenary, heading down the forest path. - You know, it's a good thing Mogar and I are on the same island. - She paused, remembering the name. -Well, I don't remember which one, but they say they sell the most beautiful pearls."What?" "- she asked in surprise as Reaver stopped and stared at her.
- Is your jewelry city called Trakis by any chance?
Erin shone.
- That's right, he did. Why?
- Nothing," the mercenary sighed. "There's just one person there I don't want to meet right now.
- What kind of person? - Erin was curious. River's been screaming.
- My husband," she grimly murmured, and walked forward again, leaving behind a girl who had opened her mouth astonishingly and her gray, shiny eyes, watching them carefully because of the thick foliage.
* * * * *
- Husband," muttered Erin, jumping over the large root of an old tree by the road. - Will she tell me about it? Or do you have to torture her?
To say that she was surprised to hear about her husband was not to say anything. She didn't even know what to say for a couple of minutes. And that was almost impossible for someone who could talk for hours without stopping.
Honestly, she never thought that mercenaries could have a family and children like any other person. I wonder," Erin looked at River, who was walking a few steps away from her, "did she have children? And if so, who do they look like?
Of course, she could have asked a dark-haired woman a long time ago, but something kept her from doing so. It is likely that this was the expression of a mercenary's face. Or her gloomy silence, which lasted all the time they were on the road. Something was clearly troubling her. Only what?
River, by the edge of her ear, listening to the girl muttering under her nose, and remembering to look around, was in fact immersed in heavy thinking. They didn't bother her as Erin had supposed, but they didn't have much fun in them.
She thought of a time when she was younger, freer and more carefree. It was at that time that she had done a significant percentage of the stupid things she had done in her life. Then she met Malik.
She liked him: beautiful, intelligent, with a sense of humor... He did not boast of his strength or any other qualities, unlike the others, with whom River was familiar. The young man was an interesting interlocutor and when he offered to spend a couple of days with him, she did not refuse. If she had known that she would connect her life with him later, she would have thought well before accepting his offer.
At first, everything was just fine. They spent a lot of time together, they always had topics to talk about, they were not bored together. Of course, Malik had secrets of his own, which he was in no hurry to share, but River was hiding her true profession from him. Have you forgotten that she was a murderer? No? River, too, and she wasn't eager to tell her fiancé about it. At least before the wedding.
But as soon as River's finger got a ring, everything changed dramatically.
The first few weeks River tried not to pay attention to the fact that the character of her chosen one suddenly became far from perfect.
To be continued...