The sound of rushing water reached them long before the river came into view. Siegfried and Sentra descended the slope toward the noise, the plains narrowing into a natural funnel of stone and tall grass. The air grew cooler, touched by the spray drifting on the wind.
Sentra slowed, her posture sharpening. "The Red Veil crossed here. The ground is too disturbed for it to be anything else."
Siegfried stepped beside her. The grass near the bank was flattened in wide patches, the soil churned by hooves and boots. The river itself was broad and fast moving, its surface broken by white foam where the current struck hidden rocks.
"They moved quickly," Siegfried said.
"Too quickly," Sentra replied. "This crossing is dangerous. They would not choose it unless they had a reason."
Siegfried crouched near the water's edge. The mud was thick with prints, some deep, some smeared by the current. "Fresh. Less than an hour."
Sentra nodded. "We are close."
She scanned the far bank, her eyes narrowing. "Look there."
Siegfried followed her gaze. On the opposite shore, the grass was torn in a wide arc, as if someone had stumbled or been dragged. A low branch hung over the water, its leaves scattered across the surface.
"Someone struggled," Siegfried said quietly.
"Not because they could not swim," Sentra replied. "Ellina would not panic in water. This was something else. Exhaustion. Injury. Or someone forcing her under."
Siegfried's breath tightened. "Vinrah."
"Possibly," Sentra said. "But one of them was weakened after the earlier fight. They had to be carried out of the river."
Siegfried rose, determination hardening in his chest. "We cross."
"Not here," Sentra said. "The current will take you. There is a shallow bend upstream."
They moved along the bank until the river widened into a calmer stretch. Sentra stepped into the shallows first, testing the footing. "Slow. The rocks are slick."
Siegfried followed, the cold-water biting at his legs. The current tugged at him, but he kept his balance, moving from stone to stone until they reached the far side.
Sentra crouched immediately, examining the ground. "They stopped here."
Siegfried knelt beside her. The grass was pressed down in a tight cluster, the soil marked by knees and hands. A faint smear of dirt trailed away from the river, leading toward a narrow path between two low hills.
"Someone was carried," Sentra said again, her voice low.
Siegfried's jaw set. "Then we are closer than ever."
Sentra stood, her cloak stirring in the wind. "Yes. And the Red Veil will know they are losing time."
She looked toward the narrow path ahead. "They will not travel quietly from here."
Siegfried nodded. "Then neither will we."
Together, they followed the trail into the hills, the river fading behind them as the land closed in.
The chase was no longer distant.
It was just ahead.
The hills tightened around them as they followed the narrow path north. The air grew still, the wind fading until even the grass seemed to hold its breath. Sentra moved ahead with silent precision, her eyes scanning every ridge and shadow.
Siegfried kept pace, though each step sent a dull ache through his ribs. The trail was clearer now. The Red Veil had stopped masking their movement. They were close to their destination and no longer cared who followed.
Sentra slowed as the land dipped into a shallow basin. "We are near."
Siegfried felt it too. The air carried a faint metallic scent, old stone and stagnant water. A place abandoned long enough to rot, but not long enough to be forgotten.
They climbed the final rise.
The keep emerged from the landscape like a broken tooth.
Half collapsed walls.
A leaning watchtower.
Stone blackened by old fire.
And a wooden palisade built recently around the southern side, crude but functional.
Siegfried exhaled slowly. "The old fort."
Sentra nodded. "The Red Veil has used it before. It is isolated and easy to defend."
From their vantage point, they could see movement along the outer wall. Two mercenaries patrolled the perimeter, their red scarves fluttering in the wind. A third sat near the gate, sharpening a spear.
Siegfried's pulse tightened. "Ellina and Vinrah are inside."
"Most likely," Sentra said. "But the Red Veil does not keep captives in the main hall. They will be held in the lower chambers or the storage rooms beneath the tower."
Siegfried scanned the keep, searching for any sign of the women. "How many guards."
"Too many to count from here," Sentra replied. "But fewer than a full company. They split their forces, remember."
Siegfried nodded. "Which means the ones here are the ones they trust."
Sentra's expression sharpened. "Or the ones they consider expendable."
They crouched lower as a pair of mercenaries crossed the courtyard below. One carried a bucket of water. The other dragged a crate toward the tower entrance.
Siegfried's breath caught.
A strip of blue fabric hung from the crate's corner.
Ellina's color.
Sentra saw it too. "She is here."
Siegfried's hands curled into fists. "Then we go in."
"Not yet," Sentra said. "We need to know the layout. The patrol routes. The blind spots. If we rush in, we die before we reach the door."
Siegfried forced himself to breathe. "Then what do we do."
Sentra pointed toward the far side of the keep where the stone wall had collapsed into a slope of rubble. "There. A breach. Old and unstable, but climbable. It leads to the lower chambers."
Siegfried followed her gaze. The gap was narrow, half hidden by overgrown vines and broken stone. A perfect entry point for someone who knew how to move unseen.
Sentra rose into a crouch. "We wait until the sun dips. The shadows will cover our approach."
Siegfried nodded, though every part of him wanted to charge the gate. "And then."
Sentra's silver eyes met his. "Then we take back what they stole."
They settled into the grass, hidden by the ridge, watching the keep as the light slowly shifted. The Red Veil moved with practiced confidence, unaware of the two figures watching from the hill.
The river was behind them.
The keep was ahead.
And the rescue would begin at dusk.
They settled low in the tall grass, the ruined keep looming below them. The sun had begun its slow descent, stretching long shadows across the courtyard. The Red Veil moved with casual confidence, unaware of the two figures watching from the ridge.
Sentra rested one knee on the ground, eyes fixed on the collapsed section of wall. "We enter through the breach. It is unstable, but no one guards it. They assume no one is foolish enough to climb through."
Siegfried nodded. "What then."
"Once inside, we stay low and move along the inner wall," Sentra said. "The tower is our destination. That is where they keep anything they do not want seen."
Siegfried's breath tightened. "Ellina and Vinrah."
"Most likely," Sentra replied. "But the Red Veil is unpredictable. We adapt if needed."
Siegfried studied the courtyard. "How many guards."
"Six outside," Sentra said. "More inside. The ones at the gate will not see us if we stay along the rubble. The patrol on the wall is the only real threat."
Siegfried frowned. "Can we avoid them."
"Yes," Sentra said. "But only if you move quietly."
Siegfried gave her a dry look. "I can manage quiet."
Sentra's silver eyes flicked to his bandaged ribs. "Pain makes people clumsy."
"Pain keeps me focused," he said.
She considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Good. You will need that."
Siegfried leaned forward, studying the path down the ridge. "If something goes wrong."
"It will," Sentra said calmly. "Plans always break. What matters is how we move when they do."
Siegfried met her gaze. "Then tell me how you move."
Sentra pointed to the tower. "If we are discovered, we do not fight in the open. We retreat inside. Narrow spaces favor us, not them."
"And if they separate us."
Sentra's expression sharpened. "They will not."
Siegfried held her eyes for a moment, then nodded. "All right."
Sentra rose into a crouch, her cloak brushing the grass. "We wait for the shadows to lengthen. When the patrol turns its back, we move."
Siegfried steadied his breath. "And once we are inside."
Sentra's voice dropped to a quiet certainty. "We find them. And we leave with them."
The wind shifted, carrying the faint sound of a distant shout from the keep.
Siegfried tightened his grip on the grass. "Then let us end this."
Sentra's eyes narrowed with focus. "Soon. When the light fades."
They waited together in the tall grass, the ruined keep watching them like a silent, broken sentinel.
The sun dipped lower, turning the sky a muted gold that bled slowly into violet. The shadows along the keep's walls stretched long and thin, merging with the rubble and broken stone. Sentra watched the patrol on the battlements with the stillness of a hunting cat.
"It is time," she said quietly.
Siegfried rose into a crouch beside her. His ribs ached, but the pain felt distant now, swallowed by the urgency tightening in his chest. "Lead the way."
Sentra moved first, slipping down the ridge with practiced ease. Siegfried followed, slower but steady, keeping low as the grass brushed against their legs. The air grew cooler as they descended, the ruined keep rising above them like a dark silhouette.
They reached the base of the hill and paused behind a cluster of boulders. The patrol on the wall turned, their backs shifting toward the far side of the keep.
Sentra whispered, "Now."
They crossed the open stretch in a swift, silent dash. Siegfried's breath tightened as they neared the collapsed section of wall. The rubble formed a jagged slope of stone and dirt, half swallowed by vines.
Sentra placed a hand on the rock. "Stay close. Step where I step."
She climbed first, her movements precise and controlled. Siegfried followed, testing each foothold before shifting his weight. The stones shifted under him once, sending a small cascade of gravel down the slope, but the sound was swallowed by the wind.
They reached the top of the breach and slipped inside.
The interior of the keep was dim, lit only by the fading light filtering through cracks in the stone. Dust hung in the air, stirred by their movement. The corridor ahead was narrow, lined with old storage alcoves and broken crates.
Sentra raised a hand, signaling him to stop.
Voices drifted from deeper within the keep. Two men. Their tone was casual, unconcerned. They were not expecting trouble.
Sentra leaned close, her voice barely a breath. "We stay along the wall. They will not see us if we move before they turn the corner."
Siegfried nodded.
They slipped into the shadows, moving along the inner wall where the darkness was thickest. The voices grew louder, then faded as the men walked away down another corridor.
Sentra exhaled softly. "Good. They are relaxed. They believe the hills protect them."
Siegfried's jaw tightened. "They are wrong."
They continued deeper into the keep. The air grew colder, the stone walls damp with age. A faint smell of mildew and old iron lingered in the corridors.
Sentra stopped again, her eyes narrowing.
A faint sound echoed from below. A muffled cough. A soft scrape of movement. Someone trying not to be heard.
Siegfried's breath caught. "The lower chambers."
Sentra nodded. "Yes. And someone is awake."
They moved toward a narrow stairwell descending into darkness. The steps were uneven, worn by time, but the sound below grew clearer with each one they took.
A voice.
Weak.
Female.
Siegfried froze.
Sentra placed a hand on his arm. "Careful. If you rush, you alert everyone."
Siegfried forced himself to breathe. "I know."
They reached the bottom of the stairs. A dim torch flickered in a bracket on the wall, casting long shadows across the stone floor. Three doors lined the corridor, each reinforced with iron bands.
Sentra stepped forward, listening at the first door.
Nothing.
She moved to the second.
Silence.
Then the third.
A faint breath. A soft shift of weight. Someone inside.
Sentra looked back at Siegfried and nodded once.
Siegfried's heart hammered.
They had found the right place.
"Let's move."