A soldier weary from the travel suddenly chuckled, followed by snickers from the others.
Agilus cursed under his breath. 'Damn it. Is he making fun of me? Are they mocking me?'
...
Meanwhile, inside Lara's bedroom, Alaric lay rigidly on the bed, his sharp eyes flickering toward the door.
The silence stretched, pressing down on him like an iron weight. It had been a long time, but he still had not returned. Judging at the angle of the sunlight that crept through the crack in the wooden walls, it was already late afternoon.
A storm of scenarios churned in his mind, each more grotesque than the last. Had he encountered bandits? Or worse—been ambushed by a pack of wolves? Mauled by the tiger that had been trailing them the other day? Silently swallowed by a python, his body crushed before he could even scream?
