“Orion, stay inside and help the guards,” Asteria ordered. For a moment, he was reminded of when she took charge at the military base in Silverpeak all those years ago. Asteria had been a wrathful goddess among mortals then, and the air she exuded now was just the same. “Stay safe,” he nodded, preparing to cast. She gave him one last lingering look before yanking the carriage door open and marching out. “Why is she going out?” Ophelia asked, wide-eyed at the suddenness. “Don’t worry about her. My mother is strong,” Orion replied, already busy pressing himself against the window to try to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Whatever shielding magic surrounded the carriage, it darkened the glass as a side effect, but with some effort, he could still see Asteria’s form as she strode ahead, where he could spy some sort of rocky formation blocking the road. Classic bandit tactics. That doesn’t mean they aren’t effective. Even if the driver hadn’t died, turning back now was not an option. They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by rocky hills, wild grass, and the occasional thicket of trees. It would take several hours to reach Silverpeak again, and during that time, they would be highly vulnerable to any kind of attack. No, his mother was right. It was better to trigger the trap (...)