Chapter 387 An Old Friend (1/2)

A curse escaped Arran's ht He'd only seen her once before, but as he looked at her, he knew immediately who she was — the woe of the borderlands

Dark-eyed and sharp-featured, she was just as beautiful as he re, too

While she was neither particularly tall nor unusually muscular, her movements held a casual tension that hinted at barely veiled power, as if she could unleash a devastating attack at any moment

Arran had already noticed this the first tirown, he was startled to discover that her strength was even greater than he had realized

Knights were shockingly strong to begin with, but Arran now understood that this wo woht whose invitation he had spurned

He couldn't help but grihts in the Ier to meet

Yet while Arran's face held a pained expression, there was a flash of amusement in the woreet an old friend?” she asked, a hint of h he had cursed under his breath and the Knight was still at least twenty paces away, it was clear that she had heard hined tone, glad that he at least still remembered her name ”I did not expect to ht smirk on her lips Her eyes briefly wandered over the crowd that had forates, and then turned back to Arran ”I assume you are the one who slew the Reaver?”

”I a it There wasn't a soldier in the village who hadn't heard about his achievement, and none of theht

Yet unexpectedly, before the Knight could respond, Kaleesh spoke up

”Lady Knight,” the captain began, an ingratiating smile on his face, ”while it's true that Arran killed the Reaver, the rest of our group played no sh our combined efforts did we overcoh it appeared as if the captain was trying to clailory for hi to obscure the fact that Arran had singlehandedly defeated the largest group of Blightspawn

For an outsider to defeat a Reaver was no shtspawn at the sa like that was bound to arouse suspicion if word spread

Of course, the captain had taken care to keep the truth hidden froe, which he achieved by spreading dozens of rueous than the actual battle

Bored as they were, the soldiers had spread these tales eagerly, e Even if one of the mercenaries spilled the truth, by now his tale would just be one aht asn't so easily fooled, it seemed the captain had opted for a ave Kaleesh a curious look ”You must be the outsider who helped cause thethe captain the chance to say anything else, she turned her attention back to Arran ”Show me the battlefield”

A chill went down Arran's spine He'd held a sliver of hope that her presence was just an unlucky coincidence, but if she recognized Kaleesh, there could be no doubt that she'd come for a reason

Still, he had no choice but to follow her order He had already offended her by ignoring her invitation, and he was in no hurry to discover ould happen if he provoked her any further

”Of course,” he said ”It's on the other side of the village I'll show you the way”

”Be quick about it,” the Knight replied curtly Then, with a glance at the people gathered around them, she said in a louder voice, ”The rest of you ait for us in the village”

While the words caused soers, none dared question her corant near-absolute authority

And so, barely a few ht as they made their way to the field where he'd battled and defeated the Blightspawn

When they were a few hundred paces fro look ”You rejected my offer,” she said matter-of-factly ”Why?”

It was a question Arran had expected, and he replied at once ”I don't like to owe debts Especially to strangers”

”Foolish pride” The woh ”I offered you an opportunity that ive their left hand for, yet you chose to waste your ti involved in the Lords' petty squabbles”

”An opportunity?” Arran raised an eyebrow ”You never toldAnd even if I did, ould I stake er's charity?”

He had already decided that there was no point in trying to grovel Not only did he have little talent for flattery, he also doubted that it would accoest that she would be swayed by honeyed words

His words seeht by surprise ”You wonder what I was offering?” Her expression turned thoughtful, and then, hed ”I suppose it makes sense that an outsider wouldn't know”

Arran looked at her in puzzleht”

There was a ht's words, and she looked at Arran expectantly It was clear that she expected some sort of response

Yet the reaction she hoped for did not come Instead, all Arran offered was a blank stare He knew that Ihts orked directly for the Imperator, but he had little idea of how that related to his position