117 Mine

And Halida told us everything.

She told how she had fallen into the hands of that scum while still very young, not even having reached adulthood. How he visited her constantly, caring neither about the consequences for her health nor about contraception. In drunken stupors, he often lost control of his tongue, boasting—and a great deal of unnecessary information found its way into the girl’s ears. And now, thanks to that information, we had a clear idea of what to do next.

So we set out immediately, determined to find our contenders as quickly as possible.

Of course, first we stormed the local guard outpost—but Sakal wasn’t there. His overly cocky loyal bulls were, though. The key word is were.

I was terrified we wouldn’t make it in time. Terrified that this piece of livestock would once again decide to keep one of the girls for his own use. I could see the same fear—and the same thoughts—in Ogis’s eyes as well, as he mercilessly vented his rage on our enemies.

On the way to Helroy’s