***Cadiz***
Darius Ashforde had been relatively absent since those early months.
After the elders' initial visit when the strange incidents first began, he'd returned to whatever duties kept him occupied elsewhere in Ashforde territory. I'd been relieved, honestly, there was something about Raizel's younger cousin that had always made me uneasy.
But now, weeks after the formal declaration of rebellion, he was back.
I first noticed him at a war council meeting, sitting quietly near the back. Then at dinner, positioned where he could observe the entire table, he didn't say much, just watched with those sharp eyes that reminded me uncomfortably of Raizel's but without the warmth I'd learned to recognize.
"Darius is back," I mentioned to Raizel one evening.
His expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "My father called him back, we need every capable fighter, and Darius is skilled with strategy."
"You don't sound happy about it."
