We returned to the base, and Lasin gave a brief report. We were about to leave when Bruno stopped us.
"Daen. Jurian. Could you stay a moment?"
Lasin turned to him. "What is it?"
"You can go for now."
Lasin did not ask any further questions. She left with the others.
Only the three of us remained in the room.
Bruno leaned against the table.
"As you may have noticed, the Empire's army is approaching. And Theocran will probably not withstand it."
He watched us in silence for a while.
"In the past few days, I've met many people who claim they want to defend the city."
He paused.
"But most of them run the moment the real fighting begins."
His gaze settled on Jurian.
"You two do not strike me as that type. Why would you stay in a city that is about to be besieged?"
Then he smiled.
"Jurian Rigrys. Fortunately, your name has almost been forgotten over the past eight years. But those who still remember it know that you are no ordinary Detruisian soldier."
Bruno's gaze shifted to me.
"And you, Daen... hardly anyone knows you. But slaughtering an entire village is not the kind of thing that goes unnoticed. Circumstances have protected you quite a bit this time."
I froze at his words.
Jurian turned toward me.
I expected disgust. Or revulsion. Instead, he only looked at me in silence for a moment before turning back to Bruno.
"What exactly are you trying to imply?" he asked sharply.
Bruno smiled faintly.
"Only that men like the two of you should not die in a city that is already lost."
Silence followed.
"If you were to follow me... I could offer you a way to survive."
Survive?
I thought about it. What did I really want? Was my life so important to me? Probably not. And yet I had the feeling that my time had not come yet.
"What would that involve?" I asked.
Bruno shrugged.
"Not much. Only following me."
I shook my head.
"I've never been anyone's slave. I see no reason to become one now. I'll find my own way."
Jurian smiled faintly.
"I abandoned those who believed in me once already. I have no intention of doing it again."
Bruno frowned. His expression turned serious at once.
"As you wish."
I walked to the door and left the building. Jurian followed.
Lasin was standing outside with Breias and Azi.
"Everything all right?" she asked.
"Of course," I replied.
Lasin looked at us suspiciously. "What was that about?"
"He offered us a way to survive the siege," I said.
"He always has a way out of everything," Breias remarked.
Lasin looked around, her gaze coming to rest on the dim sky.
"Today has been long enough. Daen, Jurian... do you have somewhere to sleep?"
"Not yet," I said.
Jurian shrugged. "I know the city, but most of the inns are closed. And the ones still open are full of soldiers."
Lasin smiled.
"Then you can stay at my place."