"Return?" Oliver echoed, his eyes wide with confusion. "To the palace? Now?!"
"But Sire," Landon tried to say. "We've already traveled thus far―"
"Thankfully, not far enough," Rafael said, cutting Landon's words off before he could continue. The man dutifully kept his lips pinched shut and shrunk back, his head lowered.
Rafael then turned to Oliver, his eyebrows crumpled tightly together and his expression grave. He said, "Lead the men towards our destination. We will rendezvous there. Do not attack or expose your position until I return. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Oliver immediately said.
"Good."
Without sparing his men the luxury of another word, Rafael tugged at his horse's reins, urging the stallion to turn back. It neighed loudly, its front legs rising into the air for a split second before it turned sharply. Then, in a cloud of dust, Oliver and the rest of the party could only watch as Rafael's horse went galloping back the way they came.
