The sun was low when Aldric found Grog.
He had rested, eaten, let the healers look at his leg. They had told him to rest more, to stay off it, to let the bone heal. He had nodded, said nothing, and walked to the training yard.
Grog was there, alone, leaning against the wall, his sword across his knees. His arm was still bandaged, his side still wrapped, his face tired in the way that came from too many sleepless nights. He looked up when Aldric entered.
"You're supposed to be resting."
Aldric shook his head. "So are you."
Grog almost smiled. Almost. He stood, his sword in his hand, and walked to the center of the yard.
"Spar with me."
Aldric stared at him. "I can barely stand."
"Then sit." Grog raised his sword. "But spar with me."
---
They started slow.
Aldric leaned on his cane, held his practice sword in his other hand, faced Grog across the yard. His leg was trembling, his arm was shaking, his balance was gone. He felt like a beginner again. Like the boy who had first come to the border, who had held a sword like it was something foreign.
Grog attacked.
Slow. Controlled. Not trying to win—trying to teach. Aldric blocked. His arm shook, but he blocked. Grog attacked again. Aldric blocked again. Again. Again.
His leg gave out.
He fell.
The sword clattered on the stones. The cane skidded away. He lay on his back, staring at the sky, his chest heaving.
Grog stood over him. "Again."
Aldric stared at him. "I fell."
"I saw." Grog offered his hand. "Again."
---
They went again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, Aldric's leg gave out. Each time, Grog helped him up. Each time, they started over. The sun moved across the sky. The shadows grew longer. The yard grew darker.
Aldric's leg was screaming. His arm was shaking. His breath was coming in gasps. But he kept getting up.
Finally, his leg gave out and didn't get up again.
He lay on his back, staring at the sky, his chest heaving, his hands empty. The practice sword was somewhere behind him. The cane was somewhere to his left. He didn't move.
Grog sat beside him.
They didn't speak for a long time.
---
"I'm scared," Aldric said finally.
Grog looked at him. "Of what?"
Aldric stared at the sky. The clouds were moving slowly, pink and gold in the fading light. A bird was circling somewhere high above.
"Not of dying." His voice was quiet. "I've almost died before. In the battle. At the pass. When the beast—" He stopped. "I'm scared of being left behind."
Grog said nothing.
Aldric looked at his leg. The healers said it would heal. The healers said he would walk. But they didn't know when. Months, maybe. A year. And tomorrow, they were leaving.
"I can't fight," he said. "I can barely stand. And tomorrow—"
Grog interrupted him. "You're coming."
Aldric stared at him. "I can't—"
"You're coming." Grog's voice was steady. "On a horse. With a sword. With the rest of us." He met Aldric's eyes. "You're coming."
Aldric's throat tightened. "And if I can't fight? If my leg gives out? If I'm just—"
"Then you'll be there." Grog's voice was firm. "That's enough."
---
Lira appeared at the edge of the yard.
She had been watching, her bow in her hand, her arrows in the target. She walked to Aldric, stopped in front of him, looked down.
"You're not being left behind," she said. "We're all going. Together."
Aldric looked at her. At Grog. At the yard where he had trained for weeks, where he had fallen and gotten up and fallen again.
"Together," he said.
She offered her hand. He took it. She pulled him up.
His leg held.
---
They walked back to the palace together.
The corridors were quiet, the servants gone, the torches low. Aldric leaned on his cane, moving slowly, his leg aching, his arm sore. But he was moving.
Grog walked beside him. Lira walked ahead. Mirena was somewhere in the library, studying maps. William was in his room, writing letters to his father. The Duke was in his study, reading dispatches that grew worse every day.
Tomorrow they left.
Aldric looked at the door to his room. The same room he had slept in for weeks. The same bed, the same window, the same ceiling. He would not see it again for a long time.
He opened the door. Went inside. Sat on the bed.
His leg was throbbing. His arm was shaking. He was exhausted.
He lay back. Stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow they left.
He closed his eyes.