The Most Beautiful Face

"I just can't believe you're leaving tomorrow." It was the third time Stef had said those exact words.

"Tomorrow." - Kal responded as if talking to herself. - "How quickly time goes by." 

Especially if someone had just one week to prepare for a two-year quest. 

Both friends were walking with Dante along the avenue of streetlights. The trio of mercenaries were heading to the market street.

It was a beautiful March day. It was one of the days that marked the end of the winter season. The journey of Kalina and Her Majesty would begin precisely on the day of the Spring Equinox.

"¡Oh, Kal! You had to leave right before the Spring Festival!" Stef complained again as she latched onto Kalina's arm.

Kalina sighed with a smile and shook her head. She had spent the morning in the library with Syria. There, they had coffee together and talked about past times. Times when they had both been younger and more naive. This had been their way of saying goodbye.

Now Kalina would spend the rest of the day with Stef and Dante.

The market was in full swing at that time of day. The friends calmly mixed with the crowd consisting of sellers and buyers. It was indeed a fairly busy day, and the fact that it was rush hour made everything worse. The market was on a long, narrow street that extended perpendicular to one of the main avenues and the end of that passage bordered the poorest neighborhoods of Sacra Terra.

All sorts of things were sold in the flea market. Any weird artifact, accessory, food, or spice, anything could be found. As well as beauty items, fabrics, crafts, clothing, jewelry, and weapons. Among all the tents, the fine artists had the most picturesque shops. The friends were heading to those particular carps.

Everything was going smoothly until Kalina noticed someone coming after them. A minute passed, and Dante gave their secret signal to inform someone was following. Now, who the hell dared to follow the most lethal trio in all of Sacra Terra?

"Let's part ways," Kalina whispered. 

She wanted to check who was the tracker's target. So they went in different directions. And well, it turned out that the target was her. Kalina was wondering ¿what kind of insane person could dare go behind her? When she was practically dragged away.

The arm had come out of nowhere, and Kalina ended up in a small, half-dark alley. And she let it be, firstly because the force was overwhelming and secondly because she was curious. She looked up.

The tracker was huge, as big as…

"You…" 

How small he made her feel. He was perhaps a little taller than Irion. Being much bulkier than Irion, his physique was more intimidating. His energy, on the other hand, was still in complete silence. Yet, comparing forces went to oblivion pretty soon. Because it was the first time she had seen Valian's face. 

¡Gods!

They were very close to each other. While Kalina was against the wall, he was leaning against it. Both of his hands rested somewhere above Kalina's head.

"Is this how you greet in Aladar?" Kalina asked calmly, or at least trying to seem that way. The truth was that her pulse began to accelerate the moment she had discovered the identity of her companion. ¡For Heaven's sake! Seeing his face was another story. 

Valian's only response was to lift the left corner of his mouth. 

That mouth... Kalina was about to swallow dryly.

A flash of metal to their left was the only warning of the attack. Stef appeared from the right, and Dante tried to put the knife near the captain's neck. However, both mercenaries froze in the middle of their path. Dante had seen Kalina's stop sign, and Stef was already drooling over the captain. And how to blame her?

Kalina looked at Valian. Then, she made an effort to look away. Yes, away from those fiery eyes which were beginning to look very familiar. Now, those eyes were more memorable as a complement to the most beautiful face she could imagine. 

¡Gods!