At Road's End (Pre-Aztec #0.5)
Zoe Saadia

He never wished to follow the ancient road into the Southwestern desert; but he had no choice.
When he rescues a girl from a ransacked village, he thinks nothing of it. He just wishes to make the traders sell their goods in a hurry, so he could return to his homeland.
But the fate had planned differently, for the warrior and for the girl alike.