“Did you ever soothe babies?” she asked, when her throat was no longer so tight.
He nodded. “When I was in the camps.”
“It shows. You have a well of patience and empathy that I’ve never seen in any of the Kassian soldiers I’ve been forced to interact with over the years. You are better for it. Stronger for it.” She wiped her tears away. “What happened to the babies?”
“Some grew older, fought with me. Some were returned home.” There was satisfaction in his voice. “When I turned on the Kassian, my first order of business was to liberate the camps. I knew betraying the Kassian army on the battlefield would lead to repercussions for any Chosen still under their control.”
“So you destroyed the camps?” She hadn’t heard anything about his exploits while she’d been imprisoned. About his amazing revolt against the Kassian two years earlier. About the liberation of the camps. And the battles he and his Rising Wave had fought since, gaining more and more of the north west, the land that used to belong to the Cervantes.
“They are gone. And Cervantes is under our control again.”
He was marching to Fernwell, the Kassian capital, to make sure it stayed that way.
She would do everything in her power to make sure he succeeded.
She turned in his arms, facing him, and kissed along his jawline, until, with a growl, he captured her lips with his, and for the second time in two nights, she made a note to work a silencing spell into the canvas.
Chapter 20
The guard sent to find him ended up resorting to calling his name softly as he searched for Ava’s tent.
Luc forced himself out of the warm cocoon he and Ava had made, and pulled on his clothes in quick, economical movements.
“They won’t find us.” Ava sat up and spoke through a yawn.
He still found that strange, and difficult to accept. But he nodded as he pulled on his boots. “I’ll see you later.” Because sending a guard to find him was something Dak or Massi would only do if it was urgent.
He leaned across and kissed her, first on the lips, then on the forehead, to remind her they were still together. That while the threads that bound them may be a little frayed, they were there nonetheless.
Then he crawled out of the tent. When he rose up, he was relieved to find the guard facing away from him.
He moved silently to the left and walked out between a few tents from which he could hear gentle snores.
“You were looking for me?”
The guard yelped in surprise. “Sorry, Commander, I didn’t see you there.”
It was dawn, the sun was just a faint line of light on the horizon, so Luc put a finger to his lips. “They need me at the main tent?”
The guard nodded, his shoulders relaxing as Luc followed him through the Venyatux column.
“It’s not Revek, is it?” It suddenly occurred to him that this might be bad news about his friend, rather than an operational matter.
“I . . . don’t think so.” The guard shook his head. “I think a trader caravan has been spotted.”
Luc relaxed and waved the guard off.
When he got to his tent, Massi and Dak were there, along with two of the General’s lieutenants, Heival and Fervanti.
“A caravan?” he asked.
Massi nodded. “Coming from the west border of Grimwalt, perhaps, or the north west of Kassia.”
“If it’s from Grimwalt, that’s a change. They closed their borders.” Luc frowned down at the map, where Massi had marked where the caravan had been spotted.
“I know we didn’t like it when we first heard they’d decided to cease trade, because it seemed like they were withdrawing from responsibility in the region, but at least they weren’t providing aide to the Kassian. If they’ve started again, it might be a very bad sign.”
“They never closed their northeast border,” Fervanti said. “Trade between Venyatu and Grimwalt has never stopped.”
Luc nodded. “I guessed that. And through Venyatu, with other countries to the east as well, I’m sure.” He poured himself some water from a jug on the table, and then looked around at the group. “We have to go investigate. Find out if they’ve opened their borders again.”
Massi nodded. “And maybe get some supplies we’re running low on.”
Luc conceded that with a nod, and Heival coughed.
“We would like to do the same when it comes to sourcing some supplies we are running low on, so I suggest that we let the store masters coordinate any purchases, to prevent hard feelings if one side gets more than their share.”
Luc glanced at Dak. “You’ll manage that?”
His friend nodded. “Heival can direct me to who we need to talk to.”
“That’s if the traders are willing to part with their goods,” Massi said.
“If they are traders, and not Kassian spies trying to engage us in an underhanded way.” Fervanti crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s a possibility,” Luc acknowledged. “We need to approach with soldiers ready for anything before we let the store masters anywhere near them. What’s more likely is the Kassian have at least one spy in the caravan. We’ll need to make sure no one speaks out of turn.”
“Agreed.” Heival nodded. “Raun-Tu and and I will put together a unit.”
“Massi and I will meet you at the head of the column.”
The meeting broke up, and he went outside to the campfire to find something to eat before saddling his horse.
“Were you with Ava last night?” Dak stood beside him as he scooped up hot, spicy meat with warm flatbread. “We were worried when we couldn’t find you.”
“I was.” Luc glanced at him. “I’ll let you know next time.” He hadn’t said anything before he’d gone looking for her because he hadn’t been sure of his welcome, and when she’d let him inside her tent, he’d been so relieved he hadn’t wanted to give her even a moment to change her mind.
“Did you check on Revek?” he asked.
Dak nodded. “He woke up when he heard us arrive to visit him, and we stayed until Dorea shooed us out. He seems a lot better.”
“We’ll have to question him later.” Luc felt the ball of cold suspicion and anger ignite again in his gut. What had Revek known about Haslia? He was one of the most suspicious people Luc knew. His time in the camps had made him close to paranoid, and yet, a Kassian spy had been sharing pillows with him.
It seemed unbelievable.
Dak grunted in response. “Maybe Massi shouldn’t be there.”
“Where shouldn’t I be?”
They both turned, found Massi standing behind them, eyes narrowed.
“To interrogate Revek.” Dak spoke bluntly.
Massi closed her eyes. “You’re wondering about Haslia? About how much he knew?”
“Have you ever known anyone as cautious as Rev? And he misses a Kassian spy right under his nose?”
Massi sighed. “She cast a spell on him, didn’t she? Something to make him sick?”
Luc tilted his head. “She rubbed an oil on his cheek. Ava noticed how sick he was suddenly getting, noticed the oil and got Dorea to wipe it off, and that’s when he started to improve.”