She took a bite, and closed her eyes. She hadn’t had anything like this since the days before she’d been abducted by the Queen’s Herald. Sweet and tart at once.
Another berry touched her lips and she opened her eyes as she bit down.
“I learned today about a heart’s song.”
He froze as she spoke.
“You must know you are my heart’s choice, Luc.” He opened his mouth to speak and she put her hand over his lips. “Wait. I want you to hear my heart’s song. I want you to understand you never have to fear me. I have only ever worked magic for your benefit. And if there is ever any reason for us to part ways—I hope there is not, but to put your mind at rest—I swear now on the memory of my grandmother and mother, I will never harm you.”
Her fingers were still pressed against his lips and he took hold of them and kissed them, one by one.
“That is the heart song of a very strong heart’s choice.” His eyes danced. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the like.” Then he grew serious. “I promised I would always come for you. That was my own heart song, but I will add, I will never fear you. I love you in all your strength and power.”
She leaned forward, and touched her forehead to his shoulder, too embarrassed by the tears in her eyes to let him see them. When she had herself under control again, she pulled back, and found she had squashed her pie.
He laughed at her soft swearing, and then fed her the broken bits.
“Heyla.” Massi’s call caught Ava by surprise, and she felt herself tense.
Luc’s friend was smiling when she pulled up beside them. “You are doing a good job of lifting the column’s spirits.”
There was no sarcastic edge to the words.
“Why were they low?” She addressed the question to Luc.
“They weren’t low, but the daily grind of packing up and moving every day, with weeks of more of the same in sight, wears everyone down.” Luc seemed relaxed with Massi again.
Ava looked between them.
“Massi found a cup in front of her tent the day after you arrived with the Venyatux,” Luc said into the silence. “It had her name carved into it. She’s been using it every day since then.”
Ava turned to look at him.
“We threw it in the fire last night.”
“Who gave it to you?” Ava asked.
“I don’t know.” Massi looked away. “It seems weak to say that was the excuse for my behavior. I take responsibility for my actions.”
“No.” Ava reached out and gripped her forearm. “We must find out who made it.”
Massi’s horse shifted uneasily. “Luc also thinks this is serious.”
“It is,” Ava agreed. “We have a spell caster with evil intent.”
“As apposed to one with good intent?” Massi asked.
Ava drew herself up. Before she could speak, Luc leaned closer.
“Still listening to Haslia, Massi? Or Revek?”
Massi shook her head. “I spent the night thinking of spell castings, of people doing things they wouldn’t do of their own free will, and I remembered Derek, and the way he sobbed when we caught up with him after you were captured by the Kassian.”
“You think he was enspelled?” Luc sat back in his saddle, clearly horrified. “That whoever this is has been with us for that long?”
Massi nodded. “But I also remembered how he kept saying they had cut you to the bone, that he could see down to the bone on your arm.”
Ava looked down at Luc’s left forearm.
It felt like a very long time ago she had stitched it, but it was only two months.
Massi reached out and touched Luc. “There should at least be a scar.” She ran a finger over his smooth skin. Look over at Ava with brows raised.
“There will be a scar on Revek’s shoulder and on Frederik’s cheek.” Ava kept her voice soft.
She hoped.
She had tried her best to make sure some evidence of their injury remained.
“That’s good. Probably for them as well as you.” Massi still held her gaze.
“What happened to Derek?” Luc asked. “I’ve meant to ask you that a few times.”
At last Massi looked away. “He killed himself. We were planning to execute him, but he somehow got a knife and did it himself.”
“Somehow?” Luc’s disbelief was audible.
“Yes.” Massi shrugged. “Very convenient.”
“This a private party?” Dak called.
Ava had caught a glimpse of someone approaching from behind her, and her heart sped a little faster. She did not want this conversation shared with anyone else.
She hadn’t exactly admitted her spell casting to Massi, but it appeared the lieutenant had put the pieces together.
It made her feel like every eye, from both columns, was on her.
“Not anymore.” There was a wry tone to Luc’s response.
Dak grinned, unrepentant. “I was looking at the map again—”
Ava held up a hand. “Should I go?”
“Luc trusts you. That’s good enough for me,” Dak said. He pulled out a map. “I think the general is right to get us to consider other places of attack, and I wonder what you think about here.”
Luc bent closer, and Ava did, too.
“You think they might hide in those hills?” Luc tapped at the place.
“They could get a lot of units in there, and we wouldn’t see them until they rushed out.” Dak sounded grim.
“We’ll send a team there to keep watch,” Luc said.
“That’s three groups we’ll need if we’re also going to scout the other two places. How many are we going to include in each team?” Massi frowned as she nudged her mount closer to look at the map as well.
“Is the meeting here, now?”
Ava had watched Fervanti approach.
She clasped a fist to her chest in a salute to the Whispering Grasses and bowed to the lieutenant.
“Avasu. Should you be included in this?”
Ava lifted her shoulders. “Probably not.”
“Then off with you.” Her words weren’t rude, though. They were laced with humor. “If you have time off, go enjoy yourself.”
“I was trying to.” She mumbled it, but Luc heard and shot her a delighted grin and Massi laughed.
“It’s my fault. I interrupted them while they were trying to have a little time alone.”
There were too many horses milling about for her to get close to Luc again, but he caught her eye and tapped his heart with two fingers and then brushed his hand downward just as she did the same.
Dak made a sound in the back of his throat. “Behold, and tremble. The mighty and feared Commander of the Rising Wave.” He gave an exaggerated gesture in Luc’s direction.
Luc’s response was to throw back his head and laugh. He wheeled his horse around, blew Ava a kiss, and then raced toward the head of the column, managing to lean over and smack Dak in the back of the head as he passed him.
Dak had been teasing him, but Ava thought of the hyper-aggressions and chest thumping that went on in the Kassian fortress where she’d been held for two years. Luc was stronger than any of them.
As she watched them ride toward the head of the column, she thought about the problem of the Kassian attack points Dak had pointed to on the map, and the scouts who would be sent to watch for any sign of Kassian movement.