They had walked past her, not quite within touching distance but close enough.
She’d kept her hand on her horse’s neck and counted herself lucky.
She couldn’t hide the sound of the hoofs on the hard ground, though, which is why she had left it behind to infiltrate the camp.
She just wanted to make sure everything was as it should be.
Massi and Raun-Tu were sitting together outside a small tent, arguing softly while most of the camp slept.
There were guards set all around, but there didn’t seem to be a sense that they were on high alert.
Ava sat down on the other side of the fire.
“We can only pretend to be unaware of the scouts for so long,” Massi was saying. “At some point they’re going to get suspicious and realize we aren’t as undisciplined as we look.”
“And when they realize that, that’s when we attack,” Raun-Tu countered.
“Attack who?” Massi threw up her hands. “Two scout groups of four each?”
Ava stood up, walked away into the darkness, took off her scarf and walked back.
“It’s me.” She tilted her head at Raun-Tu’s drawn bow, and wondered how he would react to it missing her completely.
Massi swore and Ava sent her a quick grin.
“How did you get through the guards?” Raun-Tu lowered his bow and sounded like he would like to go knock some heads together.
“Quietly and carefully.” She shrugged. “I’m a well-trained spy for the general, remember?”
That little story kept coming in very handy.
Massi hissed out a breath. “What are you doing here?”
“That was always the plan, remember, to do some reconnaissance in Bartolo and then come straight back.”
“To Luc, not us.”
“Oscar and Deni have gone to warn Luc, I’ve come to warn you, then I’ll be on my way to Luc, don’t worry.”
“Warn us?” Raun-Tu finally sat back down.
She walked over to sit between them and lowered her voice as she told them of the nasty surprise waiting below the city and in the hills.
“Shit.” Massi leaned back. “I’ve never heard of these flares. Have you?”
Raun-Tu nodded. “Never seen one. I didn’t know if they were a myth or real.”
“I can’t tell you what to do.” Well, she could, and make them do it, too, but Ava recognized that would be crossing a line. “But I suggest you sneak into the city, lock the cistern exits and trap the army units hiding there, and take the small force above ground. The mayor is inclined to trust us over the Kassian, and most of the townspeople are supportive, as well.”
“Take the city now?” Raun-Tu glanced over at Massi.
“That would be a feat to sing about.” Massi rubbed her hands together. “You sure about the cistern exits?”
“I got it from the mayor herself.”
“You sure she wasn’t lying?” Raun-Tu leaned forward on his forearms.
“She’s very angry with the Kassian for setting up her city to be a battleground. She wasn’t lying.” Ava paused. “Keep the damage in the city to a minimum and you’ll be welcomed.”
“Avasu, the general never once told me about you in all the years she was using you as her spy, but I have to say, your information is invaluable.” Raun-Tu clasped a hand to her shoulder and squeezed.
“Yes.” Massi’s smile was wry. “We’re lucky to have you among our number.”
She sometimes forgot who knew the spy story was a lie, and just remembered Massi was one of that small number. She lifted her shoulders and twisted her lips. “Use the information well.” She stood.
“You’re going now?”
“I’ll ride a little further, sleep for a few hours, then keep going.”
“Be careful.”
She nodded, then remembered something else.
“We saw Haslia in Bartolo. She was spelling the mayor, and I stopped her. So watch what you accept from strangers and keep your eyes peeled.”
“You let her get away?” Massi hissed.
“It would have drawn too much attention to try and find her after she disappeared into the crowds, and I think you’ll agree the information we got instead will be a lot more helpful to the Rising Wave than having Haslia as our prisoner.”
Massi had stood while she explained, and she slowly lowered herself back down. “You’re right. We’ll watch out for her. I’ll look under every rock in the city for her.”
Ava nodded, then walked back into the darkness, donning her scarf again to avoid having to explain herself to anyone as she was leaving.
She’d gone the fast way out of Bartolo, and she actually might get to Luc before Oscar and Deni.
She didn’t have a moment to lose.
Luc woke suddenly.
He still slept with the handkerchief Ava had given him on his pillow—it had saved him from more than one assassination attempt—and he crushed it in his fist as he sat up.
Ava.
He dressed quickly, pulling on the shirt she had embroidered for him and stepping out into the misty predawn.
The first light of the sun lit the eastern sky pink and orange, and gave the mist a strange, golden glow.
He recognized this feeling. He’d given in to its call many times after he and Ava had parted, walking out of camp to stare in the direction of Grimwalt.
This time, though, he headed south, weaving through the close-pitched tents.
They had left the carts and wagons on the plain, protected by a small cohort of guards, and even so, he felt pleased with how many they were.
More than he had ever dreamed.
He had taken the scarf Ava had given him and gone for a wander last night in the hills, but although he’d heard a few calls in the distance, he didn’t see any evidence of a hiding army.
The calls were probably scouts, patrolling the hills for signs of the Rising Wave approach.
They would be looking in the wrong direction.
The Rising Wave had swung north west, and was now crouched on the far side from where they were expected.
He reached the edge of the camp and kept going, into the thicker mist lower down in the shallow valley.
The sound of a horse blowing through its nostrils had him going still.
One moment it was simply swirls of white, and then suddenly Ava was there, looking at him from astride her mount.
He felt a sense of absolute lightness as she slid from her saddle and leaped into his arms.
He kissed her, arms tight around her as he held her off the ground.
She gasped as she pulled back, holding his face between her hands. ““Are Oscar and Deni here yet?”
“No.” He carefully looked her over.
She seemed tired but uninjured.
“I beat them here, then.” She gave a wan smile.
Someone shouted behind them, and Luc turned, his body shielding hers, to find Sybyl and Rafe looming out of the mist.
“Did you know she was coming?” Rafe asked, astonished, and Luc shook his head, but didn’t elaborate.
Sybyl walked up to them and reached for her horse’s reins. “I don’t recognize this one,” she said, patting the horse’s neck.
“I stole it.” Ava leaned on Luc’s shoulder, and he could hear the exhaustion in her voice.