She was beginning to understand how she'd managed to sleep through a night she'd been convinced would be sleepless. Caia had brought the herd to her. A small slice of it anyway.
"Thank you, my friend." Eva straightened. "Now, let's get you out of here."
Eva pushed on Caia’s chest, guiding her toward the door as she used body language and spatial pressure to back the mare out of the tent. Finally, they ducked below the flap and into the soft morning twilight.
Jason wasn't alone; Drake stood next to him, having replaced Roscoe at some point in the night.
Eva quirked an eyebrow at Drake’s lack of surprise at Caia's presence.
One side of Drake's lips tilted up the tiniest bit. "She was rather insistent. We didn't quite have the heart to shoo her away."
"Uh huh."
Now, why didn't Eva believe him.
The Anateri weren't exactly known for being sentimental. She'd believe he had a crisis of conscience regarding Caia as soon as she believed the sky was purple.
More likely, someone’d had the brilliant idea to send Caia into the tent. She was betting that someone looked a lot like Caden.
For a man known for his mercilessness, he was astonishingly soft when it came to Eva.
Eva came out of her thoughts to find Jason giving the mare the stink eye.
"I was wondering where she went. Ollie and I have been searching all morning."
The mare was unrepentant as she flicked her tail, looking utterly uncowed by his anger.
Jason shook his head. "I give up. You're the only one she listens to."
"I'm aware."
It was a major reason why Caia had never been assigned a Trateri warrior. She'd found a partner in Eva and refused to settle for anyone else. Some might say they were wasting Caia's potential, but Eva appreciated the mare's company too much to care.
Sometimes the heart was more important than the benefits you could squeeze out of a person.
Caia was hers, just as much as Eva was Caia's. They were kindred spirits. Stronger together than apart.
"Is there a reason you woke me up when dawn is still no more than a thought?" Eva asked, squinting at the mountain range where the sky above was beginning to lighten with oranges and pinks. The sun still not high enough for its rays to pierce the valley floor.
It wouldn't be long until it was fully up, Eva judged. Already the camp was beginning to stir as the early risers started their daily tasks.
"You're going to want to see for yourself."
With those cryptic words, Jason set out.
Eva closed her mouth on a yawn and slid a probing glance toward Drake. "Is this your doing?"
Her apprentice didn't use to be so mysterious. Maybe hanging out with the Anateri was having more of an effect than she thought.
Drake gave her a closed mouthed smile that told her nothing.
Grumbling to herself about annoyingly mysterious warriors and their equally annoying habit of making things more difficult than they should be, Eva stomped after Jason.
It didn't take long to leave the camp behind as they strode through the meadow next to it, heading for a copse of trees in the distance. Pockets of early morning fog swirled along the mountain tops, hovering in insubstantial pools along the valley floor in places.
The short walk was enough for the sun to poke over the range, the weak shafts of light it threw out playing peekaboo with the shadows.
The scene was like something out of a half-remembered dream. Insubstantial. Fleeting, as if it would vanish at any second.
It was a reminder that while there were many terrifying things in the Broken Lands, there was beauty too. A magnificence that made you stop and stare, feeling a part of something great if only for a moment.
The clip clop of Caia's hooves and the faint sounds of their passage were the only things to disturb the serene landscape. Drake drifted behind them; a specter Eva wouldn't have realized was there if not for her frequent glances in his direction.
He was a silent but vigilant presence as the distance increased between them and the camp. Their path bypassed the herd, taking them in the opposite direction and over a small mountain stream trickling through the valley.
Eva couldn't help but send Jason a puzzled frown as they traveled further from the horses. Now why would her apprentice have been so far from his charges in the course of finding whatever it was Eva needed to see?
She didn't ask any of the questions buzzing in her brain, instead facing forward and letting Jason continue to lead. The answer would come sooner or later. Getting all bothered by it before she knew the facts was a waste of time and energy.
"We're close," Jason said.
Eva hoped so. Otherwise, she'd have to suspect her apprentice of plotting her grisly demise.
Sure enough, within minutes Eva spotted Caden and Jane examining a bundle of fur located at the foot of the tree line. The firs, spruces, and pine trees keeping watch at their back.
Caden stood, brushing his hands against his pants as he said something to Jane.
She turned on her heel, disappearing into the trees.
As Eva got closer, she could see the lines of exhaustion bracketing Caden's mouth and eyes. The long hours dealing with the prisoners and the aftermath of the red back attack had taken their toll on him.
Eva didn't comment on the signs of fatigue. Sometimes it was better to pretend you didn't see even though everyone present knew. It made things easier, especially when those things couldn't be changed.
Caden was tired. So was Jane. Eva suspected Drake too.
Until this was resolved, none of the Anateri would be catching up on lost sleep.
Knowing there was nothing to do, Eva's attention dropped to the object Caden had been examining.
"This—" Eva trailed off as her puzzled gaze lifted to Caden's. "Is that all that remains of the red back?"
Caden's nod was grim. "Rain's people dragged it out here last night. We discovered what was left of it this morning."
Eva couldn't help feeling a bit unsettled. Like the red back she'd discovered on the other side of the range, only the pelt remained, the fur resembling a deflated sack. Even the eyes were gone. Empty sockets, sightless holes that sent shivers down Eva's back.
"This isn't good," Eva said.
In fact, it was very, very bad. She could write off the oddities of the first carcass. The fact Caden and the patrol had found similar remains was slightly more concerning.
This, on the other hand, had firmly entered the realm of vaguely terrifying.
Whatever was doing this to the beasts was now operating in their territory. If they could suck dry a beast as large as the red back in a few hours, what could they do to a human over the same period?
"Told you, you had to see this," Jason said.
Eva nodded. "You were right."
"It gets worse." Caden beckoned her as he headed into the trees where Jane had disappeared.
Eva watched the trees swallow him. She had a feeling she didn't want to know what awaited her there. It would only cause her a headache and raise more questions.
Left with no choice, Eva signaled Caia to stay put before looking at Jason. "Stay here and watch Caia."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
Eva sent a questioning look at Drake.
He inclined his chin. "I'll keep an eye on them."