“We were just talkin’ about life in the village,” Bryn explained softly. “She’s my wife. Ya’ve heard about her before.”
“The Champion.” The male bowed low. “It’s nice to meet you. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, no,” she said quickly. “I’m really just following my husband around today. We don’t get to spend a lot of time together.” Mave tried to quickly bury the uncomfortable feeling that hit her. She was dominant, which meant she should have been in charge of people, but she didn’t know this male, and he was half-groveling.
“I need your report,” Bryn said, stepping in front of her.
“Here you are, sir.” The male pulled out a small book. “Wrote everything twice, one copy for you. I can answer any questions you might have.”
Bryn took the small book and placed it in his bag, grabbing another and handing it to the scout.
“Stick around for a couple of days in case anything comes up when I debrief the king,” he ordered. “Thank you.”
“Of course, sir.” The male bowed again.
Bryn waved for her to follow him, and they left the clearing as the thin male began to set up his camp, whistling softly as he did.
“Trauma,” Bryn whispered.
“I didn’t want to guess.” She got that vibe but didn’t really think about it because it was presumptive.
“It’s hard to avoid now,” Bryn said softly. “Back in Olost, the number of free slaves was trumped by the number of free Andinna. There weren’t many of us with the scars on our necks or the ear piercings. Now, there’re hundreds, if not a couple thousand who don’t show the physical damage.”
At his words, she reached up and touched her own. Normally, her scars fell to the back of her mind, ignored. She was scarred, and that was the end of it. There was no way to remove them. Instead of tatua like most Andinna, her journey was written on her skin in scars. Her tatua came later, and more than half of it had been given to her by a goddess with an agenda Mave didn’t understand.
“Yeah…” Mave didn’t know what else to say.
“Do you mind if I read while we walk? I normally use this time between meetings to get a preliminary look at the reports.”
“It’s fine. I’m just enjoying the scenery,” she said with a smile, letting her hand drop off her scar. He reached out with his free hand, and the tips of fingers grazed over that telltale scar. She remembered him the day when her collar was removed—the scream, the pain, and the bandages put on her neck. It felt like a lifetime ago.
“I wish I could show mine so openly. It makes you seem so strong, and from being your husband, I can promise everyone that impression is the correct one.”
“We all have our limits. I don’t think anyone would look at you and call you weak. Read your report.” She crossed her arms as they walked through the forest on a light trail, worn-in, probably thanks to her husband.
They stopped at a large, hollow tree, so old it had opened up at the base, leaving a pseudo-cave underneath it. Bryn stopped her before she drew too close and made a clicking sound with his tongue. Suddenly, a female head popped up, eyes wide as she took in her visitors. Mave was impressed by the female’s build as she stood. She was tall and athletic, definitely someone who could run or fly for ages.
“Good evening, sir,” she greeted before flicking her eyes on Mave. “Good evening, Champion.”
“I’m picking up reports. When did you get back in?”
“Just this morning.” Reaching into her things, she pulled out a book and exchanged it with Bryn, just like the previous scout. Bryn gave her the same order, then started walking again without further conversation.
Mave gave a friendly wave to the scout and followed him, letting him read as they walked. A frown formed as he read the first book, then started the second. They seemed to walk forever, going to half a dozen other stops before heading back in the direction of the valley and their village.
“You okay?” she asked cautiously, seeing the concern and frustration brewing in him.
“I don’t like these reports,” he answered. “We can talk about it in the war room as I set up to brief Alchan. I want to see how it looks on the maps before I make any assumptions.”
“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it now?” The silence was beginning to kill her.
“There’s been…troubling activity over the last month since summer started. My scouts have had run-ins, and two of them are three weeks late getting back. No one has seen any evidence of them, either.” He sighed. “That’s the risk of being a scout, getting caught by an enemy patrol or being alone and injured. I haven’t been able to put pieces together from what they tell me about Shadra’s troop movement, but I think tonight, I may have a much clearer picture.”
They walked to the war room together, well after dark.
“And this is what you do before you go home,” she said softly as he laid out the reports and read through them again, rewriting the information on a single piece of parchment.
“Aye,” he said, the exhaustion clear in his voice. “Who else can we trust? Everyone is so busy, leading all the different pieces. My job is just the one with the hardest schedule. It’s not the only bad one, though. Luykas doesn’t get much sleep, either.”
“He gets consistent sleep,” she pointed out. “He sleeps at night with me…with the family, even if it’s a short time.”
“Aye,” Bryn whispered. “This will settle down when winter comes, ya know that. I’ll remind ya that ya left for all of spring, love.”
“I’m not trying to give you a hard time,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him from behind. “I’m just worried about you.”
“Thank ya, love. It means a lot to hear that from ya.” He grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “I need you to get Alchan,” he finally said, holding her hand to his lips, letting them slide against the back. She heard and felt the frown, a sign of trouble.
“At this time of night? He’s sleeping beside Rain, and no one ever tries to disturb them,” she said, frowning as well. “If it’s bad, I’ll do it, but you need to make sure it’s that bad.”
“You’re the only one who can go get him without getting tossed around for it,” Bryn reminded her gently. “It’s not good. I think I’ve figured out the Elvasi, and there’s bad news about Seanev’s campaign. We need to send someone out to stop him, and we need to do it now.”
That forced Mave to start moving, and she moved quickly.
“Mave!” Bryn called out. She turned back to him as he put down a piece on the table. “Zayden and Mat are in trouble, too. If my scouts are right, they’re in a lot of trouble. Most of the teams we sent out are. Tell him all of that. He’ll come.”
That made her run. She was in the air before she had time to think.
18
Mave
Mave landed with a hard thud on Alchan’s porch. She didn’t bother knocking, barging through the door like she owned the house, without a single fear for her life.
“Alchan!” she roared.
She heard thumping and crashing in one of the side rooms and marched for it. She knew the door, knew it led to Alchan’s inner sanctum, his bedroom, but she didn’t let that stop her. She opened it with a single shove to see Alchan standing, his eyes wide and naked in the middle of the room.
“This better be fucking important,” he snarled. He pointed at the door and marked an imaginary line. “Don’t cross that threshold. You won’t like what happens.”
“Listen to him,” Rain said, sitting up and blinking. “What the hell is going on?”
“Bryn wants to see you immediately. He says it’s urgent,” she said, ignoring the nudity. “He thinks we need to send messengers out to pull Seanev back. He also has reason to believe our teams are at risk.”
“Fuck. He’s been gathering intel tonight, hasn’t he?” Alchan reached out and grabbed some breeches. “Give me a moment to dress, and I’ll follow you back, or did he ask you t
o get anyone else? Actually, no. You’ll stay with me. Rain, when you have pants on, go get the rest of the Company.”
“What’s going on?” a small voice said. Mave turned and bit back the instinctive growl that threatened to leak out. Lady Lilliana was standing in the far hallway across the dining area, rubbing her eyes. “Is there something wrong?” She wore a loose, long dress, easy to put on and take off, probably just to cover her nudity. It wasn’t supposed to be sexual, but Mave couldn’t help but liken it to dresses Shadra once put on her. It clung to curves and exposed so much skin.
“Lady Lilliana, I’m going to kindly ask you to find Nevyn and Varon. You’ve met them, and they live on this cliffside. Can you tell them to meet me in the war room?” Alchan asked, now wearing pants as he walked out of his bedroom. “Rain, that leaves you with getting Luykas.”
“Of course.” Rain walked out right behind him. Mave was impressed they got moving so quickly.
“I’ve got Luykas,” she said, giving her bond a mental tug hard enough to wake her husband from the dead and let him know she needed him. She felt him wake as though he was startled and tugged again. The feeling of worry flooded back, unrestrained. “He’s up and on his way,” she told them.
Alchan narrowed his eyes on her. “That changes my plans now. Rain, you get Nevyn and Varon. Lady Lilliana, you can go back to bed. Everything is safe in the village. This isn’t anything for you to worry about.”
“Um…”
Mave eyed the female as she nodded slowly. She pointed and walked into the kitchen, disappearing from sight. “I’ll make some tea to calm down,” her soft voice explained.
“Let’s go,” Alchan snapped, walking past Mave. She turned on her heel and followed him out. Jumping off, they headed for the war room, while Rain went to get the priest and the general. She and Alchan flew fast, landing together. She let him storm into the war room before going in and seeing how much work Bryn had gotten done.
“How reliable is this information, and what exactly do you think is the problem?” Alchan asked, crossing his arms and looking over the maps Rain had messed with.
“Well, the information we sent out with Seanev was sound to a degree, but we’ve been trying to figure out Shadra’s strategy. I think I have,” Bryn said, anxious. “See this camp here?” Bryn pointed to a place on the maps, but Mave wasn’t the best at reading maps, so she just followed along. “A month ago, there were roughly twenty-five hundred soldiers there. Now, my scouts move a lot faster than most, doing distances in half the time. They patrol certain areas of the mountains, so they know their way around better than anyone else.”
“I understand how you’ve trained the scouts,” Alchan snapped. “What’s worried you enough to send your wife after me?”
So, I’m his Champion when I do something he likes, but I’m someone’s wife or an annoying female when I’ve upset him.
“Two weeks ago, there were only fifteen-hundred soldiers there,” Bryn answered softly. “And none of my other scouts nor the one who patrols the area know where they went.”
“How did we lose a thousand soldiers?” Mave asked, frowning. “A thousand soldiers is…a lot of soldiers.”
“Exactly, and they would be slow-moving. Very slow. What would take the Company a couple of weeks could take them a couple of months because of the terrain alone, barring any bad weather,” Alchan said. An under-his-breath curse told Mave this was serious enough to wake him.
“That’s not all,” Bryn said softly. “We sent out those missions, our new elite forces to disrupt their supplies. Between sending out those missions and my scouts seeing those camps for an updated report? Half of them got five hundred more men.”
“And it’s too late to stop those missions,” Alchan whispered, pulling up a chair. He sat down slowly, clasping his hands together and leaning over, his amber eyes glaring at the maps on the table. “They’re walking into bigger fights than expected.”
“Yes, sir. They’re the only camps that got extra men,” Bryn whispered. “She saw us coming this time. She figured out our attack plan and prepared for it. She’s set traps, using what we did in the spring. I’ve spent months watching Shadra’s troop movements,” Bryn continued. “I know the number of soldiers in every camp in the entire damn mountain range, both Elvasi and Andinna. I think I’m right.”
Mave heard footsteps and felt Luykas come close, his hand spreading over her lower back.
“We know what she’s been trying,” Luykas said, his voice tired, but Mave knew his mind was sharp. “She’s flooding the mountains with Elvasi to punch a hole in our defenses. The sooner she breeches the mountains, the sooner she can start a forward advance to wipe us out at our villages.”
“Bryn, explain to him what you just told me,” Alchan said softly.
Bryn launched into the explanation as Nevyn and Varon appeared.
“So, we attacked her new camps in spring,” Nevyn said, his frown so deep, Mave was worried it would stick. “We couldn’t hit every camp, leaving some to get strong and become…obvious targets. Like she hoped.”
“And we took the bait, thinking hitting those would weaken her,” Luykas said, nodding slowly. “She puts more men in those camps, ready for an attack now. She also makes a thousand soldiers disappear, going somewhere the scouts haven’t found, which is an unpleasant thought. Seanev is at risk.”
“She keeps boosting any camps we can’t see and a few others we can,” Alchan finished, taking a deep breath. He pointed at the other camps that hadn’t been mentioned.
Mave read the numbers and saw how one had a thousand more soldiers, and a couple others had nearly the same. Her head was spinning. It felt like a chess game, and she didn’t know how to guess the next play.
“We need to send messengers out to catch as many of our people as we can. We need to reroute Seanev away from this area,” Nevyn said, circling the area where the Elvasi soldiers disappeared.
“We can’t,” Alchan whispered. “It’s too late. We didn’t send him with a spy book because those are easy to breach. Shadra can read Andenna. Anyone with useful information in the groups knows how to die before torture breaks them. They’ll kill themselves on the battlefield before they let themselves get captured now. Everyone here knows that.”
A dark mood took over the room. Mave understood, even if she couldn’t keep up with the mental plays of the king and Empress. There were traps, and there was no stopping any of their people from walking into them.
Mat and Zayden are out there walking into a trap, and there’s nothing I can do. Nothing at all.
“We need to send out more teams, more often,” Luykas said softly.
“We need to hit them over winter,” Nevyn countered. “She can’t make a final push before winter hits. We can make some good plays over the winter. It’ll be hard on whoever goes, but we can do it.”
“I agree with both of you,” Alchan said softly. “Nevyn, put together three more teams to hit…here, here, and here. Bryn, send your fastest scouts to those locations. Leave them waiting for the teams to approach to judge the situation before they go in. That might mitigate any potential issues.”
Mave wanted to scream. She stopped hearing what they were saying, focused on Mat and Zayden. Her heart began to race, and a hand grabbed her wrist.
“Calm,” Luykas whispered in her ear. “They’re two of the best, and you know that. Trap or no trap, they’ll make it back. They know how to call a mission before they get themselves killed.”
She took a deep breath and looked up at his gold eyes for a long time before nodding. He was right. They would come back. Her husbands always made it back.
“Mave, come take a walk with me,” Alchan ordered.
She frowned and followed him.
“There are things we need to do in there,” she said, gesturing back to the war room as she made it to his side, frustrated by this sudden private chat he wanted to have.
“You missed me giving all the orders I can give,” he retorted. “
That’s on you, not me. I want to give you news I know you don’t want to hear.”
“How bad can it get?” she snapped.
“I’m not sending you out. Nevyn and Varon are going to take a team, but you are staying here. Don’t feel too bad. Because you’re staying, so is Kian. Senri imparted to me the severity of my punishment if I sent either of you without the other, and I’m never in the mood to argue with a pregnant female.”
“I’m staying? Still?” She growled, grabbing his arm. “Alchan—”
“Don’t argue with me,” he warned. “Sister, now is not the time to argue with me.”
“Why the fuck not?” she snapped. “I understand sidelining me right after I got back, but now? I should be getting ready to go out there and kill some fucking Elvasi—”
“Autumn. That’s the deal we made, remember?”
“Yes, I remember the fucking deal we made. Did you need to drag me out here to tell me?”
“Not exactly, but I felt it needed to be said first.” He shrugged and started walking again. “I just wanted to talk to you. As my sister, actually.”
That hit her in the gut. Alchan offered his arm like a true gentleman, and she warily took it, eyeing him, filled with a strange anxiety.
“What’s wrong?”
“This is going worse than I expected. The rebellion…the war,” he admitted. “But it’s made me think of things I feel need to be said before anything potentially terrible happens. Things I should say more often or discussions I should have had ages ago. One, if Mat or Zayden don’t come back, I’m sorry, sister. I know it worries you.”
“Luykas was right. They’re strong warriors. They worked with you for a thousand years and were warriors before that. They’ll make it home.” She tried to keep power in those words. She had to keep faith in them. Fretting solved nothing. It never could.
“Second, I wanted to ask for a favor. I know you’re angry with me because you want to go out and kill Elvasi. You’re very good at it, but I wanted you here to do something for me.”
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