day, as both soldiers and bondservants prepared to go to war.
For his part as a soldier, Sev was assigned to a small regiment that included Ott and Jotham. While the others napped or huddled together to sharpen blades and share battle stories, Sev remained outside by the animals.
He moved among the llamas, his mind quietly spinning. Two hundred names, two hundred packs, each with something unique inside or out to help Sev identify them. It hadn’t been easy, but he had found a way to break it down. First of all, only certain soldiers were ever chosen for perimeter guard—usually those with more experience—so Sev focused most of his energy on them. The officers’ packs were different from the regular soldiers’, and the regular soldiers had their own subdivisions—archers, spearmen, and foot soldiers like Sev. They also had hunters and trackers in their midst, with larger packs stocked with different kinds of supplies. Eventually Sev had figured it out. It was like a puzzle, a game to keep him occupied on the long marches and sleepless nights.
Jotham’s pack had a fraying strap, like the Scarecrow’s hay-stuffed tunic.
Ott’s reeked of smoking leaf and had a mysterious, dark stain across its front.
Yara’s was perfectly maintained and spotlessly clean—so much so that it stood out from the rest for its lack of identifying marks or damage.
Despite Sev’s hard work, there were still a handful he didn’t know for certain. All he could do now was hope that they weren’t the names drawn for duty tonight.
The animals were picketed together at the edge of one of the smaller caves, where they’d stored their supplies. The waterfalls were nearby, their steady rush drowning out the noise and bustle of the campsite.
“May I speak with you, soldier?”
Sev jumped, surprised to find Kade standing there, hands clasped behind his back. They hadn’t talked since the night by the fire, and Sev didn’t want to see him as he prepared to carry out the very deed Kade didn’t think he could do. Would he try to stop Sev now, when they were almost out of time?
“I . . . okay,” Sev said warily.
Kade walked toward the waterfall, glancing over his shoulder to ensure no one saw him so close to the pack animals. The ground sloped down toward the river, and he came to a stop next to a stand of trees and shrubbery that mostly blocked them from view.
He stared at Sev a moment, the steady patter of the waterfall singing around them and leaving droplets of condensation clinging to his dark hair. A shard of afternoon sunlight poked through the trees, slicing his face, showing that what Sev had taken for a stiff jaw was actually wavering, as if suppressing pent-up emotion or frustration.
“I want to explain. The other night . . .”
“You don’t want me involved, but it’s too late. There’s nothing more to say.”
“There is,” Kade ground out. “I . . . I did hate you. At first.”
Sev forced a smile, though he didn’t find the information at all amusing.
“I knew . . . about your parents,” he said haltingly. He paused, as if expecting Sev to lash out in anger like he had the last time they were mentioned. When Sev remained quiet, he continued, “I’d grown up knowing their names. I lived in that safe house they protected; I watched the fires burn from the back of a wagon as we escaped. I owe my life to your parents, and when Ilithya told me their son had survived, I . . . Well, I was eager to meet you.”
Sev felt strange, weightless—disconnected from his body. Kade had known who his parents were all along? Had lived in the safe house? Sev had been there several times, when raids happened to nearby villages, or when soldiers were spotted along the border. Sometimes he and his parents would drop off whatever extra food or supplies they had—anything to help. He and Kade might have seen each other, even played together, and if Sev had listened to his parents, he’d have been on a wagon alongside him, on his way to safety.
“I knew that you’d be something special, that you could help us win this war. Only . . .”
“Only I wasn’t,” Sev said dully. “I wanted nothing to do with your war.”
“It made me angry. That day, outside the cabin . . . I expected you to charge in like a hero, to stand up to Jotham and Ott and to rescue that girl.