the day. He was hauling sacks of grain and barrels of water, his breath swirling around his face. He’d removed his tunic, and steam rose from his body in the cool morning air, his chain glinting in the pale dawn sun.
Sev hadn’t slept well. Trix was nearby, muttering in her sleep as usual, and it had taken forever for him to drift off. He’d dreamed of the farm again, of rolling green hills and vast blue skies. Then he’d watched as it had all burned down.
Blinking to banish the images from his mind, Sev packed away his bedroll before making his way over to the paddock of llamas. His foot crunched on a small twig, and Kade whirled around, posture braced as if preparing for an attack.
He could be a soldier, Sev thought somewhat dazedly, scrubbing at his sleep-mussed hair, except for the eyes. They were intelligent and perceptive—but without cunning. They were kind eyes . . . until they recognized Sev.
“Oh,” Kade said, straightening up. “It’s you.”
With a sigh, Sev hunched over a water barrel and splashed several icy handfuls onto his face before taking a long drink.
When he straightened, Kade was still standing before him. He was panting slightly, his chest rising and falling, muscles glistening with sweat. As Sev lifted the edge of his tunic to mop his sodden face, Kade’s dark eyes followed his movements. His features were precisely carved, all angles and hard edges, and unlike Sev, whose chin was shaded with stubble, he’d kept up shaving his face, his jawline smooth. He was like a bronze statue of some ancient hero in a temple garden, gathering droplets of morning dew.
Sev inhaled sharply and cleared his throat, heat crawling up his neck. Since when did Sev care about temple statues? He realized with dismay that he’d been admiring more than Kade’s magic recently. He glanced up at the bondservant’s still-scowling face, and a bitter feeling settled in his stomach. Clearly the admiration was one-way.
Stepping around Kade, Sev spotted the stores of grain. He ripped one of the bags open and prepared to dump it into an empty trough, but Kade stopped him.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. His voice was its usual low rumble, but there was a raspy, gravelly edge to it—anger or annoyance, or maybe both.
Sev straightened, looking down at the grain in his hands. “Feeding them?” he said, his voice tilted as if it were a question. What had he done to earn Kade’s ire this time?
“Why?” Kade asked, taking a step forward. He waved a hand at the animals. “They are not your charges,” he said, then tapped a finger against his chest. “I am.”
“You’re not my charge,” Sev said uneasily. He was meant to guard the pack animal train and make sure everything went smoothly. Yes, that involved keeping an eye on the bondservants, but that didn’t make him Kade’s master.
“Don’t kid yourself, soldier,” Kade snapped, wrenching the feed from Sev’s grip. “You’re one of them.” He jerked his chin toward the rest of the campsite, where most of the soldiers were still sleeping.
“I know you don’t like me,” Sev began, clenching his hands into fists to stop from trying to snatch back the bag of feed. “But I think we’re more alike than you realize.”
Kade snorted, but Sev continued before he could make a snide comment.
“We both wanted to keep that girl safe,” he pointed out.
“There’s a difference between wanting to protect someone for their sake and wanting to protect someone for your own. You wanted to ‘keep her safe’ so that you didn’t have to be the one to deal the blow. You wanted to ease your own conscience so you could sleep at night.”
Sev bit the inside of his cheek, anger flaring in his breast. The words hurt, and the sting told Sev that Kade had struck close to home. Had Sev saved her neck only so he could save his own? Of course, Kade didn’t see what had happened afterward, how close Sev had come to dying for his decision that day.
“You’re a fair-weather ally—empty words and kind smiles—nothing more.”
“I didn’t ask for this, Kade,” Sev said, his voice quaking slightly as he continued to suppress his outrage. “I’m doing my best.”
“This is your best?” Kade asked skeptically, looking Sev up and down, taking in every imperfect inch of him. “I highly doubt that.”
Sev frowned, trying to work out if Kade’s words were some kind of backhanded compliment. Kade thought Sev was better than a soldier?