families. A snuffed candle will cast light until its last breath—and so too did your parents.”
“Stop,” Sev choked out, unable to bear it anymore. “Just stop it.”
“It troubles you, to hear tell of your family’s heroic deeds? I thought you’d died that day, as did most people, but then you turned up on Captain Belden’s roster. As I said, Sev is a unique name . . . and you look just like them, you know.”
“Enough! I don’t—”
“They are shining war heroes, and yet you skulk around as if they shame you.”
“I shame them,” Sev gasped, his heart hammering so painfully that he thought his chest might explode. “They died because of me.”
Trix was silent at last, but Sev could feel her stare as he gathered himself, breath shuddering into his lungs. He couldn’t bear to look at Kade, to endure his judgment, so he stared at the ground when he spoke.
“We had time to escape! They told me to run if anything ever happened, and . . . I saw the soldiers coming and thought I could reach the drawbridge in time. But I didn’t get there fast enough, and they had to come and save me. They died because I wanted to be a hero like them.”
“They died so you could live, Sevro,” Trix said, not unkindly. “It was a most precious gift. Now it’s up to you what you wish to do with it.”
He shook his head. “I’m not like them.”
“No,” Trix agreed. “You are something else.”
Sev looked up. He’d had the exact same thought about himself, but Trix didn’t say the words with derision or disdain. She said them with admiration.
“I’ve been watching you for weeks, you know. Long before our little arrangement and long before you started watching me.”
“Because of my parents?” Sev asked.
“Because information is power—but you know that, don’t you, boy?”
“What do you mean?” Sev asked, unnerved by the cunning glint in her eye.
“What did I tell you? I’ve been watching you, Sevro, and I know you’re a hoarder of information—just like me. You know every soldier’s name and where he likes to sleep. Every night before bed, you wander the campsite with your bedroll as if looking for a perfect spot—but you never look at the ground; you look at the soldiers’ faces. You’ve been studying the work roster, too, lingering just a few minutes longer than necessary every time you check your assignment, so you know where people will be and when. Smart stuff . . . subtle stuff. That’s what I was interested in.”
Both Trix and Kade were staring at him, and heat crept up Sev’s face. It was true; he did collect information, often as a means of feeling comfortable in a new place. It had also helped keep Sev alive, from his time in the orphanage to his years on the streets, and now, as a soldier.
Though it seemed she meant the words as praise, something in her tone felt dismissive—regretful—and Sev didn’t know what that meant.
“Was?” he repeated after picking through her words. “You’re not interested anymore?”
Trix tilted her head at him. “I tire of trying to convince you, Sevro. Go on, back to your old life. Sign up for vanguard or rear guard or Captain Belden’s personal footstool for all I care. Your debt to me is paid.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Sev argued.
“Technically speaking, you undid months of careful planning. Thanks to yesterday’s antics, we’ll have to regroup. Still, I no longer require your services.”
“Thya,” Kade whispered under his breath, casting a glance at Sev. “The packs. There’s no way anyone else will be able to memorize them in time.”
“Memorize the packs?” Sev asked. Trix had started moving again, and Sev followed close behind. “You mean the soldiers’ personal packs?”
While most soldiers didn’t have much by way of possessions, each had their own pack that they stocked with food, water, liquor, and personal items—endless talismans for luck, love, or swift journeys, plus letters from family back home. The soldiers had to be ready at a moment’s notice to go on patrols, take watch duty during the evening meal, or go on scouting missions, and whenever they did, their personal packs went with them. When they weren’t in use, they were stored with the rest of the supplies and carried by the llamas.
“Yes,” Trix said over her shoulder, still striding away from him. Sev tried to listen as she spoke in an undertone to Kade. “We could focus on the water supply, though there’s still the question of