As their voices dropped out of earshot, Sev slowed his pace. His limbs were tingling, his breath oddly shallow. After the events of the previous day, he’d been expecting a variety of grim outcomes, one of which ended with Trix choking the life from him while he slept. But this? To have her release him from their agreement just like that? He should be relieved. He’d no longer have to face Kade every day or try to unravel Trix’s complicated motivations.
It would be like none of this had happened, and Sev could walk away unscathed . . . at least, for now. What was that she’d said about the water supply?
Then it hit him. “You’re gonna poison them,” he called to Trix’s retreating back.
She turned, gaze flicking to Kade before settling on Sev. “Am I?” she asked mildly. “But I’m in charge of the messenger pigeons. How would I manage something like that?”
“He was gonna do it,” Sev said, taking a step toward them and pointing at Kade. “Only now he can’t, thanks to me. And the personal packs . . .” Sev paused, his mind picking through all that had been said and all he’d gleaned on his own. “You don’t want to spoil all the supplies—you’ll need some, when all this is over—so you wanted me to help identify them. Help keep track of which bags belong to which soldiers.”
That still didn’t explain everything. Whose packs would they choose to poison? Did Trix have other allies among the soldiers? And what of Captain Belden? All his possessions were kept separate from the rest of the regiment.
“This is no longer your concern, soldier,” Trix said. “Remember? Don’t worry. I don’t forget my friends, and we are friends, aren’t we, boy? I’ll ensure you make your escape when the time comes, and you won’t be one of my targets—but you’d best stay out of my way.”
Trix made to walk away, but Sev grabbed her arm. “If the soldiers get sick all of a sudden, who d’you think will take the blame? Those who make their meals, those who handle the food supplies. You’ll be putting all the bondservants’ lives at risk.”
“You’re right. If the soldiers get sick, we don’t stand a chance.”
Sev stopped short, releasing her, and she continued to march on. After a stunned moment he caught up. “You mean to kill them all.”
She turned back around to face him, her expression utterly remorseless when she said, “Dead men tell no tales—and point no fingers.”
“But you work with the messenger pigeons, like you said. Why not send a message to the Riders right now and avoid—”
“Avoid what, boy? Death? What do you think would happen if the Riders knew there were empire soldiers making straight for them? Whether it’s us dealing it or them, there will be bloodshed on this mountain, make no mistake. As for the messenger pigeons,” she continued, her acid tone turning to one of worn frustration, “don’t think it didn’t cross my mind. But these are no proper messenger pigeons. They’ve been ‘simpled’—trained in a very specific way for a very specific purpose. They can travel only to and from the same starting and end points within the same range, no deviations, no longer distances. They can’t break loose and follow unique orders. Too much magical influence.”
“And the wild animals have too little,” Kade added, his voice subdued. “It requires a good amount of training for an effective message carrier. Wild animals would only obey an animage’s orders for as long as their magic remained connected to them. . . . Eventually they’d become distracted or lose focus.”
“I had a pair of real messenger birds during the war,” Trix said, her tone wistful. “They could fly from Aura Nova into Pyra in two days. Nefyra and Callysta, I called them. What I wouldn’t give for another pair such as them.”
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Kade asked Sev, after several moments of silence. There was no aggression in Kade’s tone, just curiosity.
“What is?” Sev asked, mind still on Trix’s plans.
“A way out of this arrangement,” he said. Though Sev could hardly see in the darkness, there was something like disappointment in Kade’s crossed arms and downcast face. “Now you have it.”
“You’re free of us,” added Trix. She smiled, patted him on the arm, and left, Kade following soon after.
Yes, this was what Sev wanted. He wanted to get away from the war and everything it stood for. But as he