The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) - Mary E. Pearson Page 0,181

I said.

“Before we left, Father whispered to me, find her. He wanted you back too. Is he still alive?”

“Yes,” I answered. I’d already told them about the Viceregent in the message I sent, but now I told him what had transpired these past weeks, and our plan to meet the Komizar in Sentinel Valley. And then, though it hurt to relive it, I told him the truth of Walther’s death.

“Did he suffer?” he asked, his eyes sunken and expression grim.

I wasn’t sure how to answer him and the memory of Walther raging forward into battle surfaced again. “He was mad with grief, Regan. He suffered from the moment Greta died in his arms. But on the field he died quickly—he was a warrior prince, brave and strong, but greatly outnumbered.”

“As we are now.”

“Yes,” I admitted, “as we are now.” I couldn’t sugarcoat the truth for him, even with his weakened state.

“Hold off a few days before you leave,” he said. “And then I can ride with you.”

I heard the hunger in his voice, his desire to avenge his brothers and ride at his sister’s side. It burned in him. I understood his need, but I sighed. “You have a gash in your side, Regan, that required twenty-seven stitches to close. If it were the other way around, would you take me along?”

His head rolled back. He knew he wouldn’t be able to ride in a few days or even a few weeks. “Damn surgeons. They love to count.”

“You need to stay here. Bryn will need you when he wakes.”

I looked at Bryn, peaceful in his drugged dream world. My sweet young brother looked more like an angel than a soldier. “Does he know what happened?” I asked.

Regan shook his head. “I don’t think so. He was screaming and delirious. He hasn’t woken since.”

I looked down at Bryn’s leg, half of it gone.

“If I’m not here when he wakes, tell him I will make sure they pay. For every life and pound of flesh they have taken. They will pay twofold.”

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Tavish, Jeb, and Orrin were directing troops to their places in the caravan. We were leaving in three waves. Gwyneth, Pauline, and Berdi walked with lists, checking supply wagons, making sure they were evenly dispersed among the contingents.

I was about to go speak with another regiment that had arrived the night before when Pauline called me over, ostensibly to check on a wagon. I knew something else was on her mind.

“The jacket you ordered is ready,” she said. “I put it in your room.” She kept her voice low, glancing over her shoulder. I had asked her to be discreet. “The dressmaker was not happy. She didn’t understand why you wanted scraps when she had perfectly good fabric available.”

“But she did as I asked?”

Pauline nodded. “Yes, and she incorporated the sewn red scraps you gave me.”

“And the shoulder?”

“That too.” Her expression turned worried. “But you know what everyone else will think.”

“I can’t worry about what others will think. I need to be recognized. What about the tether?”

She reached into her pocket and handed me a long slitted strip of leather. I already had the bones for it. I had been saving them.

“I also need to talk to you about Natiya,” she said. “She thinks she’s coming with us.”

I rubbed my forehead, not wanting to get into another match of wills with Natiya, fearing she would follow behind anyway. “She can come,” I said. “She speaks Vendan. I’ll have a task for her.” I saw the concern in Pauline’s eyes. “I’ll do my best to keep her safe,” I said, though my best hadn’t been good enough yet. I was telling her my plans for Natiya when a loud voice boomed behind us.

“Well, if it isn’t the smart-mouthed tavern maid and her pretty friend! Looks like I got here at just the right time. They have you servicing the soldiers now?”

I whirled to see a soldier—a familiar one. It took me a few seconds to place him, but then I remembered. His swagger and arrogant smile hadn’t changed. He was the soldier from the tavern I had soaked with ale and then had threatened with a knife at the festival. It was obvious he hadn’t forgotten me.

“You claimed that you’d be the one surprising me next time we met,” he said, drawing closer. “I guess it didn’t work out that way.”

I stepped forward to meet him. “You just arrived last night, soldier?”

“That’s right,” he said.

“And you’re not familiar with my role