to the ground. We get out. An extra day, making sure everyone is well-rested and ready to go is not going to be the end of this mission.”
“Yeah, it’s not like we’re setting an ambush for the gryphon riders. They’ve been conveniently missing since we killed the prince last year.” Zayden snorted. “Watch, we’re going to find them at this camp.”
“Don’t wish ill-luck on us, please.” Mat chuckled, shaking his head at his old friend. When Tekyv said nothing, Mat nodded to him once, then continued moving. They would be at the valley halfway through the night, which was perfect timing, regardless of what this warrior felt. It allowed them to rest for the majority of the day and be ready for an evening strike.
The sun traveled over their head, moving east to west as they rode silently. Zayden pulled his horse right next to Mat again and smiled.
“We get this done, then we get to go home,” he said almost wistfully.
“You miss her?” Mat asked softly, not wanting to disrupt the peacefulness around them.
“Damn right.” Zayden scoffed. “You don’t?”
“With every part of me,” he stressed. “But this is what we do. I hate not being with her, but I firmly believe she values our independence and her own.”
“That’s just one amazing thing about her,” Zayden said with a grin. “How did I get so damn lucky?”
“You weren’t.” With a snort, he reached out and thumped the back of his friend’s head. “She was too stubborn for you to chase off.”
Zayden reached out and hit him in the side. Mat resisted a laugh, knowing it would be loud. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to the area, even if there wasn’t likely any Elvasi around.
They entered their valley well after the sun went down and set up a small camp near a cliff and under a thick cover of trees.
“No fires,” Mat ordered as everyone threw down their bedrolls. “We’ll do a simple, short rotation of guards while others sleep. Everyone should get enough to be ready for tonight.” He glanced at Tekyv, who happened to be staring back. “Do you want first watch?” He would give this guy a chance to step up if he really wanted it that much.
“I’ll take it,” the warrior agreed. “What about meals?”
“Everyone can eat their dry rations on their watch,” Mat answered, grabbing his bedroll from his horse. “Zayden?”
“I’m working out the rotation for watch right now. You’ll be on last watch to wake everyone up,” the male said gruffly, looking over the group. “You lie down. I’ve got it.”
“Thanks.” Mat settled in and closed his eyes, finding it easy to fall asleep. They were in a well-sheltered place, and he wasn’t concerned like Tekyv. He knew what he was doing.
“You’re up,” someone whispered. Mat jerked at the touch on his shoulder, his eyes flying open. He was wide awake in seconds. Zayden stood over him, smirking.
“Get some sleep,” he whispered back. “Thanks.”
Zayden thumped his shoulder and headed for his own bedroll. Mat got up quickly and quietly, looking to see another warrior coming toward him. Everyone called him Kick. Mat didn’t know his real name.
“Hey, Kick. It’s me and you?” Mat covered a yawn when he was done speaking.
“Yeah.”
“Cool.” He liked Kick, a quiet male who obviously crushed a few skulls in his day. He was a bit older, and Mat knew him to be another one of Seanev’s who didn’t go on the summer campaign. They found the watch spot the others had formed and settled in together.
“So, why are you and Tekyv on my mission and not with Seanev?” Mat asked suddenly, looking for conversation. He was curious, and Kick was better to ask than Tekyv. “And why did he try to throw Leria and Seanev into my face earlier?”
Kick turned slowly toward him, narrowing his eyes.
“Don’t be young and stupid,” the older male said softly. He was probably closing in on four thousand, and a gnarly scar covered his left eye, blinding him in it. Nevyn had known him, though, and put him on the team with Mat and Zayden.
“Explain,” Mat pressed, wondering where that insult had come from.
“Tekyv is testing the waters about the leadership of the rebellion, so he can put himself into a good place to earn points with Leria. He won’t do anything stupid, but he wants to go back up north and tell her how he was keeping all of you alive or something. There’s always one like him on a mission,