them in Olost, and the stress of the rebellion put a good five hundred years on him overnight. It wasn’t just his duties as spymaster. At his age, he shouldn’t have been teaching new Blackbloods because of the stress it put on his body.
They settled into silence, and Mat felt closer to this older male, thanks to the talk. He’d liked Kick from the beginning of the trip and was glad to finally get the chance to have a private conversation. As their watch drew closer to the end and midday was approaching, Mat decided to ask the male one more question.
“How did you get your name?”
“If we live through this mission, I’ll tell ya,” the old male answered with a wry smile. “Deal?” He extended a hand.
Mat accepted, grinning. “Deal. Now let’s wake up these lazy pigeons.”
Kicks laughed softly, and together, they went to slowly wake up each Andinna individually to keep from making too much noise. Mat knew they were too far from the Elvasi camp to get caught, but it was still better to speak softly and pack up quickly.
“Make sure everything is ready to go. Roll up those bedrolls. When we get back, we’re jumping on the horses and moving.”
He got silent nods in return. Zayden came up to his side and stifled a yawn.
“Wake up,” he ordered his friend. “Can’t have you feeling drowsy for this.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zayden muttered, smirking. “I sleep better when I have—”
“Let’s talk about that on the way home,” Mat said with a smirk of his own.
“You can’t deny being in the woods like this doesn’t remind you of her,” the cranky male said with a soft punch to his arm. “Especially after that wild night—”
Mat reached out and put a hand over his mouth.
“Again, let’s save it for when we’re done with this mission. Then we can get back to daydreaming about home.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready, standing in front of him and Zayden.
“We’re splitting into two smaller teams,” Mat explained as he had before. This was already decided, but a quick reminder before a mission never hurt. “Does anyone here not remember who they were assigned with?”
No hands went up.
“Good. Then split in the middle. If you’re with me, come over. If you’re with Mat, go to his side,” Zayden continued.
Mat watched patiently as the team split. Kick was on his side, which was exciting. He wanted to see what the older male could do.
“We’re entering the valley from two sides, with this being our meeting place. No one leaves until the other unit comes back or dawn hits. Once dawn comes over the horizon, if you’ve made it here, get on your horse and leave, and for the love of the Skies, don’t take anyone else’s horse, thinking you might need it. You might strand someone walking home by themselves.” Zayden sent a glare around the group.
“The mission is simple. We’re sneaking into the camps and finding their supply stores. We set them on fire, then get out. Both Zayden and I have fast burning fat that will speed the process. We should be able to do a lot of damage before this is over. We won’t stick around to see how it plays out. We just have to hope it’s effective.”
“You ready?” Zayden asked softly, leaning to him.
“Yeah. You?”
“For her,” his friend said with a smile. This one wasn’t joyful. It was trouble. Mat smiled back.
“For her,” he agreed. They both knew Mave wanted to be out there, taking Elvasi heads for herself. They would do this for her and make it home.
They launched into the air as a unit, dividing as they came over the treetops. They flew low, skimming branches precariously to keep from being too obvious. It was a long flight at a fast pace, the sun moving further to the west and going behind the mountains, giving them a dark shade that helped conceal them further.
Mat picked the clearing to land in with his unit. He held up a hand, indicating he wanted silence. The sun was now truly falling, the light in the sky becoming a deep blue and closing in on a black night every moment. Stars were beginning to show up above their heads, and he caught a glimpse of the red moon rising.
He drew his sword and waved for his warriors to follow him as he began to work his way through the thick underbrush and trees. It was a good sign because it told