night, or the cold high scratch of metal against a scabbard. Something silly and romantic, that spoke of his deadly strengths and his strange secrets. Instead, she heard a completely normal voice, not even husky from disuse. It was the kind of voice that would not be out of place in a market, that she could picture coming from any farm boy just off the wagon. A trace of country twang, not a hint of Sephrian in his accent. Was he from Miranov? Or Marabor? His skin was dark enough, but his hair had hints of red in it. More mystery instead of answers.
When the evening meal was finally served, it was announced by a breathless youth, barely out of boyhood, who darted into the room and happily cried out, “Food’s here!” The company responded like a well-oiled wheel, clearly used to this daily routine. There was a general exodus in the direction of the benches, where Taya and her companions were already seated, and the cards were quickly gathered. Some ran to get plates and cups while others ran to the doors, where they met with men carrying sacks which they tossed to their waiting comrades. Seeing the sacks, Taya’s stomach dropped. There couldn’t be anything warm in them, and nothing that might soak the bags—dried and cold, then.
After a brief scuffle everyone ended up seated and fed. Dinner turned out to be as bland as Taya had feared, though it was at least recognizable as food. Dried meat, a handful of dried fruit, and ale to wash it down. By the time a full plate was handed to Taya, David had already begun to eat his portion.
“Does someone not say a prayer to Ashua?” Taya asked in surprise. It was the first time she had ever seen someone eating without first saying a brief prayer in thanks for the meal. Her own family often gave very short ones, but they had never once foregone it altogether.
“Why would we pray to Ashua?” an older man seated across from her asked with a laugh. His name was Jake, she thought, or perhaps James. He had been a member of the game earlier, but she had forgotten his name five minutes after they were introduced. He saw her confusion, and grinned even more widely. “We worship Yariel in Sephria, miss.”
She blushed, embarrassed to have something that significant slip her mind, and good-natured laughter greeted her discomfiture.
“Well, then a prayer to Yariel. Does no one give thanks?” she asked, trying to cover up her mortification with a quick question. The older man shrugged.
“I haven’t been caught up on those things for a long time, miss,” he replied.
A younger man with a shock of bright red hair piped up from two seats down. “We always used to pray at home. Mother led, and Father used to edge his fingers closer to the plate, trying to see how near he could get before she’d slap his hand away.” Everyone laughed and smiled in fond remembrance of their own traditions. Another man called an anecdote from down the row, and soon the air was filled with bittersweet reminders of what had been left behind, and what was being fought for.
David remained silent, as did Ryan, but suddenly it didn’t seem to Taya such a surprise that these two had ended up here, with this ragtag band of rebels. Was it such a stretch, to imagine that well-educated men might love their countries so strongly? Who knew what atrocities had fired their hatred, but it seemed that hatred was not the real thing that brought them here. It was love, an honest yearning for their country to be better than it was. She could see it in David’s eyes, a sort of lurking, hopeful sadness. They had lost something, and she knew how that felt. She too had lost her home, had seen it engulfed. For the first time she felt like she could almost be one of them. The life of a rebel wasn’t so distant from her own.
She was almost finished with her meal when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Jeremy smiling down at her. He had eaten his meal with Darren, she assumed, because she hadn’t seen him at table earlier.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Oh, yes, of course. Everything is coming together. We should be ready to leave on time. I just wanted to check in with you, make sure there wasn’t anything you needed,”