Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,26

line or any larger men, this wasn’t where he thought he’d been heading.

“I thought you were going to get food?” Marc glanced up at the sky and then looked out to the right. Why he bothered was anyone’s guess. He couldn’t tell what was out there any more than he could tell what was in the other direction.

“The Captain had the women’s rations separated, and apparently lumped the Honor Guard in. We brought it here.” Ruisa sighed and dropped to the ground. “I’d thought we’d get the preferential treatment a little longer.”

“You don’t deserve it.” That sounded like Rachie’s voice. The speaker shifted on the other side of the large circle.

Marc shuffled in next to Ruisa, hoping the hulking frame that looked like Xavier didn’t have his fingers resting on the ground. If Marc accidentally sat on them, he’d surely get a punch. Coming from Xavier, that wouldn’t feel great. His ribs still hurt.

“Do you need to be right on top of me?” Xavier huffed before backing out of the circle a little, making more room for Marc.

“Here.” Ruisa crawled forward to the center of the circle, and then came back with dried meat, bread, and cheese. “This is what we’ve got.”

Marc would have eaten a raw fish he was so hungry. He tore a chunk out of the lump of bread.

“I overheard Sanders talking,” Ruisa said, crossing her legs and leaning her forearms on her knees. “He said their defenses seem minimal and there aren’t that many on the inside. That they probably sent everyone to attack our city.”

“They didn’t attack—they just kind of…camped out.” That sounded like Gracas.

“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Ruisa huffed. “Sanders didn’t think the Graygual thought they’d be attacked. The ones here, I mean. I don’t know what was going on with the ones in our lands.”

“That guy Kallon.” That feminine rasp sounded like Maggie. “He said it would be better to go quickly so we didn’t have all night to stew in fear. That it would be bad for the inexperienced to wait.”

A great many shadows around the large circle shifted. Feet scraped against the ground and heads ducked. Maggie had hit on the worry that a great many were clearly feeling.

“You didn’t have the Captain when you were trapped in the city,” Xavier said in a firm voice, “so you wouldn’t know that he is an excellent leader. Even S’am is impressed with him, and she’s rarely impressed with anyone. She led Kallon, and she lets the Captain lead her into battle. So that should tell you where Kallon ranks in all of this.”

“The Captain is going to squash him when they fight.” Gracas shifted, but for a different reason than the women.

Marc rolled his eyes and ripped off another mouthful of meat.

“But…what he said made sense,” Alena said in a slightly shaking voice.

“Nah.” Xavier waved the thought away, ramming Marc with his big shoulder. The guy didn’t know how much room he took up. “They need time to plan. Once they have that, they tell all the officers, and then they tell us. So each group is banded together with directions. We’ll get some sleep, refresh, and then we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

“I don’t know how much I’ll sleep,” one of the women said.

“Even so, you’ll be with experienced warriors,” Ruisa said. “I was scared at first, but Xavier is right about the Captain. And Shanti is always monitoring everyone—us especially. Between the two of them, it works out.”

Xavier shifted again, jarring Marc’s elbow. Scowling, he scooted back as Xavier said, “Every time I get anxious about what’s to come, I think of what the Captain says sometimes: Overcoming fear is the best way to gain confidence. Skirting fear is the fastest way to a hollow bravado. And he’s right.”

Someone blew out their breath. Stillness settled, slow and heavy, expectation so thick it was palpable. Marc finished off his dinner, savored to the last and not quite enough. “I remember my first battle,” Xavier said, bracing his forearms on his knees. “It wasn’t even much of a battle. Not the part I had. It was when the Mugdock attacked and S’am told us to guard our family and friends. I was terrified.”

“I’m always terrified,” Marc admitted. There was no sense in denying it—everyone knew that fact.

“But S’am saw us through,” Xavier continued. “The Captain led the defense, his commanders did their job, and we picked up the slack. We all worked together, and everything worked out. Put your faith and