unload, and then head out to the campsites scattered across the land. Elsewhere on the land are plots already churned into dirt by workers, upon which are unfinished buildings with long fences coming up around them. Defense compounds, I realize with a sickening start at the sight of half-constructed watchtowers. The Federation is already beginning to strengthen their presence here in the new land along the warfront.
Jeran glances questioningly at me, then points down at the nearest campsite, where a small patrol of Federation soldiers have set up their tents within the last few lines of trees. They’re perfect for what we need.
Red, I say through our link. When he looks up at me, I nod through the trees. This close, the link between us tugs sharply at my mind, and I can feel the rapid rhythm of his heart and the rumble of breath in his throat.
We’ll be watching you, I remind him.
He nods. Keep close as you can when you trail me, he responds. The train will lead us back into the capital. All the trains converge there.
The capital of the Federation. My heart squeezes tight. I can no longer tell if it’s anxiety from Red, for having to return to the darkness he’d emerged from, or if it’s my own, for venturing in for the first time.
Good luck, he says. I startle at the final words from Red through our link, and when I look down at him, he’s pressed his hand to his chest in a Striker’s salute.
And in this instance, I am overwhelmed with the fear that I’m going to lose my Shield again, just like I’d failed to protect Corian. I’m about to let Red walk back into the Federation that had twisted him into this half-man, half-machine weapon.
How strange that, not long ago, I’d been facing him in the training arena, staring at him in shock as the Firstblade named him my Shield. I’d hated his every step then, loathed being tethered to him. Had been terrified of what he could do. And now here I am, entirely capable of betraying him and leaving him behind, and I cannot imagine doing it.
I find myself tapping a fist against my chest in return. I’m not going to leave you behind, I tell him quietly.
Red looks away from me and down toward the train station. There’s something in the link that tells me he doesn’t quite believe me, but he nods anyway without responding. Then he turns away from us, and we watch as he walks into the woods in the direction of the tents until he’s lost among the trees.
I straighten and force my eyes away. Time to get into position. My boots find their footing against the edges of broken bark on trees, and in a few seconds, I’m crouched among the gnarled branches that almost overlook the campsite. Adena has disappeared into the brush, while Jeran perches on light feet in a tree opposite me. There, we wait.
From here I can make out laughter echoing from below. There must be a dozen soldiers down there, all sharing a bite of lunch as they clap one another on their backs and stamp their feet in an attempt to warm up cold toes. One of them points and laughs at a mate struggling to load a heavy crate onto the train at the station. The fury rises in me from somewhere deep. Karensan soldiers, able to laugh even after all they’ve done. What had they been doing before this? Were they torturing hostages? Killing Strikers at the warfront?
Then I remember Red’s story of how he’d been punished by the Federation for failing to shoot me during the Basea invasion. I think of how his family had been separated and then individually destroyed, how he was made to participate in it. And I wonder how many of these soldiers have been trained into their cruelty, whether or not they’re like Red, out here laughing around a fire at the warfront because if they don’t, their families will be torn apart.
Crack.
All of us freeze at the sound. Down below, Red had purposely stepped on a twig and made the sound. It echoes from where he’s hiding, crouched in the ferns.
The noise around the campfire pauses. There’s silence, followed by murmurs. Then I see a scarlet uniform making its way down the path through the trees. One of his friends calls out at him, looking exasperated, but the first soldier waves him off and keeps walking in