The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,92

information."

"Would you have me put the lives of everyone here, including yourself, in danger for one man?" Darius asked her.

"The Trateri put their lives in danger for much less every day," Eva shot back. "It's what you do—run straight toward danger while the sane run from it. It's how you've conquered so much, how you've come to be here. Why is this any different?"

He nodded slowly. "And if you could tell me what I would be walking into, I'd consider it. Can you tell me how many men we'll face? How far we'll need to ride? The obstacles between us and him?”

He stepped closer. Eva wasn't small but Darius loomed over her.

He bent down, saying in a low voice meant only for her ears. "Don't think you're the only one who cares. I'd like nothing more than to ride out and find him now, rather than wait." He straightened. "But I have a duty to all those under my command. Neglecting that duty, even for my oldest friend, would make me unfit as a leader."

He held her eyes for several minutes, hammering home her defeat. It galled, but he was right. She'd known it before she started arguing, even as she'd hoped for a miracle.

"Settle in for the night," he said, dropping a hand on her shoulder. The look on his face was understanding but implacable. "The wait will not be a short one."

With that, he walked away.

Failure threatened to choke Eva as she watched him go.

Hanna stepped close. "Don't feel too bad. Leaders have to think differently than you or me. He believes you, even if it doesn't seem like it, but his concerns are not what ours would be."

When Eva didn't respond, Hanna took her arm. "Come, let's get you settled. I expect you've had a difficult couple of days."

Eva went reluctantly. Resisting or arguing would only end in a loss of dignity. Probably hers.

"What happened while I was gone?" Eva asked, looking around.

"We defeated the creatures attacking us, but it came at a cost," Hanna said, hands clasped behind her back.

Eva saw the cost when she looked around. Few of the Trateri had escaped unscathed.

Even the horses carried wounds and there were fewer of them than when they had started. Eva felt regret clench around her heart. She’d feel the loss of every one of those mounts when she had time to grieve.

Hanna stopped on the outskirts of camp, reaching into a pack and withdrawing a small blanket which she handed to Eva. Next, she dragged out a water bladder and a small pouch with nuts and fruit in it. Both of which she pressed into Eva's hands.

Eva's stomach growled. It had been hours since the meager meal she'd shared with Caden, and even then, she hadn't eaten much.

"Most of us survived. A few did not," Hanna said as Eva slowly dug into the pouch and chewed. "We didn't realize the outsiders had infiltrated until you and the Kyren flew off."

Eva lifted her head. She'd wondered about that.

"Did they escape?" she asked.

"Yes, most of them. We caught two and interrogated them," Hanna said. "You have already experienced the fallout from that interrogation. They said they got directions from a woman fitting your description. Vincent claimed he saw you interact with them in a way that suggested you were working with them. It was enough to convince most of your guilt."

Eva snorted in derision.

Hanna lifted a shoulder. "It's easy to cast blame when the person being blamed isn't here to defend themselves."

Eva lowered the handful of nuts she'd been about to eat, her expression grim. "It probably didn't help my case that I appeared to abandon the battle halfway through."

Hanna inclined her head in agreement.

Eva sighed. Faced with those facts, she might have come to the same conclusions.

"I didn't mean to leave," she said, staring at the ground, feeling guilty again. "It was either get on Sebastian's back or drown. Once I was on him, I thought we'd ride the water sprites down, instead I found myself flying away from camp and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop him."

Hanna's hand was gentle as she patted Eva's bent head. "I know what it's like to have unfounded suspicions cast your way, to be looked at like you're the enemy when you've done nothing to deserve it."

The woman's gaze was faraway, sadness touching her face as she recalled painful things. Her eyes lowered to meet Eva's. "You're not as alone as you might seem. You still