“I will,” Alwyn said softly, frowning. Was that what other people thought about? Something about the question left him unsettled in a way he couldn’t quite place.
“I’ll hold you to it,” Krujha said. He looked back at Alwyn again, still grinning, andwinkedat him.
Alwyn felt his heart flip-flop in his chest even as he glanced away with an annoyed huff. Krujha’s laugh echoing through the trees did nothing to calm his racing pulse, either.
Chapter Ten
Krujha
The more they talked, the more certain Krujha became of two things. First, Alwyn truly was here to complete his mission because he had never considered doing anything other than exactly what he was told. Second, something in Krujha wanted to push the elf to think for himself; and even more than that, he wanted to keep Alwyn safe.
It was an absurd feeling to have, especially about an elf trained to kill with his magic. It was like looking at a rabid razorfang cat and wanting to protect it. The smart thing to do would have been to keep a close eye on Alwyn, while still keeping him at arm’s length. Instead, he relished the time they spent together and took every opportunity to be around the little assassin.
When Alwyn had taken his suggestion about making his magic smaller to heart, and it seemed to actually help him, Krujha had no explanation for the warm curl of satisfaction that rose in his belly in response. He told himself that he was just happy his advice might keep the elf alive a little longer, so they could complete their mission and all have a better chance of survival. That was all it was. All it could be.
He was as lukewarm as ever about the rest of the elves, though Alwyn was really the only one he spent much individual time with. That was changing the closer they got to the rebel camp. With Gorza gone, Torlag had largely deferred to Krujha in most matters; so he became the de facto leader of at least the two of them, meaning any issues with the camp, or changes in duties, were brought to him.
Torlag came to him that morning, returning after just an hour or so of scouting ahead, with the report they had all been waiting for.
“I see signs of a camp a bit further west,” he said. “They’re on the move, but we should be able to catch up within a day or two.”
Krujha’s heart leapt up into his throat. This was it—the first step of their plan. They would join this rebel camp and determine if Zesh was there. If he was, they would extract him; and if not, they would find outwherehis camp was and move on.
“Lead the way,” he said, nodding. When he turned back to the elves trailing behind him, Galred was watching their exchange with obvious interest.
“He’s found signs of a camp on the move,” Krujha said, grinning at the elf. “We’ll catch up within a day or so.”
Galred nodded, a grim expression crossing his face. “Right on time, it seems.”
They veered westward, following the path Torlag had taken. Before long, Krujha noticed the vast swathes of grass tamped down or shorn entirely, the remnants of campfires, and the deep grooves of many wagons following one after the other. This was a camp large enough that it was impossible to hide, which he hoped meant that it was Zesh’s primary force, so the warlord would travel with it or else return soon.
The longer their little group had traveled together, the lighter the mood had grown. What had been uncomfortable silence for the first day slowly became quiet chatter—mainly between theelves, but most of them were open to speaking with Krujha and Torlag as needed. Mostly, it had become a comfortable background noise throughout the day, hearing them talking amongst themselves in elvish behind him.
Once the news had spread, though, that mood seemed to darken, reverting to the quiet and tense atmosphere that had dominated their group during their first days of travel together.
He supposed it made sense. It was hard not to feel nervous about their mission now that it was no longer some nebulous plan for the future. No one could ignore the signs of the camp they would need to infiltrate, and the danger that came with it surely felt far more present.
There would be no need to forage now that they were so close to the camp, and he didn’t want to risk a pair possibly running into hunters or foragers from the rebel side. Alwyn trailed near the back of the group the whole day, so Krujha didn’t get the chance to talk to him until the sun was setting and they had found a suitable place to camp.
Understandably, the elf was not in a particularly good mood, knowing that they would arrive at the camp the next day. He shot Krujha that familiar, annoyed grimace when he approached the elf’s tent, but it didn’t deter the grin spreading around his tusks.
“Did you miss me?” Krujha teased. Alwyn huffed, tossing his head as he looked away, so his fair hair fell away from his eyes.
“Of course not,” he said, busying himself with his blankets. “It was nice not to have anychorestoday.”
Krujha chuckled. “Chores? Is that what you think of our time together? I like to think of it as quality bonding time.”
Alwyn’s cheeks flushed crimson at that, as he sputtered something in response. “Don’t—that isn’t—”
Krujha laughed aloud, seeing the elf so flustered. As he sat down on a stump, Alwyn again began to mutter in annoyanceunder his breath, turning away from him entirely, as if that would somehow get him to leave.
“Tomorrow’s a big day,” Krujha said, letting some of his jovial tone fall away, though he tried not to sound too grim, either. “Tell me your thoughts about all this.”
Alwyn had stilled at his words, clearly trying to mask the pensive expression now on his face. “What’s to tell?”
“Surely you must have an opinion on the best way to approach.”
A long silence stretched between them as Alwyn continued to set up his tent and his bedroll; but Krujha could see in his eyes that he was considering a response. He was sure Alwyn would be aghast to know how expressive his face was, when he so clearly was trying to emulate the elven standard of stoic neutrality. Krujha found it utterly charming—a welcome reprieve from the rest of the elves, who did a far better job at being outwardly stuffy and formal with him.
