He blinks.You sure?
With a sigh, I turn away to look through the window at the vast fields that stretch as far as my eyes can see.
Lorca stirs at the back of my mind. As always, with the worst possible timing.
Good for you to show up, I mutter at the trickster god.
They chuckle.You called.
I haven’t!I insist.I don’t need you messing with my reality again. Not right now. Please.
You march an army into enemy territory. It’s a call clear as day, Lorca purrs.I’m ravenous.
I freeze.
Of course, the souls I owe. So many souls.
I don’t want to disappoint you, but nobody’s dying.
Lorca chuckles.Oh, General…
It caresses my thoughts with its fluffy tail and once more retreats to the back of my mind. I force a breath down, and work hard to regulate my heartbeat.
I try very hard not to think about what Lorca’s answer means for the rest of the trip. But it’s all I can focus on.
We travelall day with only one stop at midday. Even then, we have only a ten-minute break before we’re back on the dusty road, heading farther south.
Only when the sun sets behind the horizon does the carriage come to a halt and we climb out. Crisp evening air nips at my cheeks as I stretch my legs. My Ezkai are working efficiently building the tents in the middle of an empty field. Farther down, there’s a large tree, and some lone boulders are scattered across the field.
We’re in the middle of nowhere. Far from civilization. I can almost pretend the looming threat doesn’t exist.
Almost.
My gaze catches Jax working with Emil and Bjorn on setting up two tents next to each other farther away from the rest of the camp. One’s bigger than other, embroidered with a large Ezkai General sigil where the entrance is.
He’s changed so much. I still find it hard to wrap my head around it sometimes. The man I met at the Black Night all those moons ago is a mere shadow of the man that stands between my Ezkai, his muscles straining against his white shirt as he secures the tent entrance.
I suppose I’ve changed, too. We had no other choice.
“General, your tent is ready,” Ezkai Bjorn announces, startling me from my pondering.
“Thank you,” I say.
I grab my backpack and rolled fur blanket and head inside to get cozy. The interior is bare. A cot rests against one wall. A small metal brazier burns low in the corner, its heat barely enough to cut through the night’s chill. The tent’s top flap is left open just enough for the smoke to slip out, the canvas stirring softly with each gust of wind.
With a sigh, I toss the backpack on the ground next to the cot and unfurl my furs on top of the cot. Despite it being late, I’m not yet ready for sleep. Neither am I hungry enough to eat the rations I brought with me. So, I head back outside.
Ezkai Emil stands guard at the entrance.
I frown. “Come on. You don’t need to guard me here at all times.”
He offers me a cheeky smirk and shrugs. “It is our duty, General.”
“Take the night off,” I say. “It’s an order.” When he opens his mouth to speak, I add. “Nothing will happen to me in the middle of nowhere, with over thirty of my most loyal men around me. Besides, you can always see me from any corner of the camp.”
Finally, Ezkai Emil relents. “You got it, General. But just so you know, we have eyes on you at all times.”
I chuckle and pat his shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Go have some rest now.”
