Page 90 of Sun, Moon & Shadow

Nova smiled at this Callan and his gruff demeanor, so different from the gentleness he had always shown her. It appeared she wasn’t the only one who wore a mask from time to time. Callan retracted the spyglass and slid it back into the folds of his cloak.

He looked at her briefly, catching her smile before she could tuck it away.

“What?” he asked, a bit bashful. “Sorry. I have to stay focused when I’m on a mission like this. Cut myself off from my emotions. Avoid distractions.”

“I understand,” she said, nodding. “Sometimes setting emotions aside is the surest way to survive.”

Nova stretched out flat on her stomach, arms crossed in front of her with her chin resting on the back of her hand.

“You should rest,” he whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be right here keeping watch.”

Nova breathed deeply and tilted her head to rest in the crook of her elbow. Callan’s lips brushed against her cheek, and she soon drifted off to sleep.

A short while later, Nova awoke to Callan’s firm hand on her shoulder. She dashed the sleep from her eyes and followed him down the rock face. The archers had returned from their scouting mission, and everyone formed a circle around them.

“Much has changed since the last scouts’ report,” the female archer called Zara began, her dark curls blowing in the breeze. “Three ships sit anchored offshore. We estimate the vessels carried an additional two hundred soldiers, which are now encamped just beyond the mountain’s edge.”

“Well, fuck,” Lucan said matter-of-factly, scratching his scalp above his ear and looking at Callan. In fact, Nova realized, everyone was looking at Callan.

“What’ll it be, Your Grace?” Arik asked. “Would you have us return to the capital and wait for reinforcements?”

Callan took a few slow steps in one direction before turning and pacing back in the other. Nova knew his mind was whirring, evaluating the potential risks posed by continuing with their original plan in light of this new information. He stopped pacing after a moment and turned to face the group gathered before him.

“No.” He shook his head, his mouth a grim line. “There isn’t time. I believe we can still make our original plan work . . . more or less.”

Callan looked to Lucan, who silently made his own evaluation before nodding his agreement.

“Callan’s right,” Lucan said. “If we don’t settle this now, those soldiers will be on those ships, sailing down the coast toward the Estate within a day. The risk to the throne and the civilians in the capital is too great. We have to end this.”

“So, what’s the plan, Cal?” Fawn asked.

Callan cleared his throat. He seemed to have only just registered the weight of everyone’s eyes on him.

“The entire camp will be waking soon. Though they’ll be awake, we can still catch them off guard, using the darkness to our advantage while they eat and prepare for their duties.

“Evander will lead the archers onto the ridge where Zara surveyed the encampment, setting up a covert line. Arik, you’ll lead your team to surround the camp on foot. Between the archers and your blades, we’ll dispatch as many sentries posted around the perimeter as we can. Quickly. Quietly. Efficiently.

“Lucan and Fawn will head for the shoreline. Once we’ve removed the sentries guarding the camp, we’ll need a diversion.” Callan turned to Fawn. “Do you think you can manage something?”

She snapped her fingers, a ball of flame igniting in the palm of her hand for an instant before she made a fist, snuffing it out.

“Oh, I can manage.”

“Good. Once Fawn creates a distraction, the camp will likely fall into disorder. We’ll use the confusion to our advantage as well, taking soldiers by surprise as we sweep through the camp toward the general’s tent. As for the general . . .” Callan glanced around at the group, avoiding Nova’s eyes. “Leave him to me. We move out once we hear the horns rousing the soldiers.”

Callan turned and strode off toward the spring without a word to Nova. The others jumped into action, rushing to prepare for the orders they’d been given. Nova’s cheeks burned as she pursued Callan. Lucan tried to intercept her but stepped out of her path, holding his hands up submissively, when he registered the fury written plainly on her face.

It was quiet in the fading light. The only noise was the babbling of the spring and Callan splashing water over his face. He looked up from where he crouched at the water’s edge when Nova’s boots halted beside him.

“What was that?” she asked, trying, and mostly failing, to keep her voice level.

Callan rose to his feet. He raked his damp fingers through the length of his dark hair and secured it at the back of his head.

“What was what?”

“Don’t be coy, Callan,” she said, her anger an animal tugging at its tether. “Surely you realize you gave everyone a part to play in this mission except me.”

His mouth was drawn, the lines and hollows of his face accentuated by shadow in the low light. The muscles in his cheeks fluttered as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.