The Turncoat King Read online

  “You're over-confident. It'll land you on your arse.” But Sybyl was chuckling as she turned away.

  “Who is that one?” Kikir asked, his eyes on Sybyl's tight, lithe frame as she trotted away from them.

  “Sybyl is a senior officer, but you'll have no luck there. She has a partner.” And while Iris would most likely laugh at the idea of someone trying to steal her lover, it didn't hurt to warn the Skäddar that he didn't have anything close to a clear field.

  “The good ones always do.” Kikir made a gesture of regret. Then he looked at her with a small spark of interest. “And you?”

  She laughed. “I am a lowly soldier. And my heart is also in another's hands.”

  Kikir lifted his hands in a move that said, can't blame someone for trying.

  “What do you want to do with the rest of the day?” Ava could see the column was traveling a little faster, now they had a goal. It was early afternoon, and they had at least four hours before the complex task of setting up for the night began.

  “I don't need a babysitter. I'll come find you when it's time for a meal or for us to spar.” Kikir's gaze followed down the column. “I'm interested in observing how the Venyatux do things.”

  He'd take the opportunity to have a good look at their weapons and organization, he meant. But the general had invited him to stay, and she didn't have the authority or the motivation to stop him.

  “Fine. Just answer me one thing. Was I right about your patterns? And how do you apply them?”

  “This again?” Kikir turned from his perusal of the long line of soldiers. “The markings are drawn in a special ink that takes a month to fade. I suppose your being from the border with Skäddar explains how you guessed the pattern symbolizes the meeting of sky and earth, at the very top of the mountains, but it also means pinnacle. I am the best warrior in Skäddar. I have reached the top of the peak. That is why I was chosen to make this journey.”

  Ava leaned closer to him, her gaze cataloging the way the pattern was constructed.

  “It worries me, how interested you are in this pattern.”

  “Sorry.” Ava lifted both hands and straightened. “I embroider. I like to learn new techniques.”

  “This would be too difficult to embroider.” Kikir's lips quirked in amusement, as much, she guessed, at the thought of a soldier picking up a needle for fun, as for the idea of capturing his design in thread. “I will see you later.”

  He turned his horse and cantered to the very back of the column.

  Ava lifted her face to the sun. It was something she did so often, the other Venyatux teased her that there must be a lot of cloud cover up high in the mountains.

  Not clouds, she wanted to say, stone walls.

  Even with her hunters lurking close by, she kept her eyes closed, let the warmth of the early autumn rays touch her eyelids.

  She knew the men who had tracked her through Grimwalt and over the steppes had attached themselves to the column, just like she had.

  She'd felt her workings of protection rise up in warning more than once.

  As a result, she had worked a pattern of invisibility and obfuscation into her tent so she could sleep without fear of being found.

  But right now, her cloak was silent. No one near her meant her harm.

  She was free of her responsibilities, with Kikir off on his own.

  She was on the outside of the column, so she rode into the stream of horses, people and carts, finding a sheltered spot beside a wagon pulled by yakkuna. The column may be moving a little faster, but it was still just walking pace for her horse.

  She pulled out her sewing kit.

  She always enjoyed a challenge.

  Chapter 4

  Luc and Dak rode toward the Venyatux column wearing the garb of scouts.

  Perhaps if someone had looked carefully at the sword Luc carried, they would wonder how a scout came to have something worked with gold in the design on the hilt, but they would have to get very close.

  They were stopped by the Venyatux foreguard, and Dak lifted the missive that was from the Rising Wave to General Ru, and one of the guards accompanied them to the head of the column.

  Dak and Massi had insisted on Luc arriving in disguise, in case an assassin lay in wait for him amongst the Venyatux. And he couldn't deny it was a possibility, not when there had been more than one assassination attempt on him from within his own column.

  He had agreed, but this trip, as far as he was concerned, was more because he couldn't wait until tomorrow to learn if anyone amongst the Venyatu contingent had seen Ava.

  A possible way for her to come to him would have been through Grimwalt and into Venyatu.

  Given the dangers for her in Kassia, he thought it was a route she would prefer.

  Someone may have seen her.

  She may even—although he forced himself not to hope—be here. Among them.

  The sun was low on the horizon, and the column had halted, setting up tents and lighting campfires.

  The smell of cooking and the low murmurs of people talking was so similar to the Rising Wave, it felt as if they were back there.

  Except for the yakkuna.

  The beasts were quintessentially Venyatux, their gangly, spindly legs tucked under them as they sat, big teeth yanking at grass.

  “Commander.” General Ru recognized him as soon as they dismounted, standing in front of her large tent with arms crossed.

  “General.” Luc touched his forehead and bowed, and the general did the same.

  “You come in disguise?”

  Luc twisted his lips. “There have been a few attempts to assassinate me, and my lieutenants urged me to take precautions.”

  General Ru barked out a laugh. “Ha! Yes. It is ever the same with lieutenants. What would we do without them, eh?” She gestured them toward the tent's entrance. “Let's talk.”

  They stepped inside, and the general plucked the missive from Dak's hand.

  “Does it have anything written on it at all?”

  Luc smiled. “It does, but nothing important.”

  Ru set it down and then gestured to the cushions on the floor so they could sit. “So, do I call you the Turncoat King? Or are you still Commander?”

  Luc noticed Dak stiffen.

  “The Turncoat King is a name our enemy has decided on for the Commander. We do not use the words of our enemy.”

  Ru's eyes danced with mirth. “And yet, it has a ring to it.”

  “The general is baiting you, Dak.” Luc tried to find a comfortable position on the cushion, and failed. “Let's talk about joining the columns.” Because while this lighthearted teasing from the general was all well and good, Luc could see the deeper meaning.

  The general was not going to be subsumed by his own command structure.

  He needed the Venyatux. There would be no victory without them. And the general knew it.

  “Let's,” Ru said, giving a quick, decisive nod. “That will save time.”

  “Moving forward together as a single column makes sense. It will be good for the soldiers on both sides to get to know each other. They'll need to have a sense of each other when we fight side by side.” Luc shifted and nearly slid off the cushion. “But we each command our own people, as if there are two columns, not one.”

  Ru sat straight on her cushion, obviously completely at ease. “I like you, Commander. You are quick to grasp things, excellent at strategy. Agreed. We each control our own people. But we need to be clear on what each of us wants out of this war. We should think about what the best outcome is for both of us and discuss it over the next few weeks as we march toward Fernwell.”

  Luc inclined his head. This was a delicate point he had been wondering how to raise. “Agreed.” He gave up on the cushion, and rose to his feet. “Have you had many people joining your column as you've crossed from Venyatu into Kassia?”

  Dak sent him a dark, forbidding look, but Luc ignored him.

  “I wouldn't be informed of something like t
hat unless my lieutenants were concerned about the individual, but I'm sure we have had some late-comers. Why do you ask?” Ru had gone still for a moment, and then rose to her feet, eyes narrowed.

  Luc hesitated, then chose to go with the truth. “Because I am expecting a friend to join me, and she was coming from your direction. I'm worried about her, and was hoping she had found the safety of your column.”

  Ru stared at his face for a moment and then gave a nod. “Apologies for my suspicious nature. We did have someone join our column today, and I wondered if that was who you were referring to, and how you could know about it without having a spy amongst us.”

  “Who joined the column?” Dak asked.

  “A warrior from Skäddar, with a message. I asked the Skäddar to watch the border with Jatan for us, and tell us what was happening between them and the Kassian. The warrior they sent with the answer has agreed to stay to meet with you tomorrow. Would you like to talk to him now?”

  “We could greet him, at least, and make a time to meet tomorrow,” Dak said.

  Luc knew he should be interested in this information. At least energized by the idea of the Skäddar agreeing to assist them, even just as spies, but all he could think of was he was no closer to knowing where Ava was.

  “You are worried for your friend?” Ru had been watching him, Luc realized.

  He nodded. “She is taking longer to reach me than I thought she would.”

  “Ah, well. Perhaps she has joined us. If so, you will find out about it tomorrow, when our columns merge.” Ru walked them out of the tent and looked like she was going to join them in meeting the Skäddar, when she was approached by a lieutenant, who whispered something urgently in her ear.

  “I'm afraid I have something to attend to, Commander. Senca here will take you to the Skäddar warrior, and find you a place to sleep if you wish to spend tonight with us.”

  “Thank you.” Did they want to stay here overnight, Luc wondered? It was a three hour ride back to the Rising Wave, and here he could keep his eye out for Ava.

  “You want to stay?” Dak asked, and he sounded resigned.

  “Let's see,” Luc said, trying to fight the compulsion. He knew it made no sense, and yet, he couldn't let it go.

  The guard assigned to lead them to the Skäddar warrior paused to speak to someone in low tones. When he turned back to Luc and Dak, he was grinning.

  “The Skäddar warrior is this way. He's sparring with one of our best fighters and we're hoping he wins.” His smile widened as he led the way.

  “Why are you hoping he defeats one of your own?” Dak asked.

  “Because she's from the mountain border with Skäddar, and has been teasing us steppe-dwellers about how the highlanders are superior. It will be very good to see someone land her on her arse.”

  “None of you have been able to?” Dak lifted his brows.

  The guard gave a grunt. “Not yet.”

  Luc could tell they were close to the sparring match. The sound of cheers and whistles started up, and ahead of them was a circle of soldiers, all looking inward.

  The guard led them around the side, to where the crowd wasn't as thick.

  The sun had almost completely set, so two torches had been driven into the ground to illuminate the fighting ring, and the opponents were already circling each other.

  The man was obviously Skäddar. Luc had met only a few of the northern dwellers before, but they all had markings on their faces like this one.

  The Venyatux highlander was much smaller than her opponent, and had her back to them.

  Luc felt the air freeze in his chest and throat as he recognized her hair first—a little longer than it had been since he'd last seen her a month ago but still much shorter than everyone else's.

  Ava.

  She ducked as the Skäddar swung his fighting stick at her head, and the vicious, no-holds-barred move forced a sound out of the back of Luc's throat. Shock and anger seemed to deafen him, a roaring in his ears.

  Ava spun, but her attention was on keeping from being struck down, and she never looked his way as she grabbed the bottom of the Skäddar's jacket, twisting it in her hand and using it as leverage as she kicked up her legs and swung herself behind him.

  He staggered, off-balance, and she chopped at his neck with the blade of her hand.

  He stumbled forward with a roar, and in the moment when she had nothing to do but watch her opponent stagger toward the crowd, her gaze met his.

  For the first time since he'd seen her, she stopped moving, no longer the fluid, quicksilver adversary she had been.

  The Skäddar managed to stop himself before he ploughed into the spectators, and turned.

  Luc realized the moment he saw she was distracted, the sudden acceleration as he leaped toward her, stick raised.

  He shouted her name and she snapped back to the fight, too late to avoid the onslaught but quick enough to slide her body to the side, so the blow landed on her upper arm.

  The wooden sparring knife she had been holding dropped from her grasp, and she staggered to the side. Even then, her gaze returned to his face.

  The crowd had realized something was happening, because a few started to murmur, and one to shout out a question, but the Skäddar was caught up in the fight, not able to read the change in circumstances.

  He spun to get momentum, stick raised, to hit her while she was off-balance, and Luc leaped, grabbing the stick out of his hands and knocking him to the ground.

  He stared down at the Skäddar for a moment, the rage, the desire to kill, riding him so hot he almost gasped for breath. But he pulled back his temper, and instead snapped the stick in two with his hands.

  The Skäddar had been about to shout at him in outrage, but the look on Luc's face had dried those words up.

  Luc deliberately turned his back on the warrior, to find Ava standing, staring at him.

  She was holding her injured left arm. “You are here. You came to find me.”

  “I did.” He dropped the two pieces of the Skäddar's stick, scooped Ava up and turned, found every eye was on them, mouths agape. “I will always come to find you.”

  Even Dak was staring at him, wide-eyed.

  He didn't care. He had everything he needed right in his arms.

  He shoved his way through the crowd and into the now dark camp.

  “Where to?”

  She lifted an arm and pointed, and he blundered through the tents, avoiding the ropes, until he reached a patch of ground that seemed to be empty.

  “There,” Ava murmured to him, but he couldn't see anything where she was pointing, and he carried on walking out onto the plain.

  He knew this place. It had once been his home, long ago.

  He would win it back. And he would win Ava, too.

  Chapter 5

  “I was almost afraid to go looking for you tomorrow.” Ava brushed a finger down Luc's chest, her voice still a little breathy.

  Luc shifted on his cloak and cupped a hand to her cheek, rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. “Why afraid?”

  “Because it has been two months since we said goodbye, and I didn't know whether you would be glad to see me, or not.”

  “Ava.” His hand stilled. “I don't think I could have made it any clearer that I wanted you to come. That I will always want you, and if you don’t come to me, I will come to you.”

  She gave him a wry smile and lifted naked shoulders. “Doubts crept in.”

  “Never doubt when it comes to me. I will never not be happy to see you.”

  She leaned forward, pressed herself against him, and wondered if that was true. If he knew everything about her, he may not be so hasty to say that.

  But some secrets were hard to let free.

  Beneath her, Luc went still.

  “Someone is coming.” He handed her her clothes, and she took them and scrambled up so he could stand as well.

  They dressed silently, and Ava tensed a little when she swung her cloak around her.

>   Whoever was looking for them didn't mean her harm, exactly. But they weren't feeling friendly toward her.

  “Do you think it's an enemy?” she asked Luc, glad he still had the handkerchief she had given him as protection.

  When they had started kissing, started undressing each other in desperate, jerky movements the moment they were far enough away from the camp, she had been delighted to find it tucked into his shirt.

  He had stuffed it back as she watched him dress. It pleased her immensely. Although it was possible the protective working had slowly degraded.

  She had no sense of how long her work lasted, but she had something new she had been making for him. Something better than a handkerchief.

  He shook his head. “My lieutenant, Dak, is my guess.” He drew her close to him, tucking her under his arm in a move so protective, Ava looked up at him.

  She hadn't woven a working into Luc's handkerchief that included protection of her, so Luc must know his lieutenant didn't like her.

  And yet, the man had never met her.

  She braced herself as he appeared out of the darkness; for what, she wasn't quite sure.

  “I was worried.” Dak spoke to Luc, but his gaze was on Ava. “They say you're from Venyatu, from the border with Skäddar. But you told Luc you were from Grimwalt.”

  “I lied to get into the Venyatux column. I was being hunted by two men from Grimwalt, and I needed the Venyatux to take me in quickly and without suspicion. My weapons and defense master was from the Venyatux highlands, so I told them I was from his home region. It was the only place in Venyatu I could speak about confidently.”

  “Who was hunting you from Grimwalt?” Luc asked, stepping away from her a little so he could face her.

  “I'm not completely sure but I think . . .” She realized Dak was still glaring at her, and her words trailed off.

  “We need to smooth things over with the Skäddar and the Venyatux here, Luc. This is going to complicate things.” Dak shifted, looking away from them both, back toward the camp.

  Ava could see the dance and leap of the campfire flames, and hear the laughter and conversation drifting over to them on the evening breeze.