Perhaps,I said to Auwei. The trouble was, I still hadn’t had the conversation I’d wanted to have with Silence. He’d been conscious when I’d gone to see him before we left but in no state for that sort of a conversation. And that meant seeing anyone just felt a little wrong.
“Legs?” Creek asked again.
Spirits, I’d just been standing there like an idiot.
“Creek, it’s good to see you.”
“It’s Cougar now, remember?”
“Right! Sorry.”
“Would you like to dance?” he asked again, holding out a hand.
Right, he’d asked that already. I supposed a dance couldn’t hurt. And… he was part of Panther House now. They were charged with protecting the North, our border with Vauphan. Perhaps he’d heard something about the war?
“Yes, that would be lovely, thank you.” I took his hand, and we walked out onto the floor.
It was only after he pressed me close that I realized… I didn’t know how to dance.
Still, I moved with him and only stepped on his feet a few times. He didn’t seem to mind. He was strong enough to sweep me around, so my feet barely touched the floor.
I declined a second dance, but asked him if he’d share a drink with me and catch up on things. I’d been a bit too dazed and dazzled by the swirling dance to ask him much while out there.
He brought me a tall glass of pale red wine. I sipped it as he spoke.
“I’m actually heading out tomorrow. I’ve finished my training here in the city and all of us here are being called to the front.” His voice lowered, leaning close. “The Vauphani are threatening war, and I must go valiantly protect our nation.” He leaned a little closer, putting an arm around me. “I would hate to be alone the night before I leave for war.”
“And I’m sure you won’t be,” I said casually. “But you won’t be with me.”
He sighed, shifting away a little. “You’ve found someone at Maverick House?”
It was just easy enough to say, “Yes.” But then I quickly changed the subject back to the war. “What do you know about the Vauphani and the war?” I asked, hoping the curiosity in my voice sounded genuine and innocent.
He grimaced. “I am a junior member of the House, so not much.” He shook his head. “But I’ve heard rumors that Vauphani soldiers, dressed as bandits, have been harrowing our towns along the border for some time, raping and pillaging with abandon.”
I raised my brows at that, with genuine surprise. “Truly?” I was certain this wasn’t true, but then Auwei said:
Vilifying the enemy is a common tactic in war.Fighting just any other man is hard, but fighting someone you believe is a truly horrible person makes you a hero.
“As I said, it’s a rumor, but the members of my House at the front are saying the situation is grim. Vauphan is a large nation and if they bring their full army to bear, we’ll be sorely out-numbered. Luckily it will take time for them to do that. And our forces will get there first.Some have said we should hit them with a preemptive strike, while our armies are roughly even, cut down their numbers while they’re still amassing their troops.”
I nodded, listening in rapt engagement. I truly was astonished and curious about what people here had been told. I had little doubt now that those behind all of this were in positions of power. They had to be, to get armies moving and spread such misinformation so widely.
I thought I might try to seed a little doubt in Cougar’s mind. “What if the other side is being told the same things, that we’re horrible violent people? What if this is all just a misunderstanding or, a few warmongers who are seeking only glory and don’t care about who dies on either side?”
Cougar frowned, then shook his head. “But why?” he asked, his own doubt showing through. “We’ve had peace with Vauphan for as long as we’ve both been nations. We have no reason to fight them, so… it must be them who started this, trying to claim lands from a smaller nation, spreading their power. That must be it.”
“But what if it isn’t?” I urged again. “What if it was truly bandits preying on border towns and nothing more?” I didn’t think that was the case, but since that’s the rumor he’d heard I thought I’d play it up. “If they were doing that on both sides of the border, perhaps we’re all up in arms against each other for no reason, and it’s just a small group of rogue people we need to find and eliminate.” I was proud of how I’d turned the bandits into a small group of rogue people… that might be easier for him to accept than them being rogue members of our own Nobility.”
He drew in a long breath. “I suppose.” And I could see the doubt in his eyes before he looked away. “But what can I do, I’m just a new member to the House.”
“Talk to your leader, perhaps—”
He scoffed. “I don’t know how things work at Maverick House. You’re small, right? You might be able to talk to your leader, but I’ve never even met Jaguar. He’s been north, at the front while I’ve been training here. There are close to seventy members of Panther House.”
“Don’t you have a squad captain or something?”
“A sergeant, yes, but she doesn’t have a lot of say in things either. She does what those above her tell her to do. Which, up until now, has been ‘whip the newbies into shape.’”
