She speaks about Rip like serving under him is an immense honor, sounds almost fanatic in her respect for him.
I never imagined that Rip nor King Ravinger would ever hold such stock in equality of women. Midas wouldn’t dream of allowing females to serve in his army.
As if she’s reading my mind, she glances over at me with a knowing look, hand running over her shaved head to dust the collecting snow off. “I’m not surprised that the idea seems so foreign to you. Your Golden King wants women tobesaddles, not sit on top of one to ride into battle.”
I don’t respond, because there’s nothing to say in defense. She’s right.
“What’s your name?” I say instead. I should know it, now that we’ve stolen a wine barrel together.
“Lu,” she answers.
“Just Lu?”
“Talula Gallerin, but if you call me Talula, I’ll knock you on your golden ass, Gildy Locks.”
My lips twitch. “Thanks for the warning. And it’s Auren.”
“JustAuren?” she retorts with a wry look. “No family name?”
I shrug. “No family.”
Lu goes quiet at that. Whatever family I once had is gone forever. I wish I’d known that night was the last time I’d ever see them. I would’ve hugged my father a little bit tighter. I would’ve buried my nose in my mother’s hair as she held me and tried to memorize her scent.
It’s funny how I forgot that smell, but I vividly remember the taste of the honeyed candy she slipped to me that night, because they were my favorite, and she was bribing me to be brave.
I remember the way it felt in the pocket of my nightgown, how it softened inside my shaking, sweaty palm. I recall how it tasted too, a burst of chewy warmth that melted against my tongue, the flavor mixing with the salt of my tears.
A small, sweet candy for a dark, bitter night.
I shove the memory away, crumpling it like I did the paper wrapper I buried deep into my pocket that night.
Lu brings me to a large tent, coming to a stop in front of it where two soldiers are outside, both of them sitting on stools beside a small campfire, the flames casting an orange glow across their faces. They’re playing some kind of game, tossing down dice made of wood, the worn edges rolling with the shake of their hands.
Turning at the sound of our footsteps, their eyes widen on me. “What…” The man’s question cuts off when he tears his gaze away from me and notices Lu.
The other soldier lets out a curse as they both immediately jump up to stand at attention.
“Captain,” the man on the left says with a wary nod, while the one on the right spits out the rolled cigarette in his mouth, leaving it to hiss in the snow like an angry serpent.
“Evening, gentlemen,” she says cheerfully. “Gildy Locks here would like to see the saddles.”
The soldiers share a look. “Erm…”
Just like she did with Hojat, Lu grins and claps the soldier on the back, cutting off his hesitation. “Won’t be but five minutes.”
She moves and sits down on one of the stools they were just occupying before plucking up the used cigarette from the ground. It’s still smoking a little as she sticks it in the fire to relight it.
She perches it between her lips before looking up at them with a cock of her brow. “Well? You assholes just going to stand there, or are you going to teach me how to play this dice game?”
The men pause, fidgeting on their feet with uncertainty, but when she snaps her fingers, they rush forward to accommodate her.
First Hojat is a little skittish around her, and now these soldiers called her Captain. Clearly, she’s not just a soldier, but she has status too.
Interesting.
Lu smirks at them and gives me a conspiratorial wink. “Five minutes, Gildy. And don’t even think about trying anything stupid. You do, and it won’t be just you who gets in trouble, you get me?”
I nod slowly. “I get you.”
