“Oh, excuse me,” came a feminine voice a few steps down.
Fiona nodded her thanks as Lainey Halloran stepped aside. Lainey’s eyes rose to meet Shea’s, her face seeming to freeze.
Shea’s heart thudded as she continued down the stairs past her mother, not looking at her after that one glance.
The two were silent as they passed.
“Who was that?” Fiona murmured when Shea reached the bottom.
Shea didn’t look back. “No one important.”
Fiona glanced behind them again. “That was a pathfinder, right?”
“Yeah. Why? You’ve seen others.” Shea’s voice was brusque.
Fiona made a sound. “Just thought there might be more to it. Either way, your ‘no one important’ is still watching us.”
Shea couldn’t help the quick glance over her shoulder. Sure enough, her mother was staring down at them, her gaze unfathomable.
“Ignore her.” Shea took her own advice, turning back to her task and lengthening her stride.
Fiona didn’t say anything as she increased her pace to keep up with Shea, for which Shea was grateful.
Eamon was bent over something on the ground, four others surrounding him. As Shea approached, she could hear his calm voice explaining trail signs to a few Trateri. They were infantry—not scouts and wouldn’t have had the same training as Shea and Eamon.
It was something she admired about the Trateri, they seized every opportunity to learn and train. They never stopped. They were never content with good enough, every one of them striving to be better, to bring honor to their family and clan. It was a refreshing change from those she’d worked with in the past.
“Eamon, you got a minute?” Shea asked, when it seemed like he’d paused in his explanation.
He looked up from where he crouched, brown eyes welcoming and surrounded with thin lines, his skin tan from the sun. He rubbed a stick in his hand and nodded.
“That’s it for now.” He stood and turned to Shea as the warriors moved off.
Shea waited until Fiona was the only other person near, giving her a glance and raising an eyebrow as if to ask why she was still there.
Fiona gave her a crooked smile. “There’s more than one reason I joined you for breakfast. The general already assigned me to this mission. I’ll be in charge of the warriors, where your friend will lead the scouts.”
Shea fixed her with a long look, even as she knew the woman was being truthful. It made sense, and honestly, she should have expected this. While Fiona was friendly, they weren’t exactly friends. Shea thought they could be if given enough time.
“Fallon thinks there’s something out there. Something that’s got the pathfinders spooked,” Shea started.
“Fallon thinks?” Eamon asked, raising one eyebrow as an amused expression settled on his face.
Shea rolled her eyes. “Wethink there might be something out there. I need you to take a team and see what you can find.”
“You going with this team?” Eamon asked.
Shea frowned as she considered. She shook her head. “No, not this time. I need to keep an eye on things here. There are places I can go in the Keep that no Trateri can.”
Not too long ago, she wouldn’t have hesitated. The prospect of a mission would be too tempting to deny.
“How do we get past the mist?” Fiona asked.
“I’ll get you past, but you’ll have to do the rest yourselves,” Shea told the two. It would be better if she could go with them, or at least send another pathfinder with them, but there were none she trusted. “I have a few maps of the area you can work from. Plan for a two week stay. At the end of which, you’ll rendezvous with the unit we left behind on the other side of the mist. I’ll make sure they can get word to us if need be.”
“We’ll need a few extra men to escort you back through the mist,” Fiona said.
Shea was already shaking her head before she finished.
