"Settle in for the night," he said, dropping a hand on her shoulder. The look on his face was understanding but implacable. "The wait will not be a short one."
With that, he walked away.
Failure threatened to choke Eva as she watched him go.
Hanna stepped close. "Don't feel too bad. Leaders have to think differently than you or me. He believes you, even if it doesn't seem like it, but his concerns are not what ours would be."
When Eva didn't respond, Hanna took her arm. "Come, let's get you settled. I expect you've had a difficult couple of days."
Eva went reluctantly. Resisting or arguing would only end in a loss of dignity. Probably hers.
"What happened while I was gone?" Eva asked, looking around.
"We defeated the creatures attacking us, but it came at a cost," Hanna said, hands clasped behind her back.
Eva saw the cost when she looked around. Few of the Trateri had escaped unscathed.
Even the horses carried wounds and there were fewer of them than when they had started. Eva felt regret clench around her heart. She’d feel the loss of every one of those mounts when she had time to grieve.
Hanna stopped on the outskirts of camp, reaching into a pack and withdrawing a small blanket which she handed to Eva. Next, she dragged out a water bladder and a small pouch with nuts and fruit in it. Both of which she pressed into Eva's hands.
Eva's stomach growled. It had been hours since the meager meal she'd shared with Caden, and even then, she hadn't eaten much.
"Most of us survived. A few did not," Hanna said as Eva slowly dug into the pouch and chewed. "We didn't realize the outsiders had infiltrated until you and the Kyren flew off."
Eva lifted her head. She'd wondered about that.
"Did they escape?" she asked.
"Yes, most of them. We caught two and interrogated them," Hanna said. "You have already experienced the fallout from that interrogation. They said they got directions from a woman fitting your description. Vincent claimed he saw you interact with them in a way that suggested you were working with them. It was enough to convince most of your guilt."
Eva snorted in derision.
Hanna lifted a shoulder. "It's easy to cast blame when the person being blamed isn't here to defend themselves."
Eva lowered the handful of nuts she'd been about to eat, her expression grim. "It probably didn't help my case that I appeared to abandon the battle halfway through."
Hanna inclined her head in agreement.
Eva sighed. Faced with those facts, she might have come to the same conclusions.
"I didn't mean to leave," she said, staring at the ground, feeling guilty again. "It was either get on Sebastian's back or drown. Once I was on him, I thought we'd ride the water sprites down, instead I found myself flying away from camp and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop him."
Hanna's hand was gentle as she patted Eva's bent head. "I know what it's like to have unfounded suspicions cast your way, to be looked at like you're the enemy when you've done nothing to deserve it."
The woman's gaze was faraway, sadness touching her face as she recalled painful things. Her eyes lowered to meet Eva's. "You're not as alone as you might seem. You still have allies and friends. Remember that when things seem lost."
Eva had forgotten Hanna was part of the snake clan. Rumors of the clan abounded, and its members were treated with stiff-armed hesitance.
It was worse after their clan leader betrayed Fallon and tried to assassinate him.
Hanna had most likely faced worse than what Eva was going through when her clan fell.
"How badly was Ollie hurt?" Eva forced herself to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind. Jason had said he was alright, but he wasn't always the most reliable of sources.
"He'll live," Hanna said. "He'll have scars, but he should heal."
Thank all the gods. She didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't made it. He was a kind soul in a world that was often cruel. It would have been a darker place without him in it.
