Caden's lip curled. He was one to talk. Women flocked to him thinking his genial smile and razor-sharp humor made him safe, while never seeing the monster Darius concealed inside.
All three of them carried scars that had warped them from a young age. Fallon, the Warlord, Darius, his general, and Caden, his sword and the one who protected them all from the more insidious threats. Three sides. Three different ways of dealing with those scars.
Caden settled in to watch the woman approach, putting Darius and his subtle jabs out of his mind as he settled into his role of protector.
The person he was protecting might have changed, but the end result was the same. Shielding her safeguarded the people who mattered most. Sometimes you had to step outside yourself and your own self-interests to see the bigger picture.
Something inside Caden told him Eva was the lynchpin on which the next phase of Fallon's plans rested. He aimed to make sure they came to fruition, no matter the toll or who got hurt in the process.
*
"Ariver. Just whatwe needed, more water," Jason growled several days later with a disgusted expression.
"Look on the bright side. At least we can't get any more wet," Fiona said with a grin. The Trateri warrior was annoyingly chipper despite the miserable conditions.
Eva wasn't sure how bright a side it was as she huddled into her oversized jacket, one of the strange gifts that kept appearing in her pack. Whoever had left it and the others was being quiet about it.
Ollie denied being responsible for the jacket or the flint set she’d found two days ago, or the berries she’d found the day before that. He couldn’t tell her who had left them either.
It was a puzzle that she still hadn’t solved, but she found herself grudgingly grateful for its presence since it was waterproof and helped ward off some of the chill. Not all of it, but enough so she wasn't as miserable as some of those around her.
"We're lucky," Laurell said, coming up to stand beside Eva who controlled her start. She hadn't heard the warrior approach. "This isn't really a river so much as a small lake. The current doesn't look fast. Otherwise we'd have problems."
Eva couldn't conceal her shiver. She wasn't the strongest of swimmers. Her village had gotten their water from wells and what they could catch in rain barrels. Most of what she'd learned she'd taught herself in those weeks she'd survived on her own. She could wade with the best of them but the moment the water got above her head it was only her thrashing that kept her afloat.
A small movement in the water pulled Eva's attention. She leaned closer, edging toward the bank as she crouched down for a better look at the water’s dark depths. It was impossible to see more than the barest glimpses of what resided below.
Eva thought she caught a glimpse of scales and floating strands of something. Then it was gone.
Feet appeared beside her and she glanced up to find Reece staring pensively down at the water.
"This isn’t right. This shouldn’t be this far south," he murmured.
"What do you mean?" Eva asked.
He shook himself as if coming out of a long dream. "Nothing. I need to speak with Darius. Stay away from the water until then."
Her gaze was solemn as she took in his worry. "Of course. I'll make sure the others know."
His nod showed relief and gratitude before he strode off.
Maybe it was because she knew his cousin, but when a pathfinder said not to do something, Eva planned to listen. Shea's exploits had already begun to show up in campfire stories.
The Trateri weren't stupid. They knew if a pathfinder said something was dangerous that meant it was dangerous. That didn't mean they wouldn't eventually do the very thing they were warned against, but it would be a calculated risk, one undertaken with the full knowledge of what the consequences might be.
Eva liked that about them, even if it was a quality she'd prefer to see play out from a distance.
Since there was time to spare, Eva headed for the wagon, stopping only when she saw one of the Lowlanders crouched next to the water.
"I'd get away from there if I were you," Eva said, moving towards the man.
He ignored her, pulling free his socks and dipping his feet in the water before cupping his hands and bringing up some of the liquid to dribble down his neck.
Eva increased her pace, irritation tempting her to leave him behind. She resisted. If something happened, she'd feel guilty later that she hadn't done all she could.
"The pathfinder said to stay out of the water."
He took a step toward her, the shallows barely lapping at midcalf. "I don't need you giving me trouble. My feet ache from all this walking and could do with a quick soak before our taskmasters force me back to work."
