Van rode up to Caden, reining his horse in to match Nell's pace. He nodded at the prisoners to Caden's right. "Looks like you made the right call. What do you want to bet we've got a winner?"
Caden glanced over to find the two had stopped. Tied together, they had no choice when the one in the back took a seat on the ground and refused to go on.
The troublemaker reached for the man's arm and tried to tug him to his feet. The other man shrugged him off, his expression dead.
His eyes held hopelessness. A stark knowledge that this was the end of the line for him. In this moment, he couldn't take a single step more and it showed.
"Right on time," Caden said, steering Nell in their direction.
Van followed. "I'm a little surprised this worked."
Next to the prisoners, Gawain watched them come from the back of his horse. "I believe it. The human mind is far weaker than the body in all except rare cases. The commander is quite adept at causing cracks along those points of weaknesses."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Caden said.
Gawain gave him a half bow. "Exactly as it was intended."
Caden made a small sound of surprise at the apparent sincerity in Gawain’s words There was utter calm in Gawain’s gaze, a serenity and tranquility that contained none of the brash arrogance Gawain was once known for.
Caden had never understood where his boundless confidence came from. In his eyes, Gawain had always been an entitled brat without the character to back anything up.
He wasn't the warrior Fallon was, nor was he as intelligent as his father, Henry.
Yet, in this moment, Caden could see the shadow of his father in him. Only thing was—Henry was a two-faced son of a bitch, capable of toasting you to your face and then maneuvering in the shadows to organize your downfall.
To those who he was loyal to, he was a valuable asset. To the rest, he was best dealt with from afar.
The question was whether Gawain held any loyalty to Fallon—and by extension Caden—or if he was just biding his time until he could strike.
Unfortunately, it was an answer Caden wasn't likely to receive right then.
"You can't take him," the troublemaker shouted as Jane cut the prisoner loose.
"Shut up," she snarled at the troublemaker as she caught the prisoner by the arm and dragged him to his feet.
"Don't say anything, Tim. Don't you tell them a word!" The troublemaker tried to go after the prisoner but was brought up short by another Trateri.
Tim didn't react, his expression listless as Jane marched him toward the rest.
Caden swung a leg over Nell's back, dismounting as Van and Gawain did the same next to him. Caden took his time draping Nell's reins over his saddle before stepping away.
Jane shoved Tim to his knees in front of Caden. "Talk."
Tim seemed to come back to himself, awareness filling his features as he licked his lips uncertainly. His eyes darted wildly around as if he was looking for something.
He was awfully alert for someone supposedly at the end of his rope. Caden would have expected the prisoner to barely be hanging on, not expressing interest in his surroundings.
Yet everything from his posture to the way he seemed to be waiting told Caden otherwise.
Jane kneed him in the back, causing the man to fall forward onto his hands. "We won't ask again."
The man levered himself upright with effort. "I will, but I want to talk to the person in charge."
Caden found himself distracted by a Tenrin as he swooped low, finding a perch on the branch of a tree growing precariously from a crack in the cliff.
The same Tenrin from the night before, the one called Merc, met Caden's gaze briefly before focusing on the prisoner.
"Stubborn bastards," Van said in a low voice, noticing where Caden's attention had gone.
