Lin Lill’s face flashed with something stormy, then schooled. “Branton and Artis were on watch. You were not undefended.”
“So you didleave your post.” Venick pushed to his feet, squaring off. “Would you like me to ask where you went? Do you want me probing into every detail of your life? Maybe it’smewho should be questioningyou.”
He didn’t mean it. Venick trusted Lin Lill implicitly. But he was tired of feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass, tired of all the sidestepping and tiptoeing and motherless pretending. He wanted to deflect. Get under her skin a little.
Which he had. Lin Lill’s eyes were cool granite. Her back was straight, her legs shoulder-width apart, hands clasped in parade rest. To an outsider, she would seem the image of composure, but Venick knew elves well enough to know that her poise was merely a mask meant to cover stronger emotions.
She said, “My only aim is to win this war.”
He knew that. But he was still too angry to relent. “That’s all any of us want.”
“I would never allow my actions to put you in jeopardy.”
“Good. Anything else?”
Her voice was a bare hiss. “No.”
“Then we’re done here.”
He gave her his shoulder. Heard her tight exhale, which he ignored, and the deliberate slap of her feet as she stomped away, which he also ignored.
Ellina lifted a brow.
“I know.” Venick rubbed his eyes, pressing hard enough to see spots. “But she’s getting on my last nerve.” A sigh. “She wants me to quit playing favorites with you.”
Ellina blinked.Oh.
“I won’t,” Venick added.
Ellina bent over to relace her shoes, which she must have kicked off at some point in the night. Her expression was measured. But Venick could see her fighting a smile.
???
Later that morning, the supply tenders were ordered to search the water vats for signs of minceflesh. Though no poison was found, a soldier was assigned the task of boiling the Commander’s water before every meal, and Venick was instructed to carry his canteen with the same care as he carried his weapons.
“I feel I owe you an apology,” Erol told Ellina. Behind him, a landscape of men and elves could be seen readying for the day’s journey. “This is something I should have thought of right away, as soon as you brought us that vial. If the Dark Queen is trying to attack Venick in this manner, the minceflesh could have found its way into the water supply. We’re lucky that no one has yet been harmed. We’re also lucky that minceflesh is a delicate poison—if you can really even callit a poison. I suppose it’s more like a parasite. Boiling Venick’s water will be a hassle, but it is better that we take all precautions.”
Ellina was returning from her swimming lessons that evening when she recalled Erol’s words. Her boots sank into the sand, leaving dark stamps. Her hands paused in their movements, halfway through braiding her hair. The memory shuffled around in her head like birds making room on a branch.
We’re lucky that no one has yet been harmed.
Ellina paused, turning over those words as if there was something within them she was meant to find.
But what?
???
The bout of clear weather held as they continued north. Dry skies meant dry roads, and they were able to pick up their pace, covering ground by day, swimming and sparring by night. Elves and humans intermingled, but this had become commonplace, and hardly registered Venick’s attention. It wasn’t until he saw an elven soldier and a human wagon-tender sneak up towards the tree line one night, hand in hand, that he began to understand exactly the degree to which things were changing.
He smiled to himself and went to find Ellina.
???
It was on the eve of their arrival to Hurendue when the news came: Farah’s forces had been spotted east of the city.
“It is exactly as we predicted,” Lin Lill told their group where they had gathered near the shoreline. “The Dark Army has split its forces and is heading towards the bay, but they are late. If they meant to trap us against the water, we will beat them into position. We can choose our moment. That is good. And, better—there are reports that the Dark Queen is with them.”
Venick glanced at Ellina. She and Erol had both removed their shoes to stand in the tide. Their eyes were closed, the sand slowly swallowing their feet, pulling them deeper with each passing wave. A balance exercise of some sort.
