Though Otho protested, I could hear the sounds of clothing against skin and boots being pulled on just before the tent flap opened.
Otho’s shoulders were nearly to his ears as he stalked out of camp, Syrus on his heels. Neither glanced in my direction, and if Otho noticed the horse I had borrowed was returned, he gave no indication to Syrus, bypassing it on his way out of camp.
It only took a few seconds to make my decision.
No matter what had happened when I was imprisoned by Adis, Collum was my cousin. I needed to go after her.
I moved back to the horse I had just tied to the post and began untying her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I stopped breathing at the sound of Otho’s voice at my back.
“Um . . . just got back from the errand, s-sir,” I stuttered, not sure if Syrus’s gaze was also settled on my back.
“Askel took Syrus to where Milo disappeared.”
My body instantly relaxed.
“Now, I know you got back earlier, so tell me where you were really going.”
There was something in his voice that made my body so aware of his presence it sent chills down my spine just to be close to him sometimes. I shook my head to clear it before turning to face him. “I overheard you with Syrus. I was going to ride to Malheim and trade myself for Collum’s freedom.”
All the color drained from his face. “You . . . can’t,” he whispered, his voice so far from what it usually sounded like. His hand reached toward me but paused midair.
As if he hadn’t meant to reach out.
“Why not?” I asked, tilting my head to the side, keeping my eyes on his arm. I don’t know where this confidence suddenly came from, but now that I was indulging it, it wasn’t going to fade—not even in the presence of Otho.
“You were just settling into your role here,” he insisted as he lowered his hand, though I could tell that his tone was off.
I turned back to the horse, preparing to pull myself onto its back. “I can’t let Collum be taken against her will for a second time.”
“Like you were?”
His words caused me to grimace. I wasn’t sure why I felt so strongly about Collum being in Malheim, and I was afraid to confront the fact that it might be jealousy, or unresolved feelings for Leif. “I can’t just leave her, Otho.”
He sighed, and when I turned back, he was threading his hands through his black hair. “I won’t stop you, but let’s at least discuss how we can spin this in our favor.”
I paused. “What do you mean?”
His eyes darted from side to side, a frown occupying his lips because of what he saw. He motioned me forward into his tent, his hand brushing my shoulder as I stepped through the flap.
I couldn’t stop the tingle that wove through me, even as I forced an image of Friar in my mind’s eye.
Once we were inside, a single candle flickering on the wooden table in the middle, he spoke again. “It was Leif who took her, so I think he knew it would draw you out.”
For some reason his words didn’t shock me as they once had. I had long learned that Leif was not the man I had thought he was. He wasn’t my friend. He probably wasn’t even my weighted, despite his insistence. But I didn’t know what else to say to that, so I let my gaze rove over Otho’s tent, which was similar to mine, except he had a double cot instead of a single one—a thought I didn’t want to follow any further. He also had far more uniforms than I did, all of them tossed about haphazardly.
“You don’t seem surprised.” His words interrupted my visual tour of his room.
“I’m not.” I sighed. “Malheim thinks the only way to win this war is magic. As does Ralheim. That makes both Collum and I pawns.” Without thinking, I sank onto the edge of the cot. “When Friar and I were in Ralheim today, we saw the Seid leader, and even she acknowledged there are very few readers left, and even fewer books to read magic from.”
His hand rose to scratch his chin. “And you still think it’s best to just ride in there and demand your cousin’s release.”
I shook my head. “You’re right; I was being impulsive. Is there a way we can turn this in our favor?”
To my utter surprise, Otho sank down on the cot next to me, his gaze focused on the tent cloth. “I had hoped to solve this war with as little battle as possible, but Adis and Hansen have long made it impossible, so I think it is time we go on the offense.” He grimaced as he said it, and I knew how much it pained him to put himself on the path Adis wanted him to take. “The Seid will never be safe until we put an end to both Hansen and Adis, so we will start with Hansen.”
