“Ecdra,” I said, panting from the exertion of my run.“What’s going on?Why are you here?”
“Good evening, my lady,” he said.“Orders from your father to bring you and Lady Finnrey back as soon as possible.”He was shorter than I, but he still managed to look at a spot over my head.
“Is something wrong?Is my father ill?”
“The king is fine.”
“Then his wife—”
“My lady,” Ecdra said, his voice sounding impatient.“I don’t know why you’ve been summoned.I’m following orders.We need to leave posthaste.If there’s anything here you want to take, get it now.”
“Fine.”I ran back to the tent I shared with Finnrey and stepped inside to find her stuffing everything she could into her pack.She looked over her shoulder at me.
“What did Ecdra tell you?”
“He says he doesn’t know anything.”
She snorted.“Ecdra knows everything.Even if Papa didn’t tell him what this is about, Ecdra has some idea.”
“Well, mayhap you can get it out of him.The only thing I’m sure of is that they’re in a hurry.”
Fortunately, we traveled light on patrol.I had a change of clothing, my bedroll, and a few personal items—my eating utensils, cup, and an extra blanket.I stuffed the clothes in my pack, doing such a poor job that I couldn’t fit anything else.
“Just leave the rest,” Finnrey said.“We can ask one of the others to bring it with them when they return.The patrol ends in a few days.”
I nodded.“Don’t you think it’s strange that Papa should call us back now when we’d be home in a few days anyway?”
Finnrey took my arm as we stepped outside.“Whatever this is about, it’s not good news.”
Morll and Ecdra were standing together at the edge of camp, their heads bent close.
“I wager Ecdra’s telling Morll what he wouldn’t tell you,” Finnrey muttered.
“I’m not taking that wager.”
Catastrophic scenarios played in my mind.The Barrier had been breached and millions of Hollows were spilling into the outerlands.Was that why we’d seen more of late?The Barrier had ruptured before, but that was years ago, and it had been reinforced since then...
I spotted Gaz and Nize coming into camp.Gaz caught my eye and gave me a questioning look.I shrugged and followed Finnrey to where Ecdra and the other soldiers waited.Morll stepped back.“Are you sure you don’t want me to send cadets with you?”Morll asked.
“You’ll already be down two,” Ecdra answered.“I won’t weaken you further.But we’re ready for anything, and I promise you we’ll be cautious.”
A couple of the patrol members stepped forward and offered food wrapped in linen cloth to the soldiers, Finnrey, and me.The soldiers started eating immediately.I wasn’t hungry, but I made myself nibble at it anyway.It was several hours’ walk back to the castle.I’d need nourishment to keep up my strength and stay on alert for Hollows, especially knowing some had been in the area recently.
“Move out!”Ecdra ordered, and Finnrey and I were quickly swallowed up by the soldiers who situated us in the middle, almost as though we were prisoners being escorted somewhere.
“I don’t like this,” Finnrey said under her breath so only I could hear.
“Neither do I.”But that wasn’t exactly true.My sense of adventure, which caused me to be labeledimpulsive, relished this turn of events.Something new was happening.Something different.Exhilaration coursed through me, making it difficult to keep pace with the others.I wanted to run back to the castle.
I turned and looked over my shoulder as we left the camp.I was a little taller than the guards and could see over their heads.The members of our team stood watching us go.Morll stood in the center of the group, hands on his hips, wide, barrel chest heaving in and out.Gaz was beside him.My gaze met his and he lifted one hand, made a fist and covered it with his other hand.The common gesture meantbe careful.When a mother made it to a child it meantI’m watching over youorI’ll cover youas represented by the open hand closing over the smaller fist.
But I’d also seen lovers make that gesture, and in that context it still meantbe carefulbut there was the added meaning that the one making the gesture would give his or her body to protect the other.
“What’s wrong?”Finnrey asked.
Quickly, I turned back to face forward.“Nothing.”
Except now I’d spend the entire walk back wondering exactly what Gaz had been signaling.
