He smiled briefly. “I know that.”
I turned to him. “Why now? Why do Darysian soldiers need to go there now, at the most dangerous time of the season?”
Baxley grinned fully. “Three days and now is the first time you ask?” He glanced down at me. “Is it normal for you to accept a job and not ask why?”
I almost protested, and then I realized itwasnormal for me. “The why isn’t usually important,” I answered.
“Then why ask now?”
He moved away before I could reply or ask any more questions, like whytheywere willing to risk their lives to go.
I hesitated.
Noneof this made sense. Why was I here? For ten gold pieces? Was I so easily bought?
I turned and watched them all. Only Larana was a female, and she wasn’t Verei Kahn. Whatever this was, it didn’t feel “normal.”
And I’d been forced straight into it.
I looked away, gripping my cloak tighter. Ten gold. That was what I kept telling myself this was all about.
The farther north we traveled, the less I believed it.
“Ten gold’s no use to you dead,” I muttered.
Chapter 10
The gatesof Skallfen stood closed, frost clinging to the iron like something more than winter had frozen them shut.
The last stretch of the journey had been hard. We'd lost the soldier not long after we'd set out. He'd simply drifted away in his sleep. I refused to look Nicco's way when Gralen announced that he was dead. But I'd heard Nicco's dismissive grunt.
The captain had insisted we keep his body with us, and he’d been moved from the litter to be draped over the horse like a kill.
I didn’t look back. But somehow I could still see him, draped over the horse. Lifeless.
Thank the gods no one had suggested leaving him to the scavengers, but it was perhaps the fierce scowl of the captain that dissuaded them.
Or the fact that I was very much on board to stab anyone who suggested it.
Especiallyif it was Nicco.
We’d got here, three dead, and three wounded. Skallfen was the last town before north was truly north.
It was well-guarded, their watch was sharp, and their prices were a bit higher because they faced no competition. It was acontrolled town in a necessary way, but it still had that edge of freedom.
Closed gates were not something I’d witnessed before.
“Is there a back way in?” Gralen asked. “Never been this far north before.”
“This is the only entry to Skallfen,” I told him, scanning the frozen white land. The town's quietness also made me wary. “Stay here.”
I stepped forward, and a firm grip stopped my progress. I looked up at Nicco.
He wasn’t looking at me. His attention was on the stone walls of the town.
“Not so fast, bunny,” he murmured. “Bax? Rana? Split and scout.”
They were already moving.
