I looked up at Nicco.
“I’ve got it.”
Brown eyes that promised kindness and delivered none held mine. “Do you?” he asked, and I was sure he was asking more than whether I could hold a mug.
“I do.” I curled my arm inward, the mug at my chest, and felt relieved it was only slightly warm. Thank the gods for freezing snow. “I nodded off.”
“Of course.” His smile held no humor. “You had a busy night.”
He walked away before I could remind him I had not slept in Vorn’s bed.
“The trailfinder needs a nap,” he told everyone, his tone mocking. “She’s not quite herself.”
“I—”
“Don’t worry, bunny,” he said, turning back, his eyes cold. “We’ll keep watch while you catch up on your sleep.”
Gods, Ireallydidn’t like that man.
Chapter 20
With nothing left to do,I hunkered down in my spot and closed my eyes.
Protesting too loudly would only play into his hands, and I really didn’t want to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing me rise to his bait.
I imagined leaving him to freeze in the snow and merrily making my way back to the nearest town with his weapons, his boots — they were good boots — and his coin purse, then enjoying a hot meal, a good bed for the night, with enough left over to hitch a ride the next day and then some.
I heard the men moving around. Some were probably grateful for the afternoon pause, and I could almost feel Larana as she passed and returned to scouting.
Feel Larana?
Maybe Ididneed sleep.
Low voices made my ears prick instead. Against the palm of my hand, I drew the Glyph for sharpness and leaned into the conversation.
“You’re still pissed?” Baxley’s voice was low, almost too low to hear, and that was with the aid of my magic.
“I am.” Nicco’s tone was blunt and unforgiving, a bit like himself.
“She came to no harm.”
I heard the tsk of disapproval. “You didn’t know that. You took the risk, and it could have ended a whole different way, Bax.” Nicco's anger wasn’t loud. It was more the specific flatness of controlled anger, the kind that was more dangerous than shouting because it didn't waste itself. “You took a risk that wasn't yours to take.”
“I took a risk with my own skin.”
“You took a risk with hers.”
Silence.
I stopped breathing. Did they know the woman Vorn had? Was that why Baxley wanted to free her so badly?
“She handled herself,” Baxley said, quieter now.
“She always seems to handle herself.” A pause. “That's not the point.”
I heard the shift of their boots in the snow. “Then whatisthe point, Nicco? Because from where I'm standing, the woman is free and ready to die onherterms, we're still breathing, and the trail?—”
“Thetrail.” Nicco's voice cut across him, low and precise. “Think about what you almost cost us. Think about what she is to this journey and tell me again that your conscience was worth the risk.”
