Ander looked at Cara the way he had once looked at me before he decided I wasn’t worth it.
Then, to me, “I’d like to speak to Cara alone. Just a few minutes.”
Probably to see if she would like a second chance at stabbing me while he held me still. I hoped to all the gods that Cara would not blurt out Tesa’s secret.
“Of course.”
It was an opportunity for me to help Tesa into hiding.
“You are dramatic,”Shadowbane disagreed with me as I left my wife and my enemy behind.“When are you going to stop fussing about the stabbing? You didn’t bleed even a little bit! She was the one who bled!”
“Excuse me for having my feelings hurt when someone tries to kill me.”
“You always want people to choose you, and you thought she would. That’s why your feelings are hurt.”
“Don’t talk to me, Shadowbane. I have strategy to think through.”
He scoffed.“And a tiny little brain that can barely handle thinking at all, a breakable one.”
“You could be an encouraging voice in my mind.”
“I encourage you all the time. I encourage you not to be stupid. You just don’t take my encouragement.”
“That’s not—you know what, nevermind.”
I stopped outside Tesa’s tent and said quietly, “Ander is here. He doesn’t know. Stay inside tonight.”
She peeked out cautiously. “I heard. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry.” It must be a brutal complication to have Ander so immediately present.
“Don’t be.” Her voice was even. “None of it was your fault.”
I hesitated, wondering what she remembered now of what had happened. “Are you curious to see him?”
She looked away from me. “If he is here, then you are in trouble. Go manage your chaos.”
So she must remember something.
Ander and Cara were headed back toward the tents. I froze, feeling as if I might be caught with Tesa. I needed to busy myself. I pulled loose the map from my cloak and turned to planning Bismyth’s movement. I’d see my people fed, and we would move to help Obsidian. They would be exhausted. I disliked pushing them so hard.
“I don’t trust him.” Ander said it without heat. “I have known him a long time, and my distrust is earned.”
“I understand,” Cara said.
I decided not to feel stung.
“But I trust you.” Ander touched her shoulder. “That’s why I’m here. The rebellion matters. I would not stand at his side for it, but I’ll stand at yours.”
Cara said nothing in return. When anyone expressed their faith in her, she would deflect or go quiet. Ander would read the silence correctly. He had always been good at knowing when not to press.
I put away the map. It was time to keep moving, as I always did, and whether I wished to or not, I moved toward them.
Ander’s gaze caught on me. “There you are. We have planning to do.”
“Together, our clans can save Obsidian,” Cara told me, as if she were clan leader now. “Obsidian will join us. Our three clans will unite against the queen and draw the other clans to their side.”
“Optimistic,” I noted, though it was my plan.
