Ruben shoots him a look. ‘I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I’m trying to understand what the hell is going on.’
Benny looks at Kyor, and then at me. He presses his lips together and says nothing.
‘I’m just saying,’ Ruben continues, ‘surely the prince should know where his own men are? You’re the commander of the army.’
Kyor’s shoulders are tense. ‘It’s not so straightforward,’ he replies through gritted teeth.
‘Why not? Make me understand,’ Ruben demands.
Kyor’s head turns just enough that the edge of his profile is visible. ‘Because the battles move.’
‘Fights move,’ Benny agrees. He can’t help but join in. ‘But the land doesn’t exactly get up and relocate to another county. We’re closer toTorailian territory here than Issen. What is a Wrohelm soldier doing here, west of Rowell? Rowell is at the edge of our domain.’
‘There’s no point trying to explain it to you,’ Kyor hisses.
‘You’re dodging,’ Benny says flatly. ‘You always do it when there’s something you don’t want us to see.’
My stomach drops. I can’t bear another argument tonight, not after seeing the way Kyor’s hands trembled.
‘Stop it, Benny,’ I snap. ‘Haven’t you done enough?’ I regret the words even as they whip out of me. I close my eyes for a moment and take a breath. ‘Please. Can we not do this right now?’
Benny’s gaze flicks to me, then away. He’s still simmering, but he swallows it down, for me. I wish it didn’t make me feel so guilty.
‘Today was tough on all of us,’ I add, forcing my voice to steady. ‘We need to come together as a team, not fracture.’
Benny exhales through his nose. ‘Fine. Fine. I’m done.’
But I know he’s not. He isn’t ever done. He fights for what he believes in, and that’s one of the things I admire about him.
But … could he just … not, right now?
I look to Thessa and Stide. ‘The Rottings,’ I say, ‘they didn’t attack you. Why not? I noticed it last time, too. They moved around you. Never targeted you.’
‘They are theQuiet Ones,’ Loch says pointedly. ‘They have no magic.’
‘Yes, thank you, Loch,’ Ruben says. ‘We all know that. The Sannings don’t have magic, nor do the Torailians.’
‘They can hear you,’ Loch replies in his sing-song voice. ‘Hear us all. But they’re not happy.’
‘Do they hear like you?’ I ask, suddenly curious. Maybe thetheyof which he speaks are people who could help him. People who could help us.
The Gods know we need all the help we can get.
‘Not ears.’ Loch taps his forehead. ‘Not like me. Same, same, different.’
I have nothing to say to that. The thought that people can hear us in a manner similar, albeit different, to Loch is unnerving, and I’ve got more than enough on my mind to add that to the list of things I don’t wantto think about.
I let the matter drop. I’ve already had enough nightmare fuel for tonight.
Kyor doesn’t needto tell us he’s going to take the first watch; there’s something about the energy that’s radiating from him that tells us all he’s not going to let anyone else take it from him, so none of us even try.
He keeps his back to the fire, face half in shadow. For a split second, his shoulders sag, but a moment later, his posture is rigid. Too rigid. The kind of stillness that only comes from pain held in check by sheer, stupid stubbornness, and tonight I’m not having it.
‘Hey,’ I say, moving across to him. ‘You were fighting with your wounded shoulder earlier.’
A sigh escapes his lips. ‘Yeah. I think I fucked it up worse. It hurts like a son of a bitch.’
I hesitate. ‘Maybe some more of the Robbard’s?’
