Page 120 of Beds and Blades

Varia nodded once. “Understood, High Commander.”

“This is not a precaution against her making a poor decision,” Skip said. “It is a precaution against Morvanna making a good one.”

The distinction was clear. A sworn order addressed my choices. Soldiers outside the door addressed hers.

The garrison dispersed.

I stood in the cold courtyard for a moment and thought about what it meant to be a target of Morvanna. It was not a comfortable thought.

“Meghan.”

I turned.

Varia had remained behind after the others dispersed. She stood a few feet away, waiting for me to notice her.

“I did not thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“In the field. The command-layer vampire.” She held my gaze. “You saw it coming for me before I did. You left the formation, broke my direct order, and saved my life.”

“Earlier, you seemed more interested in discussing the broken order.”

“I was only angry because you could have died.” Her chin lifted.

She stepped forward and pulled me into her arms, one arm firm across my back, her cheek briefly against my hair.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

I held her just as tightly.

“Ride or die,” I said.

She drew back enough to look at me.

“Ride or die,” she agreed.

Then she released me and walked toward the keep.

***

A week passed.

That morning, I went down to the training yard, and Varia was not there.

The yard was empty. The snow was swept, the practice weapons were racked at the eastern wall, and Velox was visible through the stable door. Everything in its correct place. No Varia.

I checked the mess hall. The barracks. The section of the eastern wall she sometimes used for sequences when the yard was occupied.

I found Gaius repairing the crenellations. He had a chisel in his hand, and he set it down when he saw my face, which told me he had already been looking for a way to avoid this conversation.

“Torch signal,” he said.

“Last night. Village of Nema, four miles from the line. Two fires and then three—contact, then turning in progress. Lieutenant Varia took the Vanguard to intercept. She left at midnight.”

“And she has not returned?” I asked.

“No.”