Page 211 of The Space Between Stars

The door splintered as it was pelted by tanka bits. Kretch. Why did he even bother to think anything at all?

Niklaus scrambled backward into the wagon and huddled in its corner, pulling a metal tray from the shelf to shield himself. The clash of steel and the thumping of bits hitting sand sounded all around him. Of course. The wagon was with the Red Wing, and the Red Wing was engaged in a clash of armies.

Niklaus waited for his end to meet him. Any moment now, a Tera’thian soldier would walk in and place a well-aimed shot between his eyes or slice his throat. They had a battle to fight. They’d be quick about it. It probably wouldn’t hurt much.

A set of boots thunked up the steps to the wagon, and Niklaus squeezed his eyes shut. What perfect irony that his splattered insides were going to make a mess of the cleaning supplies.

Was that really going to be his final thought?

“Fates above, Meyernes. I can’t believe that’s really you.”

It was Chevek. He’d thought Chevek had served him up. But if he had, why save him?

Niklaus lowered the tray. He never thought he’d be grateful to see a Balfida.

Chevek held out a hand. “Get up. We’ve got them in retreat. But I’ll get you behind our lines with the other civilians in case they regroup.”

“Civilians?” he stammered, allowing Chevek to pull him to his feet.

“Encampment staff and Steilites. We’ve been guiding them through the pass. I’ll hide you with them for now. You’re supposed to be dead.”

Dead? Niklaus was too stunned to move.

Chevek, not prepared to wait, threw one of Niklaus’s arms over his shoulder. “Fuck. You’re all wet. How did that happen?”

Niklaus was still trying to put together how he’d gotten from the ocean to the wagon. Magic. A battle between Ruxians. No one believed him even as things were.

“Never mind,” Chevek grunted, pulling him from the wagon. Niklaus stumbled through the sand beside him without argument. “Preservation must have a thing for shitbags. That won’t be slipping on my watch. Let’s get you to safety.”

“Dead?” Niklaus finally asked, his tongue strange around the word. It made sense. Limtush was supposed to be poisoned. Niklaus done away with. But the confirmation was still shocking.

Chevek kept his voice low. “Covern has been working closely with the General Prime. And the General Prime had you listed as an endangerment to our forces. But I kept thinking about what Latouda used to say about you… something wasn’t adding up.”

Niklaus swallowed.

Chevek nodded at the Red Wing soldiers streaming past them towards Steila. “We’ve got them overrun. The fight is ours by nightfall. I don’t expect their ambush went as planned. If it weren’t for you, this would have been a very different fight.”

“Me?” Niklaus asked dumbly, wracking his brain for anything he’d done beyond hold up a tin tray in the mess storage wagon.

“When you told me there was something wrong with the plates, it was right after Thyatira had distributed formations for our arrival to Steila. He wanted to set base level recruits ahead, shields in hand, in a vanguard, rather than a marching column. That was the tipping point for multiple suspicions I’ve had throughout this campaign. Then, when you never showed up after our discussion, I took it to mean they’d eliminated you. My team took your tip. We removed the cores from the shields and hid them in a rear wagon. The ones presented to the vanguard were ineffective.”

What were the odds that, after years of speaking, someone had actually listened to him? “You took my word? Over Thyatira’s?”

Chevek snickered. “Totally fucking stupid, eah? Talk about an explosive payoff.”

“Senseless as they come,” he stammered.

“You’re alright, Meyernes.” Then, more soberly, “Thank you.”

Chevek’s mention of Latouda gnawed at Niklaus. Niklaus was, in part, the reason she had died. Chevek’s brother had been close enough to her to suggest betrothal. It would be inappropriate to stick a finger into an old wound, but…

“You knew her?”

“Latouda?”

“Yeah.”

Chevek’s lower lip caught in his teeth as he pulled Niklaus along. “We grew up together. When she wasn’t helping her mother up in your parts, she was running through Shrokan’s alleys with us. She taught me my letters—many more of us, too—against the ordinance.”