I looked behind me at the small child who'd spoken. I hadn't spent enough time with them to know their names by heart, but her name might've been Paca. She was a cherubic Forcadelian child with stringy brown hair that my wife tried to braid in vain.
"Almost, my dear," Beata answered, reaching forward to brush that stubborn hair from her forehead.
When we'd started out from the camp earlier in the day, my wife had been bright-eyed and excited to leave the ghosts and grief behind. But now, the day of traveling with six children under ten was wearing on her. We'd made good time across the open plains, but once we'd entered into the misty forest, a damp chill had descended. A reminder that the mountains were close at hand.
"Shall we play another game?" Beata asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
The children groaned in unison. She might've called it a game, but it was really a lesson on numbers and letters. Most of them hadn't learned to read or write, and that had been Beata's singular focus before…
Before. That was the best way to describe it. Before the massacre, before the world had been turned over. Before our Brynna left on a half-idiotic plan to distract Ilara so we could reclaim the country.
I turned to the south, where Brynna had most assuredly been captured by now. I didn't question her bravery, but she lacked the ability to hide her emotions. Brynna's survival depended on Ilara believing herself to be the victor, and that would be impossible if Brynna couldn't temper her tongue.
I exhaled, putting that worry aside. It wasn't my focus.
I had taken charge of sixty soldiers. My second-in-command Joella led the march at the front, while I remained near the back to be close to my wife and the littles. We were headed to Skorsa, the former Forcadelian city that now belonged to the country of my birth, Niemen.
"I hope Luard reached your sister safely," Beata said, resting her head on my shoulder. Clearly, she'd given up trying to teach the children, as they'd busied themselves with a guessing game.
"I hope so, too." I wrapped my hand around hers, feeling for my wife's gold band. The night of our wedding had ended in the news that one of our own, Aline, had been kidnapped, and Brynna had put together a plan to rescue her. We'd succeeded, but when we'd returned to camp, we'd found it completely decimated, and everyone within slaughtered. The only ones who'd survived were Beata, these six children, and…
I craned my neck to the front, searching the soldiers for the crop of dark hair. "Where's Elisha?"
"Did she fall behind?" Beata asked, joining my search. "No, I think I see her up there. At the very front."
Through heavy fog, I could just make out the smaller figure marching with the taller ones where my wife was pointing.
"I swear to the Mother," I muttered as Beata chuckled beside me. "Didn't I tell her to stay in our sight?"
"She's technically still in our sight," Beata said with a smile. "You can't fault her for wanting to be in the thick of things."
"She's done more than enough," I said. "We have plenty of others who can take up the mantle."
"She's going to be a handful," Beata said. "Perhaps when we get to Skorsa, things will be better." She closed her eyes. "Do you think Felix has left for Neveri yet?"
"I don't know," I said. "I hope so."
She giggled, snuggling closer to me and dropping her voice. "The better question, I suppose, is did he let Brynna go? Or do you think he tied her up and took her with him?"
"I think he let her go, but he didn't like it," I said, resting my head on top of hers. Felix had been more open with his feelings of late; perhaps his time in the dungeon had cleared his vision. The old captain would never have danced with his queen in full view of his soldiers, let alone embraced her the way he had at our wedding.
"I don't think I would've let you go," she said, looking up at me.
I squeezed her. "One day, my wife, the world won't be on fire, and we can have our time together."
"I fear if we wait for the world to calm, we'll be dust." She chuckled, though a little darkly. "How soon after we arrive in Skorsa will we move back to Forcadel?"
"Felix will be traveling via the ocean, and so we will be moving our troops down the Vanhoja river. Jax will be scouting the river for Ilara's defenses, and once we know what we're dealing with, we can move south."
Beata frowned. "Will Ilara keep her alive that long?"
"Ssh," I said, glancing at the others to make sure they hadn't heard. "She's with Jax, remember?"
Beata's cheeks reddened. "Right, with Jax. On that mission." She ducked her head closer. "You think they'll buy that?"
"Let's hope so," I said. "Brynna's life depends on it."
From somewhere beyond the misty forest, a cry echoed, followed by another. The soldiers around us slowed their gait and listened, reaching for their weapons and gazing into the foggy trees.
"What's going on?" Beata asked, glancing back at the littles.
"I don't know," I said, rising from my seat. "But stay here until I find out."
I hopped out of the wagon and rushed through the crowd, all of whom had pulled their weapons and were staring at the trees suspiciously. A shadow moved in the mist ahead, and I readied myself, but as it drew closer, I recognized our own colors. Two soldiers were carrying a third, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Right behind him, a pair of soldiers carried another soldier, but the arrow had found her heart and her head lolled sickeningly.
The sound of retreat echoed through the forest, and more shadows came running toward us. I let them pass me until my gaze found the commander at the front—Joella—helping a wounded soldier walk. Two Forcadelians ran forward to retrieve their compatriot, leaving Joella and I in the middle.
"What's going on?" I said. "Who's attacking?"
"It's hard to tell," she said, wiping her brow. "The arrows just started coming out of the trees. Hard to tell who they're coming from. Somebody said it looked like Severians."
"That would make sense," I said. "It wouldn't surprise me if Ilara had put a blockade along the river." I glanced behind me, keeping my eyes peeled for more arrows. "Are they advancing?"
Joella followed my gaze, her brow furrowing. "I was too busy running to… But it sure doesn't look like it."
"That's good news," I said, thinking of the children. "I'd hoped that we could avoid going over the foothills with all of our supplies, but it looks like we won't have a choice. Tend to the wounded, then double back until we reach the forest. There is a pass we can take from Kulka to Niemen that should be less guarded, but it's not an easy trail."
"Yes, I—"
A brown-headed blur buzzed past me, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
Joella gasped. "Was that—?"
"I'll get her," I said, grabbing my skirt and jogging after her.
"Wait, Lady Katarine—"
But I didn't hear her, dashing after the young thief and cursing her as I went.
"Elisha!" I called, trying in vain to keep my voice down. "Elisha, get back here this instant!"
But she kept running, flying over sticks and bushes and showing no signs of slowing down. She was growing smaller in the distance, and I cursed myself for not changing into tunic and pants before leaving the camp.
My heart stopped as an arrow sailed out of the darkness, landing mere inches from her nose. It stopped her in her tracks, giving me just enough time to grab her arm and yank her behind a tree.
"You little…you little…" I couldn't form words as I caught my breath. "You do not ignore a direct order, young lady."
"You ain't the boss of me," she snapped back. "These soldiers are the same ones who killed my friends, and if I can kill a few of 'em then that's what I'm going to do."
I straightened, sweat beading on my forehead as I stared down at the pain and anger coming off her. "And if you were to die, what then?"
"I won't die. Haven't yet."
Perhaps traditional tactics wouldn't work on this girl. I would have to be cleverer. "Very well, then." I squared my shoulders, pulling my last card. "Are you not one of Queen Brynna's subjects?"
She opened her mouth then closed it. "I am."
"And has Queen Brynna not given me authority over these forces, including yourself?"
She swallowed. "Yeah, but—"
"And did I not give you an explicit order to stay behind and let me handle this?"
"Yes, but—" She straightened. "Ssh!"
"Don't ssh me—"
Elisha grabbed my arm and yanked me down into the bushes a moment before two Severian soldiers walked out.
"I thought I heard voices over here," one said. "Don't see anything, though."
"They told us to stay close to the border."
"Doesn't look like it's an assault anyway. Those Forcadelians turned tail and ran pretty quickly."
"Cowards."
Their disparaging continued as they disappeared into the forest. Once their voices had ceased echoing, I chanced rising.
"See?" Elisha said. "I told you I was useful. You woulda been captured."
"And we wouldn't have been out here in the first place had you not run off," I said.
"I wasn't running off," she insisted. "I was trying to help."
"In this case, running headfirst into danger was not helping. The rest of the soldiers retreated, and I expected you to do the same. We aren't ready to meet Ilara's forces. We need to do it smartly, and from a position of power. And you, just now, jeopardized all of that. Do you understand?"
Her eyes flashed with anger, but she nodded.
"I know that you want to avenge your friends, and I promise that, one day, you will be able to do just that. But you'll be of no use to anyone if you get an arrow through your chest," I said. "And Brynna needs you."
Again, she nodded and muttered some semblance of an apology.
The weight on my chest lessened and I put my hand on her shoulder, turning her around. "Now, back to the wagon we go. And I'd better not hear a single peep out of you until we get to Skorsa."