Page 98 of The Turncoat King
These scouts would lie about it even being a possibility to save their skins.
“If we’re going to keep mapping the area for the Herald after they’re gone tomorrow, some of us will need to get some sleep.” The man yawned as he spoke.
“And we’ll need to be cautious on our way back, because I doubt this lot is going one way. They’ll be coming back. They’re probably going to look at the river for good spots for their army to cross and then they’ll return with the information.” Boris lowered himself down.
Luc stood for a bit longer, while Boris got comfortable, and then the guard woke someone else to take their turn.
He slipped away as the new guard yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.
When he got to the tree, he pulled off the scarf, and Ava did the same.
“Boris walked right past me. I could have reached out and touched him.” She took his hand, her voice soft.
“They said they’re mapping the area for the Herald, and the only reason they’d do that is so the generals can know how many soldiers they can hide among the hills.” Luc admired the planning and the idea. Someone in the Kassian military was using their brains.
He was also very glad Ava had caught a glimpse of them.
If they’d left a team here, without realizing the Kassian were here already, who knew how it would have ended.
When they reached the camp, Oscar rose up from the shadows, and Deni turned from his place by the fire.
“That didn’t take long.”
They were all awake, Luc saw with satisfaction. Everyone came quietly from a hiding place.
“They sent a spy out here,” Deni said.
“We crossed paths with him on the way back.” Luc kept his voice low and sat beside Deni. “We’ll have to assume they’re always there.”
Ava knelt close to him and put her hands out to warm them. He liked watching the way the light touched her face.
Oscar crowded in beside her, and the others drifted closer.
“They do plan to attack us here.” Luc pulled his gaze off Ava, unable to hide his satisfaction. “They’re mapping the area.”
“So what do we do?” Talura’s voice was barely a whisper.
“They think we’re scouting ahead for places to cross the river, which isn’t a bad guess. So that’s what we’re going to let them keep thinking.” And when they came back, they’d have to make enough noise to warn the Kassian to keep out of sight.
They worked out a guard roster, and as he crawled into the tent behind Ava, and then wrapped her in his arms to sleep, Luc could almost taste the battle to come.
Between him and General Ru, they’d have to come up with a plan to turn the ambush against the Kassian.
It would be almost as satisfying as turning against them on the battlefield two years ago.
He would make sure the name they’d given him was something they’d live to regret, too.
Chapter 31
The Kassian scouts were still in the hills.
As they rode back, two days later, Ava sensed them.
They had to be close, hidden somewhere she couldn’t see, because her new cloak was not as sensitive as her old one.
She needed time to work in the same number of protections, and she had a feeling some of the old cloak’s strength had developed over time.
When they’d left the hills a few days before, someone had followed them all the way to the river and back. Luc had sensed it, too, and had warned everyone to assume that’s what the Kassian would do.