Page 65 of All the Wandering Light

I stiffened, disliking the captain’s proximity. There was a stillness about him, present even when he was in motion, that I mistrusted, for it put me in mind of a stalking hunter. The dark circles under his eyes lent his handsome face a weary elegance, but what was he wearied from? The soldiers of the Fifth were professional killers, and I had no doubt, returning that cool gaze, that this man had seen death many times over. It was a gaze that was too knowing for his young face. Part of me wished we were still dealing with Jinsang, but the general had already departed, taking two men and heading back to the main force of her army. We would be escorted to the prison by Captain Elin and a group of about a dozen soldiers.

Lusha studied him. “You expect a witch to answer that? You’re either very stupid, or you doubt your general’s conclusions—in which case, you are a callous monster for handing us to the warden for execution. Which is it?”

The captain smiled, as if appreciating this speech. “You showed more courage before the general than I’ve seen from grown soldiers. You turn aside my questions as if your survival didn’t hinge on my opinion of you. Are you truly as fearless as you appear?”

“Perhaps I just don’t find you very frightening.” Lusha stood as she said it, dabbing her hands dry with her chuba. “I don’t much care for the opinions of men who threaten unarmed captives.”

“It wasn’t a threat,” he said, seeming to take pleasure in throwing Lusha’s words back at her. “Merely a statement of facts. I still haven’t decided whether or not you’re witches.”

“Do we look like witches?”

“A meaningless question, given that they are masters of disguise.”

“Captain Elin,” one of the soldiers said. “We’ve set up the night watch. Standard rotations.”

“Thank you,” the captain replied calmly. The soldier bowed and departed. I hoped the captain would follow, but he stayed where he was.

“Elin is an unusual name,” I said, to prevent his gaze from wandering to Lusha again. “It’s the word for ‘poppy’ in the shamanic language.”

“A nickname,” he said. “Most of us don’t use our real names when out on patrol. These woods are full of bandits—if they heard a nobleman’s name spoken aloud, it would create a target for ransom.”

“You’re a nobleman?” Lusha said. Her tone was as cool as his. It was impossible to tell if this information impressed or bored her.

The captain smiled. He moved closer, until there were only inches between them, and placed his hand on the tree behind her. “I am, firefly. My family has enough wealth to plate your little village with gold. There, I can see I’ve caught your interest at last. You’re impressed.”

“I’m impressed that a brute like you convinced someone to make him a captain,” she said in a calm voice. She could have been remarking on the make of his chuba.

Surprise and a sudden, hot anger filled his face. Then, to my astonishment, he smiled. The anger vanished, but the surprise remained. “You have a sting, don’t you? No matter. We’ll have all day tomorrow to become acquainted. I’ll find a way to impress you.” When he smiled, some of the tension in his face lightened, and he looked like what he was—a young man. Then he moved away, returning to his former self—cool, commanding, predatory. I didn’t trust a single inch of him.

“You shouldn’t bait him,” I said, once he was out of earshot. “He’s captain of the Fifth Army.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Lusha snapped. To my surprise, her cheeks were faintly flushed.

“Like you knew what you were doing when we were searching for the star?”

Lusha shushed me violently. I didn’t see what the problem was—the soldiers had no idea what she carried. They had searched us, of course, but they’d been perplexed by the gray rock they found inside Lusha’s pack. The captain had narrowed his eyes, taking it into a patch of sunlight for examination. He glanced at us and shrugged.

“The heart of one of your admirers, I presume?” was all he had said before returning it to Lusha.

Branches rustled above us. I turned my head, but saw nothing. Somewhere, a raven croaked.

A soldier bound Lusha and me for the night, lashing our hands with rope that was then secured to the trunk of a tree. Two soldiers stood guard, while the rest retreated to another campsite that I glimpsed through the trees. I could just make out the back of Tem’s head.

After securing us to their satisfaction, the soldiers barely moved. Both kept their eyes fixed on nothing in particular, as if Lusha and I were not the sole reason they were standing there like incongruous statues. Their gazes only flicked to us if we made a sudden movement. One of the soldiers, I noted with disgust, was wearing the kinnika around his neck.

In a voice barely above a whisper, I said, “We have to get away.”

Lusha shot me an exasperated look. “Really?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t see you making much of an effort.”

“You haven’t been paying attention.”

“Then what’s the plan? And please don’t say it’s flirting with the captain. I don’t want to lose what little food I have in my stomach.”

“No.”

“Then what?” I swallowed. “Lusha, you know I can’t use Azar-at’s magic again.”