Page 147 of Forcing Fate

I growled, and he chuckled, continuing his trek.

He aimed toward a spot where a young boy, perhaps still near his fifteenth-winter, stood with three other men. One of which was the tallest I had ever seen, bigger than General Rafe. He had to stand at least eight paces high. He had short, light-colored hair cropped close to his skull and bore a smile that seemed too friendly for his intimidating stature.

The other two were odd. They were both lean and wiry, standing tall but thin. I squinted at their features, puzzled that they wore the same face. They had dark hair and neatly trimmed beards cut short to their chins. They both wore amused expressions aimed at the man carrying me.

“Ah, so you snagged her. You keep surprising us, Jamlin,” one of them said.

The one carrying me laughed deep and loud. “I keep telling you, there’s nothing I can’t do in the dark.”

The boy fidgeted and kept sneaking glances at me, though never looked at me directly.

“Are you going to take her to Rafe like that?” the other that shared a face asked.

They had odd accents with clipped words, as if the common tongue was not their first language. It unnerved me how identical they were.

“I wouldn’t let her go as she is. She’s a wild one,” Jamlin said.

The biggest man stomped over and peered down at me. He smiled and lifted a finger to tap my nose. “Cute little thing,” he rumbled.

“Korzak, hands off the goods.” Jamlin jested, turning to pull me away from the giant’s curious touch. “Come on, then.” He started off toward a brighter section of the clearing.

The surrounding men snickered and a few more laughed and pointed. As we got closer to the main clearing, I spied a group gathered near a large pit. It was so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom. Fear flooded my veins, but I lifted my eyes and glared around, finding a familiar figure.

General Rafe leaned against a tree, watching us with a dark eye. The corner of his mouth was lifted in an amused smile as he watched us approach. “Thought I sent Collins to fetch her,” he stated, pushing off the tree and crossing his arms.

Jamlin shrugged, jostling me with the motion. “Seems as though she was too much for the little one to handle.”

“I tried, General. I really did, but–” the boy started.

“She’s cute. Can we keep her?” The giant, Korzak, came into view again as he peered at my face.

“Korzak, back off.” General Rafe’s order was followed by a retreat of the giant’s head. He turned to Collins and frowned. “You need to be able to handle things like this. Grow up, boy.”

“Yes, sir.” The lad looked down at his boots, clearly disheartened.

“Jamlin, you going to keep her up there?” General Rafe asked.

“I think she has a better vantage point. She might like it up here,” he replied, lifting his left shoulder, then his right, jostling me.

General Rafe grunted in amusement, and I glared at him for all I was worth.

“Are you sure she’s the right one, General? She’s rather unimpressive.” One of the dark-haired men with a shared face came into view.

“Do you think there’s a single other woman in our barracks?” Collins asked.

“Jam, set her down,” General Rafe ordered as a cheer echoed from the group near the massive pit.

“Aye, aye. I hear you,” he replied, easing me off his shoulders.

As soon as he let go, I tore away from him and grabbed at the cloth, yanking it from my mouth. I spat and reached under my shirt to draw my push dagger.

“Aw!” Korzak stepped toward me and bent close to the blade. “It’s tiny! And pointy!”

“Korzak.” General Rafe’s tone carried an unspoken warning.

I whirled on him. “You better have a thrice-cursed explanation!” I hissed, keeping every one of them in my sight. I backed against a tree and pulled myself into a fighting stance.

“Cadet, meet my Tennan,” he said, nodding toward the men.

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