Page 98 of A War Apart

I raised my hand, signaling for my men to stop. Miroslav’s men had halted their retreat, looking around wildly. Whateverwas ahead of them, it was enough to make them risk capture rather than face it.

I inched forward, closer to the source of the still-growing noise. Then silence fell.

Ahead lay a great ravine.

I’d been over this part of the countryside many times on guard. The land was flat, at times densely wooded, but there were no gorges, no great chasms or ravines.

Had Borislav done this, rent the land in two to trap Miroslav’s men? They were trapped now, caught between us and the chasm.

The enemy scattered. I hesitated a fraction of a second before calling for my men to charge ahead.

*****

It was near dawn when I trudged into my room and collapsed on the bed.

“Morning.”

I looked up to see Yakov, still clothed, in a chair next to the dying fire.

“Good battle?” he asked.

“We won,” I said without emotion.

He raised a brow. “You don’t sound pleased.”

I sat up, groaning, and pulled off my sweat-soaked clothes. “We took almost a hundred prisoners. Minimal casualties on our part.”

Yakov waved his hand. “I know about the casualties. Lada had me working with the wounded all night.”

He and the Blood Bastard had resolved their argument overwomen’s work,apparently. He’d spent nearly every day for the past fortnight working with her in the med tent. Between Yakov’s new work and my responsibilities as a commander, we hadn’t seen much of each other lately.

I sighed, taking a cloth from the nightstand and wiping the worst of the sweat and grime. “The tsar…” I shook my head. Howcould I explain what had happened out there? Borislav hadn’t used his power directly on the enemy, but he’d crossed a line. A dangerous line.

I pulled a shirt over my head and sank into a chair next to him. “The tsar blocked off the enemy’s retreat.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” Yakov asked. “We took prisoners.”

“He didn’t order us to cut them off. He did it. Magically.”

His mouth dropped open. “How?”

I described the events of the battle, our pursuit and the sudden appearance of the ravine. When I finished speaking, he let out a breath. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

There was silence between us as we stared into the coals. Finally, hardly daring to voice the words, I whispered, “Did we make a mistake, Yakov?”

“No.” He clenched his fist. “Miroslav’s a monster. We had to do it.”

And if Borislav wasn’t any better? I couldn’t bring myself to say it, but he knew what I was thinking.

“He’s better. He has to be.”

“You’re probably right.” It wasn’t as though Borislav had used his Gifts to kill anyone. He hadn’t interfered with the battle itself, just ensured we were able to take prisoners.

I shook myself. What was I thinking? Of course Borislav was better than his brother. What did it matter if he used his magic to form a ravine during a retreat? It was no different from building a wall before the battle. Not really. I was just tired from the fight. That’s why everything seemed so complicated. Everything would be clearer after a few hours’ rest.

Chapter thirty-four

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