Page 85 of The Threadbare Queen

That grabbed their attention. He recounted what he’d heard.

“So do we rescue her, and tip our hand that we’re here, or wait for them to release her tomorrow?” Massi mused.

“Rescue.” Rafe had always had a soft spot for the scout.

“It’s a difficult decision.” Luc had been thinking about it since he’d seen Kym shoved into the tent and a guard set to watch her. He would prefer her safe, but the plan he had come up with did not make an early rescue possible. He looked over at Rafe. “She’s in this situation because of her own choices. I’d prefer to rescue her, but there is no way we can do it without letting the Jatan know we’re here.”

“Tuart is leaving for Jatan tomorrow, you say?” Kikir asked.

Luc nodded.

“I need to leave for Skäddar. I should probably have left already. Following Tuart won’t be far out of my way. I can shadow his unit until I’m sure Kym has been freed.”

“You could send her to wait in Bintinya with Frebo,” Rafe suggested. “We can collect her on our way back to Fernwell.”

That made sense, but Luc wanted to know why she’d snuck into the Jatan camp sooner than that. He thought about it, decided it would be better for Kym to know Kikir would be watching for her. That she wasn’t on her own.

He looked over at the Skäddar warrior. “I accept. Thank you. I need to get some information from her, though.”

He turned to Massi. “Go back to the unit. I’ll come join you as soon as I’ve spoken with Kym.”

“You have a plan?” Massi’s gaze flicked to the camp.

He nodded. “Where exactly is the rest of the unit?”

Massi shook her head. “Come back here and I’ll lead you to them.”

“I’ll wait for you, too.” Rafe’s mouth was a hard line.

Kikir nodded in agreement.

He would have an entourage back to Revek.

Luc inclined his head, left his pack with Massi, and disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as he was out of sight, he looped his scarf back on and walked boldly into the camp by the most direct route. There was no time to sneak around.

He stepped around a few soldiers who were making their way to bed. No one even glanced at him.

The soldier guarding Kym’s tent was yawning when he got there, but Luc didn’t have time to wait for the woman to fall asleep.

If he understood Tuart and Carvill correctly, General Hurst was raiding villages in Cervantes. And he needed to be stopped.

He made his way behind the guard, looked around to make sure there was no one watching them, and pulled out the red pouch from his cloak. He pulled his sleeve over his fingers so he didn’t touch it directly and worked the small fabric square out from inside it. Then he tugged his scarf off.

“Here.” He moved beside the woman and held it out to her. He knew he could sound Jatan if he spoke as little as possible. It was similar to Kassian, if not exactly the same.

She froze in surprise, blinking at him as if trying to work out where he’d come from, but when he lifted the fabric up to her again, she took it.

“General Tuart has said I’m to relieve you. You can go sleep for four hours and then come back to keep watch.”

The woman continued to stare. She hadn’t spoken at all, and she frowned as if trying to work out what he’d just said.

“Sleep,” he said. “Come back before dawn.”

She nodded slowly and turned away from him, yawning again as she stumbled away.

It was a terrible power Ava had, Luc realised. Truly, it could do so much harm. And it was why Ava was continually looking over her shoulder, as those who wanted this power for themselves hounded her.

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