Don’t get distracted.
“What are you doing?” she snapped.
“Let’s take a minute to think about this,” he said. “We’ve been given a chance here. If they think you’re dead, it may flush out the traitor.”
Thalia paused. That was…coldblooded and strategically brilliant. She hadn’t set out to fake her own death, but with everything that had happened, she’d be a fool not to exploit this opportunity. But that didn’t mean playing the leader of the Noxblades.
“You suspect Ferith can’t be trusted?” she asked at last.
“I’m not saying that. Look, I don’t know any of your people well enough to say. But if you make contact, the channel may not be secure, and even if she doesn’t spill, her reaction might give the game away. It just seems like it’s safer to keep this between us for now.”
“I see your point, but…how do you envision the two of us handling a conspiracy on this scale?”
Raff made a face that she couldn’t interpret. “I don’t have it all worked out yet, but the first order of business is tracking the rogue Eldritch who were working with the ones that tried to off us in the tunnel. They had the stink of camphor on them, not a lot, just a little, but if the others do too, I can hunt them down.”
Thalia nodded. Never could she have imagined how helpful it would be to partner up with a wolf. In the woods, Raff would be relentless; it would take a miracle for their quarry to elude them.
“All right, I’m in. I’ll hold off calling Ferith for now.” She pulled on her coat and geared up as best she could, though her outerwear was sadly insufficient for the weather. “What should we do if the numbers are too great?”
Raff only grinned. “Unless they’ve got a CTAK, don’t worry about it, princess. You’ve got me with you, after all.”
That should’ve sounded like pure bravado, but she had seen him fight. “Leave one alive for questioning, if possible.”
“No promises, but I’ll try. Guess there’s no point in getting dressed, then. Will you take my stuff?”
“Of course.”
As she gathered his belongings and stuffed them in her pack, he shifted from man to wolf, a process that never stopped fascinating her. She wondered how it felt, if it hurt.
This plan was…well, reckless. Thalia acknowledged as much as she followed the black wolf out of the cabin. Normally, she didn’t do battle without considering all potential outcomes first, running various simulations and weighing all factors. Now, because a roguish wolf said, “Trust me”, she was setting out on what might be a suicide mission.
I’m okay with that.
He set a pace she could match, though he occasionally raced off to check something and then he circled back, surefooted on the icy ground. Their path led away from Daruvar, west of the tunnel—she thought—but it was hard to be sure. She had far more experience tracking a target using technology, watching signals on a screen and giving orders to troops via wireless. At Ash Valley, that was the first time she’d fought like a soldier, shooting from the walls. Since then, her combat experience had really ramped up.
Unsurprisingly Raff noticed the change before she did. Mostly Thalia kept a close eye on him and reflected on how cold and miserable she was. In all her elaborate rise-to-power fantasies back at Riverwind, she’d never realized leadership could be so uncomfortable. When the black wolf stilled, she did too.
Listening.
Then she understood. There were no noises at all, not a peep from the other creatures of the forest. Before, a few winter birds hopped about, chirping overhead, and squirrels chattered as they gathered nuts. Now, it was all silence.
That means there are enemies close, in numbers large enough to alarm the wildlife.
Raff glanced up at her; she was getting better at reading his canine expressions. The head cock seemed to be interrogative. In answer, she raised a finger to her lips and held it there as a sign that she understood that she needed to keep quiet.
The black wolf nodded, then picked a silent path across the ice. Dark branches snatched at her clothing, but Thalia did her best to leave no trace. While she hadn’t completed Noxblade training, she had enough stealth that she shouldn’t give them away before they were ready to attack.
She heard the voices and smelled the smoke around the same time. Looks like they made camp. Drawing in a long breath, she calmed herself as she drew her blades. It would’ve been nice if she could’ve recharged her bracers, but they were at half power, good for five more shots each. Dropping into a crouch, she stayed close to Raff, moving as he moved.
Easier said than done since he was on four legs and she had two.
Until this moment, she’d never wished she could shift, but the more time she spent with the Animari, the more she found to admire. Thalia could see herself as a sleek silver fox, perhaps, or an ice wolf—
They broke from cover silently, cutting her train of thought. Swiftly she counted eight adversaries, all Eldritch. They were bivouacked well, a fine fire burning, and their white thermal tents blended in with the environment. From the smell, they were roasting vegetables in the fire, like this was a fucking school trip.
“Haven’t heard back from Ruark yet,” one of them said.
“Nothing from Penn and Maris, either. You think something went wrong?”
“We have our orders. You don’t get paid extra to fret, do you? Just sit tight. The Talfayen bitch will be dead one way or another, soon enough.”
Raff snapped.
In an instant, he lunged at the nearest scout, knocking him to the ground. Rage was his fuel, and he had plenty to burn. He had been tolerant and patient for too long. Finally, he had a chance to show these assholes a little Pine Ridge style. As the rest scrambled for cover, he bit down on the Eldritch’s
