“Your name?” a gruff male voice asked. It was too dark for him to see anything about his attacker or the blade in front of him. All he had was the dark and the voice.
“Brynec Lorren,” he answered quickly. “Who—” A hand slammed over his mouth, and the blade pressed against his neck, nicking the scar he had from centuries of wearing a collar that wasn’t the proper fit.
“Lorren? There are no Lorrens left,” the voice snarled. “Take him. We’ll question him later at home.”
“Wait—” He tried to talk through the hand. He tried to pull out of the hold on him but couldn’t get free in time to dodge the hilt that slammed down on the back of his head.
3
Mave
They rode into their village to a reception that was more extravagant than deserved. Mave bit back a groan as those they had left behind treated them as if they had just defeated the Empire. She didn’t cheer with the others, feeling dissatisfied. It had been months since they attacked Ellantia, and all they had to show for it was two hundred free Andinna and the friends they had lost during said attacks. She didn’t let her own mood show, though. Her position meant she had to remain optimistic to the crowd, even if she didn’t feel it.
There was one thing that kept her from being completely pessimistic.
They were home. A new home, not the one she loved and lost back in Olost, but home, nonetheless.
“Alchan!” she called out over the cheering. “Do you need me for anything today?” It was only midday. There was always a chance he would want her for some meeting by nightfall.
“No! We’ll get back to it tomorrow, so enjoy the evening off.” He even smiled at her, but she saw the shadow in his eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.
Months since they dramatically told those around them they wanted to start a rebellion, and they were finally getting something to show for it. Others might be impressed, but they had both expected more, faster. Fall was quickly ending, and the only thing any of the Andinna were worried about was surviving the coming winter. She couldn’t blame them, but she wanted more. Freeing Sen and the others was only the beginning. It wasn’t enough to warrant the welcome they were given.
“Wait!” he called as she turned her horse. “I’m going to need you after dinner with Leshaun. Since we’re back, may as well debrief on Bryn. Bring Matesh.”
“I’ll be there!” she yelled back, the crowd now starting to separate them. Any update about Bryn was something she looked forward to. She’d begged and pleaded, even tried to throw rank around to keep him from going on the scouting mission alone. In the end, she lost. Mat, even if he had his worries, was willing to trust Bryn to go on his own, respecting their rogue would come back to them. It was a male thing. Alchan and Luykas believed her rogue to be the best for the task and the most trustworthy with the information he would learn and have to pass along.
She knew all of them were right, but she wanted him back.
“Mave!” someone shouted. “Over here!”
She turned her horse around in two circles, trying to find the source of the voice. She was still scanning the crowd when someone grabbed the reins of her mare and held it, stopping Mave’s spinning.
“Here!” the voice said again, laughing. Mave looked around her mare’s head and grinned.
“Damn it, Senri! I couldn’t see you in this crowd!”
“Let me lead you and this girl out of this mess. There’s got to be a young male around somewhere who’s willing to handle her.”
Mave relinquished control as Senri started walking, forcing her mare to follow calmly. The mare and all of their other horses, were stolen from Elvasi soldiers. They were trained well to handle the bustle of crowds and battlefields, but Mave wasn’t the most confident rider. She preferred flying, but that was impractical for a war group like the one she had been a part of for the last nearly five weeks.
Once they were out of the crowd, Senri whistled. Mave saw a young male guard watching the commotion turn to them in a snap. Everyone knew Senri’s sharp whistle.
“You! Guard! Take this mare for the King’s Champion and see she’s taken care of!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mave dismounted as the guard ran to them. She didn’t recognize him, giving him what must have been a strange look as he blushed in return.
“I got here three weeks ago. I’m from the—” His warm eyes were a red-brown, bright and honest, and much too eager and excited for her. His black hair was cut short, but not short enough to stop it from falling over his eyes in a boyish way that screamed innocent.
“Ah, a new face. I figured. Welcome.” She smiled but didn’t give him the chance to tell her his name. She had too many names to remember as it was and didn’t need a dozen more with every new group coming into the village. “We freed you at one of the farms. I hope you’re well. Now, Senri and I have much to discuss. Have a wonderful day.”
“T-thank you, Champion,” he stuttered, bowing his head low.
Senri grabbed her and began dragging her along. With no fight in her, Mave followed, sighing heavily.
“I’m so awkward,” she declared as they left the crowd behind.
“Platitudes don’t suit you,” Senri said, a forgiving note to the words. “You don’t do well with the attention. His name is Rydec, by the way. He’s three hundred and grew up in slavery, hearing the whispers across the Empire about what you could do in the Colosseum. Since we’ve arrived here, he and several other young males have talked nonstop about seeing you when you freed them last month. All born and raised on Elvasi farms. They talk about Alchan and Luykas, too, but they always thought you were more real than the Ivory Shadows.”
“How many?” Mave asked softly. “How many of them have never been free a day in their lives?”
“Over half,” Senri answered, shaking her head. “Apparently, young Andinna who have never known freedom are safer to keep on the farms because they don’t really know where to go or who to ask for help if they want to escape. If they were all over a thousand, they would know the taste of freedom and how to fight. It would be easy to escape. Many of them have been tending fields since they could walk and were trained young to fear the lash of a whip. At a young age—”
“A whip can severely damage your wings,” she finished for her friend, cutting off Senri. “It’s a strong repellant to the thought of flying away. There are repercussions to trying beyond that, too.”
Senri nodded. “If they were caught flying without permission or out of bounds, they were shot from the sky by the farm’s human archers. Then they were bound as punishment,” Senri explained further. “Convincing them they can fly here has been an ongoing process. Most, if not all, need exercise and practice. None of them were permanently bound like you or Brynec, but none of them could fly on a regular basis, either.”
“Did you report all of this to Luykas?”
“Of course, and he’ll report it all to Alchan the moment they sit down and get the chance.”
“Then why are you telling me? In the end, I’m just another warrior with a special title to make sure there’s respect being shown to the females. I don’t handle logistics. That’s Alchan and Luykas.”