“How you feeling, brother?” Tobei gently clapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder and dropped into the chair next to him. Despite the fact that the sun itself hadn’t truly awoken yet, when Tobei tossed his black locks over one shoulder, it sent the smell of riseberry smoke wafting over Ben. He’d either started very early this morning, or simply continued very late last night.

“Good,” Ben said, and it was true. Even after the beating he’d taken at Luvatha and then the hard ride home, Kadie’s mastery of healing magic combined with a good night’s sleep had him feeling almost back to normal. It had been as easy as ever to rise in time for this morning’s meeting in the kitchen.

“Drauge?” Tobei asked.

“Him too,” Ben replied as Kadie shuffled into the kitchen next. She looked like she could use a dose of her own medicine.

“The gardens?”

“Ah…” Ben said.

Kadie dropped into a chair next to Edgar and immediately propped her chubby cheek in one hand. “How light are they hanging?”

“They’ve hung heavier,” Ben admitted. “But they’ve hung lighter, too. We’ve still got some unripe produce weighing on them.”

Tobei closed his eyes, brow wrinkled, and began mouthing something to himself.

“Tobei’s haul should fuel us for a while longer, hopefully it’s long enough,” Kadie sighed.

“I thought I’d take some of the Duxon crew out to forage today,” Edgar said helpfully. “About time we took our weight off your backs and carried it ourselves.”

Kadie smiled, but said, “There’s no ‘your,’ anymore, Edgar. Only ‘our.’ You’ve got a good idea there, though. Foraging will help.”

Lenna emerged from the back room of the kitchen, looking at the piece of paper in her hand with vacant eyes. She sat at the table too, acknowledging no one, including Doll, who was swearing after her from the back room.

Ben watched Tobei, still mouthing to himself, for a moment longer before he nudged him with his elbow and asked, “What are you on?”

“It’s just out of reach,” Tobei said, eyes still shut. “If it wasn’t so early, I’d be able to catch it.”

“Catch what?”

Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he slapped Ben’s arm. “Got it! Don’t worry how the gardens are hanging, ‘cause I’ve got some produce that’s plenty ripe hanging right here!” Tobei gestured to his crotch, then, one by one, grinned at everyone in the room, waiting for them to laugh.

Ben tried to keep a straight face, but when Tobei’s crooked smile aimed his way, the snort-laugh slipped out, and next thing he knew everyone, even Lenna, was laughing.

From the back room, Doll shouted, “Seven outta ten, Tobei!”

They were still snickering when Daivad strode through the door with a tattered pair of boots in one hand, sporting bandages and bright red wounds on otherwise bare feet. He dropped the boots on the table in front of Lenna, killing the last of the laughter.

“Can you mend these?” he asked.

The muscles in Lenna’s jaw worked for a few seconds before she said, flat, “No.”

That was odd. Ben and Tobei shared a look. Ben was sure Tobei knew exactly what that was about, and he would hear about it soon enough.

Daivad snatched the boots back up and crossed behind the counter to slam the side of his fist on the door to the back room. “Come on, Doll.”

“Boy!” she snapped in response. “Just ‘cause the Dark Mother forgot to tell your body when to quit growin’ don’t mean I cain’t whup your ass!”

“If you could reach it, maybe,” he said as he headed back toward their table.

A few minutes and a verbal sparring match later, they were finally all seated around the table. With her bony arms crossed over her chest, Doll grumped, “Let’s get this over quick ‘fore the food burns, else I’m quittin’.”

Daivad sat back and reflected Doll’s pose, his chair groaning under his weight. He stared defiantly at the wall while everyone else stared at him.

Kadie finally said, “Name your plan, Daivad.”

“You called this meeting, not me.”

“I did,” she said evenly. “‘Cause we need you to name your plan.”

Ben caught the subtle tightening of Daivad’s otherwise plain expression. But still the man stared stubbornly at the wall.

Daivad always did this. He always had, ever since they were kids at the Farm. He would take charge, make sure everyone got their food, did their chores, made it inside the walls before nightfall, but then would turn around and say all he wanted was to be left alone. He acted like a leader right up until anyone expected him to be one.

Ben stared Daivad down, trying to catch his eye, trying to tell him without words that, after the mess they had made of Luvatha, his pigheadedness was liable to get them all killed. Daivad just kept staring forward, but he did shift uncomfortably in his chair, making it cry out.

“Daivad,” Kadie pressed him. “We’re barely keeping breaths above water here.”

With a huff, Daivad turned to Edgar, “Gather the Duxon group in the training ground after breakfast. I’ll see which corner of camp you’ll each fit best in.” He turned his gaze on Ben next, “You back?”

Ben once again locked eyes with Daivad. They need to know.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Daivad just stared back, pigheaded. “You back or not, Bennen?”

Ben gave a curt nod.

“Then you’re on construction.” To Lenna, he said, “How many houses do we need?”

Lenna stared blankly at Daivad for a moment, then looked down at the paper before her. Then back at Daivad. Then she cleared her throat. And finally said, “I … I named the number to Grayson. Bridges, too. He’s on construction.”

“Then Ben, go see Grayson. Tobei, you too. After I’ve seen the Duxon group, I’ll take the Wolves out to hunt. Kadie, what’s the infirmary want?”

“Everything.”

“What does it want most?”

She sighed. “I’ll make a list.”

“Get it to me before the hunt and I’ll add Urden to my path, fetch what you need.”

“With what?” Kadie asked. “We’ve got no money and can spare no trade.”

“I’ll handle it,” Daivad said. “Just get me the list.”

As Daivad directed each person, Ben watched them ease, one by one. After days of overwhelm, stress, and hunger, now they each had just one thing to focus on. The rest, they trusted, would be taken care of. That trust tempted Ben—it would be so easy to just fall in step behind Daivad like always.

Ben remembered his conversation with Jac.

‘I work best in shadow.’

‘Which is why you live in his?’

“That will fuel us another few months.” Relief was audible in Kadie’s tone, even as she said, “Len, what about the train job?”

“Train job?” Lenna asked, jerking her hand away from her high collar. Then she straightened. “Yes.”

Daivad perked ever so slightly. “It’s ready?”

“The supply train to the Sapphire City’s castrum runs under each full moon,” Lenna recited in a flat tone. “There’s a bare section of tracks beyond the tunnel under Slouch Hill where we can wait for it. It’ll carry food, weapons, medical supplies—”

“What do I need to pull it under the Full Dry Moon?” Daivad asked.

“Daivad…” Ben warned, low.

Lenna didn’t seem to have heard Ben. She considered the question for what had to be half a minute. She rubbed her hands over her drooping eyes twice. Finally, she said, “Maybe a dozen bodies and at least two wagons. Two fast horses for each wagon, and one for each body that won’t be on a Wolf.”

Daivad nodded. “After dinner tonight, I want the full plan.”

She blinked in surprise and said, breathless, “Yes, sir.”

“Daivad.” Ben stared Daivad down. I thought you were done with this.

Daivad cut his eyes at Ben. I’ve got firm hands on the situation now.

We blew up Luvatha.

And the one man who could have tracked us. I’ve got firm hands on it.

Daivad. We blew up Luvatha, brother.

Daivad tore his gaze away, but from the way his big, still-bruised shoulders sagged, Ben knew he’d gotten through. Thoroughly annoyed, Daivad said, “The … the train job might have to wait. We need to keep heads down for a while. Right now, the queen has a heavy helping of motivation to find my trail, so we don’t need to give her any extra to follow.”

After a few moments of silence, Kadie asked a question that her tone said she already knew the answer to, “And who served her that heavy helping?”

It was almost impressive, the way Daivad could dance around responsibility. He and Tobei had that in common. “I got word that the queen had a Selachian on a leash, so I went to Luvatha to put him down. It … wasn’t exactly a kill I’d name Clean.”

Visibly amused, Tobei asked, “And what would you name it, brother?” like he hadn’t already heard the full story from Ben.

“Hold on.” Kadie held up a hand. “Whose tongue gave the word?”

“Ain’t that plain to see?” Doll asked. “The li’l monster girl promises us eyes inside the castle, an’ next thing, Daivad can name all the queen’s pets.”

Lenna rounded on Doll, eyes bulging. “What?”

“Summer’s running out,” Kadie said. “And if the gardens hang as light as Ben says, autumn won’t gift us much harvest. We’ll have nothing stored for winter.”

“The train runs under each full moon, right?” Daivad asked Lenna—but she was still bug-eyed and didn’t seem to hear his words.

“And how many will have to pass before the queen loses her motivation?” Kadie asked. “What happened in Luvatha?”

Daivad was staring at the wall again.

“What happened in Luvatha?” Kadie pressed.

“I got the situation in hand,” Daivad said, a slight growl under his words. “They just got a little cut up in the process.”

Ben said, “We wrecked half the city.”

“You what?” Kadie said.

Daivad grumbled, “I name it a quarter at most.”

Kadie dropped her face into her hands.

Whenever Daivad got really mad, he always seemed to grow a few extra inches. Apparently that was true even when he was sitting. His chair groaned again as he leaned forward. “We can still pull the train job, all I have to do is hide my face.”

“Like you tried to do in Luvatha?”

Kadie leaned forward too, “You wrecked Luvatha—and you were seen?”

“I broke the only nose that could follow us home.” The growl was out in full now.

“You did?” Tobei said, eyes glimmering. “Or the li’l monster girl did?”

Daivad’s glare snapped to Tobei, who just blinked back innocently.

Doll gave a little hmpf! before adding, “Knew I smelt ‘er on you.”

Daivad opened his mouth to snap back at Doll, but just closed it again.

“Mother Dark,” Tobei looked overjoyed, “are you blushing?”

“We weren’t followed,” Daivad raised his voice, like if he spoke loud enough his words would extend back in time a few seconds to cover Tobei’s. “The camp is still hidden. And I’ll know well in advance if that changes.”

Grinning, Tobei added, “Because of the li’l monster girl?”

Daivad shot Tobei a look that would scare Ben’s testicles up into his body if it were leveled at him, but only made Tobei grin wider.

Edgar turned to Kadie and whispered what Ben thought was, “Who’s the li’l monster girl?”

“Later.” Kadie patted Edgar’s shoulder, then said, “Alright. Just—Lying low is the best option.”

“I’ll hide my face,” Daivad argued.

“Hide your face all you want, but there’s no mask or cloak in all Lushale that can hide those shoulders,” Tobei said. “We can still pull the train job. Just send someone else. Someone delicate and artful, who cuts a normal-sized silhouette—three names the Traitor Prince could never be called.”

Daivad’s words bubbled. “Plenty of folks wear wide shoulders.”

“But not plenty of bandits with a fatal shirt allergy and the balls to rob the queen’s army.”

“I … I can wear a shirt.”

No one, not even Daivad, looked convinced. Edgar just looked pleasantly confused. With a sigh that was half growl, Daivad sat back, as defeated as his crying chair. One final creak, and it gave way.