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She shook her head. “I made it specifically for you. I don’t think it’ll work for me. But anyway, I’m planning to sneak around at night, invisible. You’re the one leading an army.”

He studied her, lifting a hand to trace down her temple and then cup her face. “Promise me you are not neglecting your own protection.”

She held his gaze. “I’ve been working on my cloak.” Not as much as she should, she knew, but there were only so many hours in the day.

“I want you back as soon as possible.”

She scoffed. “No, I was thinking of relaxing at an inn in Bartolo for a few days while you were fighting the Kassian forces.”

His lips twitched. “I want you to always take the most cautious approach. I’ll talk to Oscar and Deni myself about it.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.” She poked his chest with her finger. “And you do the same.”

He nodded.

She left her finger in place, and traced down between his pectorals. “So we’re not fighting? Everything is resolved?”

“Not quite everything.” His gaze was locked onto her finger, and she had to swallow a squeal as he suddenly lifted her up.

“Well, let’s get to it.” She grinned at him. “We wouldn’t want to leave anything unfinished.”

Chapter 32

“So what was that?” Oscar spoke as soon as they had the hills behind them.

Ava didn’t answer straight away. She’d been agonizing over what to say to them since they’d left the column at midday yesterday, after she’d had time to work on the traps she planned to set.

“That was spellwork,” Deni said, and it was the lack of censor in his voice that gave her the ability to heave out a big breath.

“I can spell my embroidery.” She sent a quick look at Oscar. “Your vest is spelled to protect you against arrows and swords, and to help you react to attack, that’s all.”

“My . . . vest?” He looked down at himself, and then rubbed the embroidery with a finger.

“You didn’t know about the vest.” She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Why would they have even noticed? She’d specifically used the same color so it would be difficult to see.

“I knew,” Deni said and she glanced over at him. “I suspected since that day when we surprised those scouts and one of them shot an arrow directly at me. There was no way he could have missed, and yet, he did.” He fingered the scarf around his neck.

“And you’re all right with it?”

“All right? I wrapped this scarf around my waist at training yesterday morning, and no one was able to connect a single blow.”

“The Commander.” Oscar suddenly turned in his saddle. “He’s untouchable in training, as well.”

Ava shrugged. “Some of that is me. Some of that is him.”

“And what did you just leave in the hills?” Deni asked.

“I left useful things. Handkerchiefs. Scarves.”

“What will happen to the soldiers who find them?” Oscar sounded less astonished, more interested, for the first time.

“They’ll become resentful of their superiors, or even more resentful than they already are, and they’ll find the courage to disrupt the Kassian army’s plans in small ways that might not be noticed until it’s too late.”

“You’ll create saboteurs from handkerchiefs and scarves?” Oscar’s eyes went wide.

“I hope so. It is worth taking the chance, you would agree?”

“Most definitely. If it works as well as my scarf does, as well as that thin scrap of fabric you handed me the other day did, this will be a big help to the columns.” Deni shielded his gaze to look ahead. “And what are we going to do in Bartolo?”