Page 121

She stepped aside as he turned and went back down the hill.

One down.

She stepped off the path as the scout in front of Rogers turned and saw him leaving.

“Hey, where’re you going?”

“Home.” Rogers waved without turning and disappeared into the darkness.

“What . . . ?” The soldier moved down the path to follow after him, and Ava stepped behind him and slit his throat.

It was the first actual person she’d killed with her own hands.

She felt sick, and she was already not well from the exertion. She bent over and retched, her skin clammy.

She had no time for this.

She straightened and started up the path again, then heard the sound of someone gasp in surprise up ahead and then the death rattle as they were stabbed in the chest.

Luc.

Working his way back through the scouts to her.

“I’m all right, I went back for the flares,” she said into the darkness.

“Ava.” He sounded at his wit’s end.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to leave them.” She pulled her scarf away, and felt invisible arms go around her.

“There were two others, but I sent one home and killed one,” she whispered in his ear.

His hold tightened at the word ‘kill’ and then he let her go.

“Let’s go help Oscar and Deni.” She couldn’t see him, but she knew from his tone he had turned back to look at her. “Stay behind me this time.”

She didn’t answer, except to pull her scarf back on.

He wanted to go faster, she could tell, but there was no way she could push herself any more.

She stepped around each of the bodies of the three scouts he’d killed, and then stopped.

“Go ahead. There’s no one left to hurt me back here. I’ll catch you up.” Oscar and Deni needed him more than she did right now. “Go.”

He made a sound of frustration and then he went, she could hear him running along the path.

This would be the first nest they would clear without help from her, and she pushed herself a little faster.

When she reached the top, she slowed to a stop and tried not to make a single sound.

Three Kassian soldiers lay dead and a fourth held a glass flare canister in his hand.

“It’s over,” Luc said to him. “We’ve taken all the cannons. You are the only one left.”

“Then I’m dead, whether I let this go or not. I’m the officer in charge of this whole operation, so there is no way this will go well for me. At least this death will be a lot quicker than if my general gets hold of me. That’s if you don’t torture me for information and then kill me, first.” The officer lifted his arm. “I don’t know what went wrong with this operation, but people were deserting or obstructing the mission from the moment we got here.”

Ava pulled off her scarf. “Stop.”

He stopped, hand still raised. Stared at her in the low firelight. “Where did you come from? Wait, are you . . .?” He leaned closer.