Page 87

Dak had been teasing him, but Ava thought of the hyper-aggressions and chest thumping that went on in the Kassian fortress where she’d been held for two years. Luc was stronger than any of them.

As she watched them ride toward the head of the column, she thought about the problem of the Kassian attack points Dak had pointed to on the map, and the scouts who would be sent to watch for any sign of Kassian movement.

She could help.

She would just need to find the best way to do it. And the least obvious.

Chapter 27

Luc found Ava after the columns had ground to a halt for the evening, in the back of the store master’s cart.

He had received a request earlier for permission to allow her access to the stores, and he had given it, even though Rustef, the store master’s clerk, had seemed disapproving when he had waved him away with an ‘anything Ava wants’.

She was sitting beside two lit lamps, head bent over her work, humming.

Pearl, the store master, watched her from her seat on a wooden bench, chewing on a piece of dried meat. Rustef was nowhere to be seen.

Luc reached up to grab the side of the cart and haul himself inside, but Pearl caught his eye and shook her head. She moved toward him quietly, and dropped down to the ground beside him.

“Wait until she’s finished.” Her voice was hushed.

Luc stared at her, because Pearl usually had no time for anything except buying more stock and bulk bargains.

She must have realized how out of character it was, because she shrugged. “I’m not one to coddle, but that girl is a master at her craft. And while maybe I think it’s a waste of her time to spend so much effort on items that’ll just get bloody and torn, it’s her time to waste, isn’t it?”

“What is she doing?”

It was Pearl’s turn to stare at him. “Didn’t Rustef come to you and ask if she had permission? He was certainly grumpy enough when he came back.”

“He asked if she could have full access to the stores. I told him yes.”

Pearl’s face went smooth and blank, and Luc wondered if Rustef would be looking for a new job come tomorrow.

“That wasn’t what was being asked. She asked whether I would let her work some designs into the padding the scouts wear when they go out on patrol.”

“He asked for a lot more than that, hoping I’d say no.” Luc was happy for Pearl to do as she wanted with him.

“She asked politely. Didn’t assume I’d say yes, even though I know she’s your lady.” Pearl turned back to look at her, and Luc did the same.

The lamp light illuminated her cheekbones and the curve of her brows. Her hair was growing out, but it was still short from when it had been chopped off by her captors.

She was caught in her own world, unaware of anything around her as her needle flashed in and out.

“This is what she’s already done.” Pearl leaned into the cart and took out one of the vests. It was constructed to be sleeveless, with ties on the sides to secure it in place. It was made from a layer of silk, a thick layer of felted wool and then another layer of silk. It didn’t stop an arrow or a sword, but it helped the wearer survive longer, even if just to get to a healer in time.

Luc held it in both hands, and had to angle the fabric toward the lamp light to see.

Ava had used thread that was a similar color to the raw silk, a pale yellow, and down one side of the vest she had embroidered a soldier holding up a shield to a field of arrows flying toward her. On the other side was a soldier blocking a sword blow with a sword of his own. Along the edges, he recognized patterns from the wall hangings from his village hall before the Kassian had raided them and taken him away.

Cervantes heritage.

Pearl traced the edge with a finger. “She spent the morning talking to Kali and others about our ways, and then she came and incorporated them into the protective vests.”

Now Luc knew why his taciturn stores master was letting his lover have everything she needed. Pearl had joined the Rising Wave, left her people, because she wanted to personally have helped bring down the Kassian for what they had done to the Cervantes. The stealing of an entire generation, the loss that meant to the traditions and history of their people.

And Ava was trying to work a little of that back into their lives. As well as work some magic into it, too.

The humming stopped, and Ava looked up at him, then rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Time for dinner?”