Page 106 of War

“Once you find your sister and her family, give them no more than ten minutes to pack up the essentials—think food and water and blankets. Then get them to the docks.” I take a deep breath. “They’ll need to take your brother-in-law’s boat and sail as far away from here as they can—and they’ll need to stay away.” Even once the battle is over, there will be zombies prowling about for who knows how long—maybe indefinitely. If Zara’s family returns, they will die.

“Oh,” I add, “and don’t give anyone reason to attack you.”

In Ashdod, I saw soldiers turn on each other for no reason at all. There’s no true loyalty out there, and the horseman doesn’t much care if his ranks are culled; there are always more people willing to be recruited.

Zara nods, pulling me in for another hug. “Thank you, Miriam. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t die,” I warn her, hugging her back.

“I don’t plan on it.”

I pick upmy horse, and just as planned, I covertly hand the reins over to Zara. If this were a normal army, I would never be able to get away with this half-baked plan. But in War’s ever changing army, we’re used to not recognizing the soldiers that fight alongside us.

“Is there a place I should meet you?” I ask Zara. “You know, if you need help or things don’t go according to plan?”

She hesitates, I’m sure because she doesn’t want to think about things not going according to plan. But then she nods. “My family lives on the west end of the city, near the docks. There’s a cluster of palm trees near the beach …” Her voice trails away and I can tell that she herself is having trouble remembering what the place looked like.

“I’ll try to find you, though we’ll probably miss each other.”

A nearby soldier whistles in our direction, motioning with his hand for Zara to join the other mounted soldiers.

With a parting smile, she pulls herself onto the horse and steers the creature near the others.

Adrenaline spikes in my system. I hope this works.

“There you are,” a voice says behind me.

I turn around and meet the gaze of Hussain, one of War’s phobos riders. He’s laden with weaponry.

“War is looking for you; you weren’t in your tent this morning.” It stops just short of an accusation, so I don’t bother explaining myself. Hussain nods back towards camp. “This way. The warlord will want to see you before he rides.”

He leads me back towards the horseman’s tent. Just outside of it, the torchlight illuminates War as he checks his steed’s bridle.

Deimos, I’ve learned, doesn’t stay with the other horses. He’s far too temperamental for that. He’s either stabled separately, or he roams freely.

The horseman glances up, and the moment his eyes lock on mine, he seems to relax. He leaves his horse, closing the distance between us and taking my mouth in his.

I raise my eyebrows, even as I return the kiss. This is what we agreed to—intimacy—I just hadn’t expected it to move to public displays, but of course it does. The horseman is fine with people knowing what I mean to him. It’s me that takes issue.

After he breaks away, he touches my bow. “I see you found my gift.”

Gifts and kisses. What the fuck am I doing with this man?

“And your horse?” he asks, glancing over my shoulder.

“I’m going to enter the city on foot.”

War narrows his eyes, and for one nerve-wracking moment, I’m sure he knows I claimed a horse earlier.

Instead, he clasps the back of my neck. “Stay safe, wife—and try not to be too meddlesome.”

He gives me another quick kiss, and then he’s striding back to his blood-red horse.

I watch him mount, the horseman looking like some savage conqueror from a bygone era, his giant sword strapped to his back, his leather armor groaning with his movements.

Giving me a final, long look, he kicks Deimos’s sides and rides away, towards the waiting procession of soldiers. I follow slower, and by the time I get to the group, they’re already starting to move.

And so begins my second invasion.