Page 117 of Scorched Earth

“The blight spread swiftly and poisoned many rivers.” Bait pursed his lips, clearly hating to be the bearer of the news. “Thousands perished only to rise again as the Corrupter’s puppets. And even knowing the risk, many refuse to flee south because they don’t wish to abandon their holdings, so with each passing day, Rufina’s army grows.”

“The gods have mercy,” Baird growled. “That woman’s villainy knows no bounds.”

Lydia’s hands were cold as ice. “What are Dareena and the other high lords doing to fight back?”

“They are trying to force civilians to evacuate south with promises they’ll be cared for, and Dareena is marshaling the Mudamorian army to create a front to hold the blighters as far north as possible.” Bait sighed. “But my information is a fortnight old. Come aboard, and I’ll tell you what all we know away from listening ears.”

The group climbed the narrow gangplank onto theKairense, Lydia’s nose filling with the familiar scent of tar and brine. The deck boards creaked beneath Baird’s weight, audible because all of the crew were silently watching them, their anxiousness palpable. Even after this ship had plucked her and Dareena from disaster in Mudaire, the Maarin had been bright and carefree, but that was gone now.

More had changed than just the spread of the blight, and nerves turned Lydia’s stomach sick with nausea as Bait led her past coils of rope and barrels of supplies. “What of Teriana,” she made herself ask him. “Have you had word of her?”

“Yes.” He spoke under his breath. “But best not to mention her name until we’re alone.”

Her heart leapt into a gallop, but Lydia bit her tongue to stay silent. The captain, whose name she recalled was Vane, gave a tight nod to Bait and then began shouting orders to his crew to finish their business, for the ship was leavingnow.

Bait waited until everyone was inside the captain’s quarters, then shut the door firmly behind himself. “After we spoke in Mudaire, Lydia, I journeyed to Arinoquia to tell Teriana that you were alive and what had happened to you. But when I arrived, she was missing.” Bait’s throat moved as he swallowed. “Missing withhim.”

There was only onehim, but Lydia said, “Marcus, you mean?”

Agrippa stepped closer, expression intent.

Bait grimaced. “Yes. His legion was in a frenzy trying to find them, and I ventured back to Revat to see if maybe she’d somehow escaped, but the Gamdeshians had heard nothing. I waited for weeks upon weeks for news, going back and forth between Revat and Taltuga, only for a ship full of my people who’d been imprisoned in Celendrial to arrive. They told us that Teriana had been in Celendrial and negotiated with Cassius for the release of a hundred prisoners.”

In exchange for what?Lydia wondered, but stayed silent.

“Not long after, the Gamdeshians learned that the Thirty-Seventh’s legatus had returned to Aracam, and on his heels, Teriana arrived with another legion. The story Kaira’s shifter spy heard was that they were separated from his men in the inlands of Arinoquia and came under attack. They escaped by way of a xenthier stem that apparently delivered them somewhere back East, and they were able to get back to Arinoquia through a stem originating in—”

“Bardeen,” Agrippa finished. “Shit. So they’ve mapped paths, then?”

“Who are you?” Bait’s eyes darkened to a deep grey, waves rolling violently across them and betraying his unease.

“Legion deserter,” Lydia answered. “Former Thirty-Seventh.”

“I’m not—” Agrippa started to say, then he sighed. “Well, I suppose I am at this point, given I’m not going back.” Malahi touched his arm, and Agrippa’s eyes flicked to the queen, something unspoken passing between them before he said, “There’s a genesis within spitting distance of Hydrilla fortress in Bardeen that crosses to the inlands of Arinoquia. I was half dead when I crossed, but the inlanders took it upon themselves to heal me up. I took a liking to them, so I warned them to make short work of anyone who ever came through that stem. They’ve shifters aplenty among them, so they were well equipped for the job, though from what you’re saying, they got lax and it’s costing them.”

Bait was quiet for a long moment, then he shook his head. “The stories are conflicting. There were a lot of accusations in the legions that he deserted.”

Agrippa laughed. “Marcus would cut out his own heart and eat it for lunch before he deserted. That’s bullshit.”

“Why would they think Marcus deserted?” Lydia asked, something in Bait’s expression suggesting there was more to this than he’d admitted. “And why was it that only the two of them were caught alone?”

Captain Vane walked in right in the middle of Lydia asking the question, slamming the door behind him. “Because it’s rumored that the legatus of the Thirty-Seventh has taken Teriana as his lover. She’s a traitor.”

The blood drained from Lydia’s face even as Agrippa burst into laughter. Pounding the table with his fist, he said through guffaws, “Not a chance. Please, allow me to put these rumors to rest, because there is not achancethat Marcus has taken a lover, much less taken hisprisoneras a lover. You will never meet a man more enamored with rules than him, and relationships with anyone outside the legion are forbidden. I don’t care if this girl is the most beautiful thing to ever walk Reath; even if he took the time out of his busy schedule to notice, he’d not act on it. If Marcus is keeping Teriana close, it’s likely only that he’s trying to dissuade anyone else from taking a crack at her.”

Bait shifted restlessly. “It’s what everyone says. That’s why they were caught alone.”

Agrippa made a face, then waved a dismissive hand. “Marcus always wanders off alone, especially if he’s brooding about something that displeases him. Was the bane of my gods-damned existence when his safety was my responsibility because he had a habit of strolling about enemy territory as though he were invincible. He probably wanted some information out of her that he didn’t want prying ears to overhear, and whatever jackass has my job is doing a piss-poor job of minding him.”

Agrippa’s words were noise in Lydia’s ears.

Lover.

Traitor.

No. There was no chance that Teriana would want anything to do with a Cel legatus, especially given that he’d…

Lydia struggled to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat as she realized that Teriana still had no idea what Marcus had done on Lucius’s orders.