Page 118 of Scorched Earth

“I hope you’re right.” Bait exhaled between his teeth. “But regardless, the Cel’s hold on Arinoquia has only strengthened.”

“Which legion has joined them?” Agrippa demanded.

“A young one,” Bait said. “But there are rumors that before he was killed, Legatus Titus of the Forty-First negotiated an alliance with Queen Erdene of Katamarca, who seems to be of a mind to get on the Empire’s good side.”

“Smart in the short term,” Agrippa muttered. “But it won’t save her in the end.”

Lydia rounded on Captain Vane, not interested in alliances. “Why did you call Teriana a traitor?”

“Because she gave the legions information of where they might find terminuses in Gamdesh,” he answered. “Kaira cracked open the structure encasing the one in Emrant, and it’s full of dead path-hunters. If the Empire gains control of Emrant, the legions will spill forth from that stem in a tide as dangerous as the blight.”

Lydia’s skin abruptly began to crawl, and her eyes shot to Killian, who gave a tight nod. This was the threat that he’d sensed; it could be no other.

“Teriana didn’t have a choice!” Bait’s hands balled into fists. “Cassius has our people locked up, and she’s trying to get them free. It’s not her fault the Senate didn’t think the paths she found weregood enough.She’s trying to save Maarin lives. You know that it is so from her own hand.” Yanking a stained piece of paper from his pocket, Bait shoved it at Killian. “She wrote this to you. TheKairensemight be here for Malahi, but I’m here for you.”

Killian unfolded the page, but he said nothing as he read.

“I know Teriana’s justifications but also that the price the West will pay for them is too high!” The captain slammed his hands down on the table. “We’ve argued this before, Bait, and I’ll not waste breath on it now. The shifter Astara communicated the decision the West has made, and Teriana responded with threats! And I, for one, think there’s a reason why she’s not even attempted to contact Magnius since her return. That she chose to write a letter to Lord Calorian rather than face the judgment of her own people.”

Killian was still staring at the page, his jaw tight, but he said nothing of the contents.

“Just what are you implying, Captain?” Lydia couldn’t keep the acid from her voice. “Because if it’s that you believe Teriana is willingly aiding the Cel, you arewrong. She’d never betray her people like that.Never.”

“Lydia…” Killian handed her the page, which was water stained and appeared to have been unfolded and refolded many times. It also bore Teriana’s familiar delicate handwriting.

Killian,

I won’t waste time on preamble, because I suspect you are well informed on recent events. I know the situation in Mudamora is dire, but I desperately need your help. Five hundred Maarin souls remained imprisoned in the worst of circumstances, and if I don’t give the Empire what they want, less than six months from now, they will begin executing them. One hundred souls for every month of delay. I’ve appealed for help from the Arinoquians, the Gamdeshians, and from my own people, but everyone has declined. They see the five hundred as casualties of war, but Irefuse to give up on them. I know you have influence with the Gamdeshians. If you are able, please speak to them and see if they will see reason. Otherwise I fear what lengths I will have to go to to free my people, because I will not accept their deaths as certain.

All my love,

Teriana

Emotion overwhelmed her, and Lydia didn’t argue as Agrippa plucked the letter from her hand. Through the lines on the page, she had felt her friend’s fear and desperation, especially knowing Teriana stood alone. “How can you read this and think that these are the words of a traitor?” she hissed. “Teriana isn’t motivated by lust! She’s trying to save five hundred lives, andno oneis helping her!”

“A loss that we, as a people, have agreed to accept,” Vane snapped. “Do you think we don’t grieve it? That we don’t hate the Empire for its evil? But to save them would mean setting the legions loose on Gamdesh, and you of all people, Lydia Valerius, know the cost of that. Thousands will die. Tens of thousands. And if the Empire is victorious, every nation will be enslaved to the Senate. Yet Teriana spits in the face of the desires of the Gamdeshians and the Maarin to pursue her own ends—it’s treason. She needs to be stopped, permanently, if needs be, because she’s a tool for the Cel. They control her.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Teriana is young!” Vane crossed his arms. “And young people do foolish things when they are enamored. It may be as you say”—his eyes flicked to Agrippa—“and the Thirty-Seventh’s legatus wouldnot break legion laws. Yet I doubt it’s beneath him to use charm and good looks to his advantage. Who is to say that he has not played her like a fiddle on the orders of the Senate, filling her with the idea that she will be the savior of her people if she does this.”

“He wouldn’t…” Agrippa shook his head. “I don’t know if he’d agree to it or not, but I can tell you that Marcus can lie through his teeth with no one the wiser. He is as much a politician as he is a commander, and if he thought pulling the heartstrings of a girl would get him what he wanted without casualties…” He turned away. “If he’s willing to do that then I’m not sure how well I can claim to know him anymore.”

Bait looked ready to be sick, and Lydia’s temper snapped. “Everyone can quit acting as though she’s some brainless twit to be manipulated by a pretty face. Teriana is not that easily fooled. If she’s aiding them, it’sonlyto free her people, because what I do believe is that she’s not willing to sacrifice the lives of the few to avoid risking the many.” Catching hold of Bait’s arm, she squeezed tightly. “She’s a gambler. I’d bet my life that she’s willing to go to the brink to save those imprisoned on the belief that a united West has the power to force them back.”

“Which we would,” Malahi said quietly, “if not for the fact that the Northern Continent is fighting its own war. Teriana may not know how dire our situation is and may be making decisions on the belief that Mudamora will sail to Gamdesh’s aid, for we have long been allies. If she’s guilty of anything, I suspect it’s that she’s had information kept from her that might cause her to alter her course. Efforts should be made to get this information in her hands.”

“Is it possible to speak to her, Bait?” Killian asked. “For one, I’d like to hear from Teriana’s own mouth the full truth about both her actions and intentions before jumping toanyconclusions, but I also think it’s important to make certain that she knowsallthe information, including certain facts about her captor.”

“I can try,” Bait said. “If it’s anything like before, she’s with him at all times, always under guard. Astara is the name of the shifter who keeps an eye on the legions. She can take on the shape of a hawk, so she was able to speak to Teriana once in the middle of the night. She might help me get in.”

“If maintaining Teriana’s value as an asset requires keeping her in the dark, they’ll make sure that no one gets near her,” Agrippa said from where he was now sitting on a chair in the corner. “You try to sneak past, they’ll catch you and kill you. Better to get this bird to drop her a note.”

“They aren’t half as clever as they think,” Bait retorted. “I’ll just watch for the right opportunity.”

Agrippa rolled his eyes skyward. “Your funeral. Oh wait, there won’t be one, because they’ll dump your body where it will never be found.”

Bait’s hands balled into fists, but Lydia tightened her grip on his arm. “Maybe a message. Or paying off someone they trust near her. Either way, I think you need to try.”