Page 273 of Scorched Earth

“If he’s still trying to capture Lydia, I need to know.” There was a hint of anger in Killian’s voice. “Don’t let your loyalties sway now.”

“They haven’t swayed.” Agrippa dismounted in front of Dareena’s tent, then helped Malahi off her horse. “Cassius wants Lydia dead. The Corrupter wants Lydia dead. And Marcus… I think part of him wants to blame you for him losing Teriana, so he doesn’t have to come to terms with it being his fault.” He was quiet for a minute. “He said he loved her, and the Six as my witness, I think he was telling the truth.”

Lydia slid off the side of her own horse, handing Gwen the reins. “Despite what she’s done?”

“Who can say? But what I do know is that Teriana was right that the Thirty-Seventh is the hill that he’s going to die on. This is no longer about conquest, it’s about survival, and if it is between us and them, he’ll strip us of every mouthful of food we have with no regrets.”

“Then we need to move against Deadground tonight.” Lydia took Killian’s arm as they entered the tent. “Before he moves against us and we lose our chance.”

The four of them encircled the table with the map Astara had provided of Rufina’s camp, complete with pools of blight. “Our only choice is to throw everything we have at fighting through the blighters and corrupted to reach the xenthier stem,” Agrippa said. “We do it knowing that many will subsequently die of blight poisoning, but if we can destroy it, we give all the civilians a chance to survive after the legions strip them of everything.”

The tent flaps opened, and Dareena appeared. “I wish I had better news,” she said. “But the blight has breached our lines at multiplepoints and is spreading south at speed. The dogs scenting the paths beneath the ground show that it is flowing southeast and southwest, suggesting that Rufina is routing it around the Cel army, but I have no doubt that Serlania is her goal.”

Sickness pooled in Lydia’s stomach. They were out of time.

“So far no one has presented as infected,” Dareena said. “But I’m going to do rounds with Killian’s dog myself. It’s better than sitting. I can’t sit anymore.”

Her aunt twisted on her heel and left, leaving a trail of frustration and helplessness in her wake.

No one spoke, the weight of what was to come pressing down and down.

Lena stepped into the tent. “The Cel have sent a messenger,” she said. “He said they want to talk terms.”

“You mean surrender?” Agrippa demanded. “I already told him no!”

Lydia met Malahi’s gaze. “You might be able to destroy it without me. If it’s still me the Cel want, it might be that handing me over gains you the time you need.”

“No,” Killian snapped. “I’ll not hand you over.”

But Malahi gave a tight nod. For the sake of Reath, they’d both make this sacrifice, but Lydia could not deny the fear in her heart.

“Send the messenger in,” Lydia forced herself to say. “Let’s hear what he has to say.”

Lena disappeared, and Lydia turned her back on the entrance, drawing in breath after breath to compose herself, to control the fear rising in her chest as her demons approached. “I’ll talk to him, if you want. You don’t have to do this,” Malahi said softly, but Lydia shook her head. “I can do it.”

She heard footsteps, the rustle of tent canvas, and then Agrippa hissed between his teeth, “Oh fuck me, you have bigger balls than I thought.”

Dread pooling in her stomach, Lydia slowly turned and found herself staring into familiar blue-grey eyes.

Legatus Marcus inclined his head. “It’s been a long time, Lydia.”

In a flash of motion, Killian moved, the tip of his sword stopping just shy of Marcus’s throat.

Marcus did not so much as flinch, only said, “Careful, Calorian. While I understand that cutting my jugular might provide a certain pleasure, the consequences of your impulsivity would cause you to regret the action sooner rather than later.”

“I’ve never had cause to regret cutting off a snake’s head.” Killian’stone was murderous, and though Lydia knew she needed to take control of this situation, she couldn’t move. Couldn’t get past the fear that was drowning her like Marcus had once tried to drown her in the bath.

“Ah, but this snake is more of a hydra. Cut off this head and you’ll only have a dozen more with equally sharp teeth looking to bite. Or, if you require clearer speech, there are a dozen men in my camp with the training and experience to take over my role. The change in command will happen without hesitation, offering you no opportunity to take advantage of chaos brought by men jockeying for position.”

“You think your death won’t matter?”

“On the contrary, I think it will matter a great deal. Rather than thousands of men amenable to negotiation, you will have thousands of men looking for revenge. But you hold the sword, Calorian. The choice is yours but make it quick. Time is short.”

Killian lowered his sword, though he didn’t sheathe it.

“Why are you here?” Lydia finally managed to make her tongue unfreeze, but her whole body still felt like ice.

“To talk about our mutual problem.”