“Don’t let them intimidate you,” she said under her breath.
Too late.
When they reached us, they saluted the lieutenant.
“At ease, Sergeants,” she said.
They dropped their hands, but their tight postures were far from relaxed. All wore their hair buzzed short, even the women. All glared at me. And their nonverbal message was clear. Go away, stranger. You don’t belong here.
I fought my desire to step back, reminding myself that I’d faced down Kerrick. But there were five of them. Kill. Me. Now.
Thea introduced me. “Sergeant Irina, this is Sergeants Liv, Ursan, Odd, Saul and Wynn.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
They remained silent and unfriendly.
Thea’s voice took on her no-nonsense tone. “Major Granvil has assigned Sergeant Irina to our platoon to help with our special operations training.”
“We don’t need help,” Sergeant Ursan said.
His named sounded familiar—something about jumping jacks.
“That’s not your decision, Sergeant. It’s the major’s,” Thea said. “Your squad will be the first to start the training.”
Wrong move. Yes, she was his commanding officer, and he’d obey her orders, but his whole demeanor shouted I’d get more cooperation from Tohon’s dead. I had to get all the sergeants on board or the lessons with their squads would be a frustrating and fruitless waste of everyone’s time.
“Sergeant Ursan, you said your squad doesn’t need help. Is that correct?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then how about we work out a deal?”
A flash of interest sparked in his brown eyes.
“How about you give me the opportunity to prove to the five of you that I know something worth learning?”
“And in exchange?”
“Full cooperation.”
He glanced at the other sergeants. They nodded.
“Agreed,” Ursan said.
We shook hands.
“When would be a good time?” I asked Thea.
“Now. And I’ll be observing.”
“Great.” I scanned the area. “Is there a section of the forest reserved for training and free of Death Lilys?”
“Yes,” Ursan said. “Do we need any weapons?”
“No. But you’ll need your shirts.”
He paused for a moment and shot me a look. I wasn’t sure what he thought, but I knew he was intrigued despite himself. Good.
They collected their uniforms. Instead of strapping on their swords, they just tucked their utility knives into their belts. Thea pulled Ursan aside and said something to him. He nodded but kept his gaze on me.
We headed to the woods north of Zabin. Familiar territory for me as I had bypassed the city through this area a few weeks ago.
When we reached the edge of the forest, I turned to the five sergeants. “We’re going to play a game of hide-and-seek. You hide and I’ll seek. Standard rules apply.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling at their outraged expressions that clearly said, grown-ups don’t play kids’ games.
Thea’s voice remained emotionless when she said, “Sergeant Irina, please go over the rules with them. I’m sure it’s been … a while since they’ve engaged in this activity.”
“Of course. I count to a hundred while you go hide in the woods. You can only stay in one hiding spot for thirty minutes before you need to find another. You can move at any time and, if you hear me approach, feel free to change positions. If I find you all, I win. If I don’t find you all by sunset, you win. Any questions?”
Everyone glanced at the sky. We had about two hours until sunset.
“Sounds pretty straightforward,” Thea said. “Let the game begin.”
They grumbled but trudged into the woods as I turned my back on them and counted.
When I reached one hundred, I yelled, “Ready or not, here I come.”
Thea stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t worry, Lieutenant.” I saluted her before entering the lush greenery.
I drew in a deep breath. Oh, yes. The Queen Seeker was back!
I stepped into the shadowy half-light. Streams of sunlight cut through the forest canopy. Without thought, I touched the leafy branch of a bush, seeking Kerrick’s magic. Disappointment stabbed deep.
Moving without matching the forest’s song, I crunched deeper into the underbrush. When I’d gone about a hundred paces, I stopped.
“Okay, Sergeants,” I shouted to the surrounding trees. “You’ve heard me tromping around. Now I’m going to go silent.”
I concentrated, listening to the sounds. An off note came from my right. I headed in that direction and surprised Sergeant Liv. After that, it didn’t take me long to find Odd, Saul and Wynn. Not that I was bragging, but if I could locate Belen, Quain and Loren, who’d all had training, I could find these sergeants who hadn’t.
Ursan proved to be harder to find. He possessed some skill, and I had to wait until he moved to another hiding spot to discern his general location. Once there, I lost him again. I made a few loops until I remembered what Kerrick had done to throw me literally off his scent.
I returned to the original place I’d zeroed in on. Then I looked up, spotting the sergeant sitting on the tree’s lowest branch. Ursan jumped off and landed next to me. His expression unreadable.
Before I could say found you, he stepped close to me. Now he let his anger show along with the blade in his hand. How did I miss that?
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
KERRICK
Kerrick offered the hilt of his sword to Cellina. From atop her horse, she met his gaze. If she signaled the pack of six dead ufas behind him, he would be torn apart.
“Take it,” he repeated.
“No. You’re going to need it.” Cellina whistled.
The high-pitched sound pierced his heart, releasing a surge of fear-fueled energy. Grabbing the hilt of
