Chapter 9
With Lambda needing an extra day of rest, Vallie worked on her bearings. As far as she could tell, Balaur was northwest of where they were currently hunkered down, probably about a day and a half walk.
The land wasn’t too bad. Some of the trees were beginning to leaf out which gave them more cover. It was a bit rocky, but Vallie had strong, thick boots. She could handle this kind of terrain.
“I think we should try to cover as much distance as possible during dawn and dusk,” Vallie said, handing Lambda a canteen. “Walking all day is asking to be found. When Tella ran away, it was midwinter. The light is much better now. I don’t know what sort of patrols they have, but in the daylight, they’d find us in a heartbeat.”
“We can walk at night, if you want,” Lambda offered.
“Too dangerous. The dragons could sneak up on us. We’d never see them coming.” She slunk to a seat beside him. Lambda was now sitting but had yet to stand for more than a couple seconds.
“Uh, Vallie. I can see in the dark. They wouldn’t sneak up on us. Even if they were somehow hidden, I’d smell them from a mile away.”
“Do you know what dragons smell like?”
“Not human. Not wolf. Probably similar to the lizards that live near the ponds in the woods.” He took a swig from the canteen, then passed it to her.
“You go around smelling lizards?”
“I don’t go around smelling anything. It’s kind of like seeing for me. Or feeling the wind on my face. I can’t stop it. The scents are always there.”
“Hm. What do you smell right now?”
Lambda grinned. “You mostly. Uh…” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “There are some rodents living in the tree trunk behind you. A few squirrels nearby. Some birds. Nothing bigger. No deer or bears or dragons within a mile of us.”
“So, you’ll be able to smell the dragons. But they’ll probably be able to smell you too, right?”
“Probably.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t come into the keep,” she said slowly. “There are tons of humans there. I won’t smell funky walking around. But you’ll be like an announcement that something is off.”
Lambda shook his head. “I’m not letting you go in there alone. I can disguise my scent when we get closer.”
“How?”
“Cover myself in something really pungent. Like pond scum.”
Vallie wrinkled her nose. “Am I going to have to walk next to you smelling like pond scum on the way home?”
“You’re probably going to have to run next to me, if we’re being honest. I don’t think we’ll be sauntering on the way back.”
Vallie nodded. Honestly, she hadn’t thought much about the return journey. Only getting to Verona, getting her out of Balaur. The space between Balaur and the wall, well. She’d have to think on her feet when it came to it. Whether they’d be running, or not making the journey at all.
“You’re fast, right?” she asked. He nodded. “Ok. Once we get Verona, you’re going to run with her. As fast as you can. Get her to the wall.”
“I will grab her, carry her, get her to the wall, but I’m not leaving you behind.”
“But if I tell you to run, I want you to,” she countered. “I’ll find you.”
“No,” he answered sternly. “If I tell you to run, to take your sister and run like hell back to the wall, you will. And I will find you. If I can.” He paused. “Let’s call this what it is. There’s a good chance one of us isn’t making it back. Maybe both of us. But, if it’s one, it’s me. You will make it back. You’ll live in Luven with your sister, and you’ll have a nice, quiet life without dragons or hunger or living in falling down buildings. You have to promise me, that you won’t do anything that will get you killed. Because you could go on after me. I won’t without you.”
“Lambda,” she began.
“No. That’s it. I don’t have your promise, the second I can walk, I’ll be throwing you over my shoulder and tossing your ass over the wall. You are not sacrificing yourself over this.” Vallie stiffened at the thought of him throwing her over his shoulder…the feel of his hands gripping her thighs while she fought…she shook her head. She wasn’t giving in that easy.
“But you’re allowed to sacrifice yourself? That doesn’t seem fair,” she shot back.
“Tough shit. You are too important. Got it?”
“Got it,” she grumbled. “This would be romantic if it wasn’t so damn annoying.”
Lambda settled against the tree and shut his eyes. “I don’t think I’m very romantic. I’ve known you for over a day and I haven’t given you a single flower, made you a meal, or even kissed you.”
“We’ve been busy.”
Vallie looked over at Lambda. He looked peaceful, with his eyes closed, the spring sunshine dappling through the trees to fall over his face. His arms were arranged over his chest, his legs stretched out. If they weren’t on the edge of dragon territory with an impending siege, it would have been a perfect afternoon.
She wondered what it might be like to reach out and touch his face.
Elias.
She shrunk back.
Elias was dead. He’d been dead for eight years. There was no use in Vallie mourning him all over again. She’d spent her first year in Balaur crying every day, picturing his last moments and how she could have acted differently. If she had turned herself over to the dragons immediately, not tried to fight…if they had spared him.
But after a year of mourning, Vallie shook off her grief. She thanked Poval for allowing them time together. Even if it had been short. Even if they hadn’t had a child.
Even if watching him die had been the worst thing Vallie ever experienced. Worse than eight years with the dragons, worse than her broken ankle the third year in Balaur. Worse than watching her mother slowly fade into the afterworld.
“Is something wrong?” Lambda asked, his eyes open and concerned.
“No, why?” she answered quickly. Too quickly to avoid suspicion.
“You smell upset. You don’t have to tell me everything that’s going on in your brain. But, if I can help, let me know.”
She shook her head. “I was thinking about the past. But that’s where it belongs. I need to stay focused on right now.”
“If you change your mind, I want you to know you can tell me anything.”
Vallie nodded.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want Lambda to know about Elias. She had no problem having a past and was sure he had one as well. But going down that path, opening those wounds, with such an important task at hand, would do nothing but distract her. She owed it to herself and Verona to keep focused.
Plus, while Vallie saw nothing wrong with her past, wolves as a species came across as very possessive. The last thing she needed was Lambda to fly into a fit of jealousy when she needed his mind sharp.
“I’m fine, I promise. I can’t wait to show Verona Luven. She’s going to freak that such an advanced city exists so close to Balaur and Maidenhead.”
Lambda looked at her, his eyes soft. “I’m glad we’re getting your sister out. It’ll be nice to have some family in Luven.”
Vallie couldn’t stop her lips from parting slightly.
Hell. He already saw Verona as family. This had to be too good to be true.