Chapter Eighteen
It was three and a half more days before they made it to the border. There wasn’t really anything to see, no landmark to make it clear, but the shepherdess and Gunnald seemed to agree that they’d found the right spot.
Halfway, Finnvid told himself. More than half, really, because the Elkati territory wasn’t as large as Windthorn’s, so walking to its center wasn’t such a trek.
It was still a long way, though, and even with the addition of the fat cakes, Finnvid was tired. Then he caught a few snippets of the conversation among Zenain, Ekakios, and Gunnald and realized he had more important things to worry about.
“My orders have been clear from the start,” Zenain said firmly. “We are to escort the Elkati prince all the way home.”
“You want us to go uninvited into Elkati territory?” Ekakios grinned in true Sacrati fashion. “That might make this trip a little more interesting than it’s been so far.”
“We do not require an escort,” Gunnald said icily. “We appreciate your efforts, but do not need you anymore.”
“You’re ready to carry all your own gear?” Zenain asked. “Because you’ve barely been keeping up with us as it is.”
“We won’t need to keep up with you once you’re walking in the opposite direction.”
“You’ll still want to move as quickly as you can, though. We’ve been lucky with the weather so far, but you can’t count on that to continue. For maximum safety, you need to get your prince and yourselves back down in your valley, in out of the cold, as soon as possible. Right?”
Gunnald scowled. Finnvid eased into the conversation, and made his voice as mild and inoffensive as he could. “It would be problematic for foreign troops to trespass on Elkati soil without permission.”
“I agree, Prince Finnvid. It is not our intention to trespass. We were expecting to be invited. I’m sure you can understand how interested we are in seeing you home safely.
Not only for your own sake, but for the sake of the peace between our two valleys.
It is our fault that you did not make it home before the snow fell, so it is our responsibility to see the situation rectified now. ”
It was a nice speech, one that felt carefully practiced.
Finnvid tried to think it through. Bringing the Torian soldiers onto Elkat soil—was that dangerous?
There weren’t enough of them, even with Sacrati among their number, to pose a threat to the full Elkati army.
The visit would give the Torians an opportunity to spy a little, just as Finnvid had done in Windthorn, but that might not be a bad thing.
Let them notice the progress Elkat had made in arming itself, and hear about the many allied troops prepared to join them.
Elkat was not a ripe berry to be plucked effortlessly from a thornless bush.
Not anymore. And the Torians should have the chance to see that firsthand.
“I would appreciate your continued assistance,” Finnvid said at last. He hoped he was doing the right thing. “We can offer you hospitality when we arrive, a chance to restock your supplies as needed.”
Zenain’s evident triumph made Finnvid question his decision immediately, but it was too late to change his mind without seeming weak. So he smiled apologetically at Gunnald; it was all he could do.
The Torians took a few moments to reorganize; Finnvid heard groans and discontent from the regular soldiers, but nothing from the Sacrati. Apparently they were too stoic to be upset by an extended mission.
He watched as the men set off toward the Elkati side of the border, then frowned as he saw the young shepherdess heading in the opposite direction. He stepped forward without thinking, and it was mostly coincidence that the nearest Torian was Theos. “She’s going home? Alone?”
Theos didn’t seem alarmed. “She spends most of her summer in these mountains alone. It’s no different in the winter, is it? Less chance of human trouble, at least.”
“But it’s not safe!”
“The biggest risk is the weather, and being in a larger group doesn’t help much with that. Safer for her to go back now, alone, than for her to travel farther with us and then have to turn around and travel back, too.”
Finnvid hadn’t really thought about the extra danger he was imposing on the Torians by having them accompany him all the way home. They seemed invincible, but he needed to remind himself that they weren’t.
“She could come with us and stay until spring,” he tried, but he knew before the words were out of his mouth that the idea would be rejected.
“She wouldn’t want to live among Elkati,” Theos said simply. “Especially without other Torians. And I assume you aren’t mad enough to consider inviting all of us to stay for the winter.”
“You could camp out. Just as we were going to do if we’d stayed in Windthorn.”
“But you decided it was better to travel through the winter mountains rather than spend extra time in the enemy camp. Do you think Torians would feel differently? Especially when traveling is less difficult for us than for you?”
“Do you still think of us as enemies?” Finnvid was pleased that his voice sounded casual, with no hint of the turmoil that had churned inside him at Theos’s choice of words. They weren’t still enemies, surely.
Theos turned to him, his gaze cold. “I find it best not to think of you at all,” he said, and then he started walking and left Finnvid behind.
Finnvid rejoined his men as they stepped over the border and back into Elkat. It shouldn’t have felt like walking into a prison, and Finnvid tried to ignore the tightness in his shoulders, as if they were bracing to carry a weight heavier than any pack the Torians were carrying.
He trudged on through the day, lost in his thoughts, barely noticing the cold wind that had picked up shortly after they crossed the border and started climbing the slope on the Elkati side.
Eating the fat cakes had helped give him energy, but he was still pushing himself hard every day just to keep moving.
He’d learned to let himself fall into a sort of trance, focusing only on the path ahead of him.
There was no destination, no end to the toil; there was only snow, and cold, and brutal trudging.
And when he finally heard the call to stop moving and set up camp, there was no real sense of relief. He helped to gather wood for the fires, his fingers numb even inside his heavy mittens, and waited for his turn with a shovel so he could dig his frozen grave for the coming night.
But something was different this time. Finnvid had to squint through blowing snow to see Zenain and Gunnald and Ekakios arguing again. He approached reluctantly, wishing they could just work it all out without him. “What’s wrong?” he asked Gunnald.
“The mighty Torians are afraid of the snow,” Gunnald sneered. “They want to build a big camp, and stay here for several days.”
“We’ll only stay if the storm comes,” Ekakios said.
“It’s stupid to try to walk through a blizzard.
Better to stay safe and warm in good shelters than to get lost in the storm.
” He frowned at Gunnald. “Elkati must know that. Even if you don’t travel as much as Torians do, you still live through winter every year. You know what’s sensible.”
But Gunnald was resentful of the Torians’ continued presence, Finnvid realized. He didn’t want to spend any more time with them than he had to, and he certainly didn’t want to admit that they were right about anything.
“Is there any harm in building the shelters?” Finnvid asked, trying to sound conciliatory. He really didn’t want to override Gunnald’s opinion for the second time that day, not if he could help it. “Then if we don’t need them, we can just leave them behind and walk on tomorrow.”
“We could walk on today,” Gunnald insisted, “if these Torians weren’t set on stopping early so they can build their little forts.”
“Maybe the Elkati should walk on,” a new voice said, and Finnvid turned to see Theos standing just behind him.
He stepped further into their circle, keeping his gaze on Ekakios.
“They’ll tire soon, carrying their own gear without their pack mules, but it would certainly make things easier for us.
We can wait out the storm here, then turn around and go home.
The Elkati bodies will be found in the spring, and surely we can’t be blamed for them freezing to death in a blizzard well inside Elkat territory. ”
“That’s not the best outcome,” Ekakios said mildly. “Although, yes, it would be easier for us.” Then he raised an eyebrow, clearly asking why Theos had interrupted the meeting.
Theos ignored the reprimand and said, “There’s plenty of men working on the shelters. I’m going to go see if I can find any game bigger than squirrels and rabbits.”
Ekakios nodded distractedly. “If they don’t need your help on the shelters, then hunting would be good. Don’t get lost in the storm, though.”
“That’s an excellent suggestion. Thank you.” There was nothing but courtesy in Theos’s voice, but the sarcasm, however well veiled, was there.
Finnvid watched as Theos stalked away and Ekakios frowned after him.
The balance between the two Sacrati was clearly still delicate; Finnvid wondered what would have happened if Ekakios had challenged Theos and told him to do something else, and the thought brought shivers unrelated to the cold wind.
The winter was harsh enough without a Sacrati brawl.
Then he shivered a little more as he remembered the callous way Theos had contemplated the possibility of Elkati deaths. It made sense: Theos tried not to think of the Elkati at all. The Elkati were the enemy. And Finnvid was, of course, Elkati. Theos didn’t care if he lived or died.