“Cass told me you didn’t want anyone here to know about us.” Her voice was suddenly bitter.
Alex froze, his mouth only inches from hers. “That’s for your reputation more than mine,” he said. “I’m not ashamed of you.”
The heat of her hand left his. “You can’t have it both ways, Alex.”
It wasn’t fair of him to do this to her. He couldn’t make the rules and disregard them whenever he felt like it. Alex took a step back. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
He turned away and pushed out of the tent, but not before hearing her whisper, “Me, too.”
25
REVEILLE WOKE HER from a restless sleep. Everyone was assembling on the flat and clear area for morning drills. Sage rolled from her cot and stretched. Back in Tennegol she went to the tilting yards nearly every day, and she rather missed it. Why not join in here?
After throwing on an overtunic and yanking on her boots, Sage jogged to the exercise area and took a place in the back. The morning calisthenics were brutal on the muscles sore from riding but only made her determined to participate from then on. When the routine ended, Lieutenant Casseck announced everyone was to line up and fill sandbags needed to build the training ground. Sage had written her first report for the queen last night and had nothing else to do, so she saw no reason not to help. Alex—and everyone else—ought to see she was willing to do whatever work needed to be done.
Three hours later, Sage was more sweaty and filthy than she’d ever been in her life. Everyone began straggling to the river to clean up. Sage took a few steps downhill, but then shirts began coming off, and she hesitated. Soon all the men passing her were shedding clothes. She heard a belt buckle being worked a second before she caught sight of the first bare bottom plunging into the river.
Face flaming, Sage ran back to her tent and stayed there for a full hour. How was she supposed to get clean herself? Would she have to bathe in the river fully clothed?
A sloshing sound made her look up, and she peeked out of the tent to see Nicholas setting two wooden buckets of water just outside. She called her thanks to his back and brought them inside, then scrubbed herself thoroughly with the water from one, trying not to get the ground wet. If this was how it was going to be, she’d have to think of something to prevent mud. The second bucket she used to rinse her clothes. When she finally felt it was safe to come out, she wrung the water from her tunic and undershirt and hung them to dry on the line outside. Her underclothes she left spread on her cot.
She was separated from the row of officers’ tents by a larger, peaked canvas structure. Sage wasn’t sure it could be called a “tent” as the sides were either nonexistent or rolled up. It must be for large assemblies and noncombat instruction, such as Tanner’s lecture on battlefield medicine scheduled for that evening. With a start she realized the long table inside was too heavy and bulky to have been carried on the journey. Puzzled, she went to inspect it. The top was fairly flat, but the bottom was much rougher. The sawdust and shavings on the ground coupled with the earthy scent of wood hewn before drying told her it had been made. This morning.
Lieutenant Tanner approached with a nod of greeting. “How are you settling in, Mistress Sage?”
She stood straight and rapped her knuckles on the wood. “When did this happen?”
The scars on Tanner’s face pulled one eyebrow so they didn’t quite rise evenly. “You didn’t hear the work this morning? I called out them with carpenter and tree-felling experience, and they did this instead of bagging sand.”
“Impressive,” Sage said, meaning it. “Is this where you’ll teach bone-setting tonight?”
“This is the place,” he answered. “And I was supposed to, but Captain Quinn wants me to scout with him tonight, which is why I came to find you. He suggested you’d be willing to talk about foraging and edible plants instead.”
Alex wanted her to do something. Was he asking as an apology for last night or just offering her a way to occupy her time? Either way, after all the odd looks she’d gotten on this journey, she was eager to show the soldiers she had something to offer. “Of course, Lieutenant. I’d be happy to.”
Tanner smiled as crookedly as he’d quirked his eyebrows. “Thank you, ma’am.”
When Tanner was gone, Sage realized she should’ve asked him more about where he and Alex were going. She’d work the question into a conversation later.
In any case, if she was going to give a lesson tonight, it would be better with examples of plants rather than just descriptions or drawings. The sun was almost at its peak so there was no time to lose. Sage went back to her tent and dumped her pack out onto her cot, then settled it over her shoulders. Her stomach growled as she stepped outside again, reminding her she’d not eaten in hours, so she headed to one of the supply tents first. A few minutes later she entered the woods, an apple in one hand and a hunk of dried venison in the other.
26
NO ONE HAD seen her for an hour. Alex prowled around the camp, getting more anxious with every second that passed. Finally he barged into her tent, searching for a clue as to where she’d gone. A stack of books lay on her desk, including what looked like a journal. Several outfits and personal items sat in a pile on one end of her cot, while some very personal items were spread out to dry on the other. Alex flushed and focused on making sense of the stack of clothing.
She’d emptied and taken her bag.
She was going to get something. It must have been urgent. Then he remembered he’d told Tanner to ask if she’d take his place in tonight’s lecture so he could scout with Alex. Even if Sage was angry with him, it was safe to assume she’d agree.
Shit. She’d left camp to collect edible and poisonous plants. His left arm ached as he clenched his fists. Dammit, Sage.
He was already wearing his sword—he felt naked without it—but he’d need more than that. Things were still being unpacked and sorted, and it took several precious minutes to locate the crossbows. Alex slung one over his shoulder and walked the perimeter of the camp, looking at the ground. She was so lightweight he almost missed her footprints heading into the woods.
Her path wandered quite a bit but went steadily north. It was a good quarter hour before he became fully accustomed to the faint signs she left behind. He was used to tracking much heavier men and beasts. Often the only trace was the fresh divot where a cluster of mushrooms or another plant had been pulled up. Once he found an apple core she’d tossed several feet from her trail.
After about two miles he found several strands of light-brown hair draped over the branch of a low bush. How had that happened? Was she crawling? He crouched down to peer at them, puzzled. It almost looked as if they’d been laid there.
A twig snapped, and Alex jumped up, swinging the crossbow around. Sage stood about twenty feet away, watching him. Relief spread through his chest. She was safe.
The two ends of a broken stick were in her hands. “You’re dead,” she said coolly.
She’d set a trap for him and gotten close enough to have done serious damage before he could react. Alex dropped the bow, more impressed than he wanted to be. Sage tossed the pieces of twig aside. “You look lost,” she said.
“No more than you,” he replied. Only then did he realize how thirsty he was, and he’d neglected to bring along a canteen. He’d dropped every responsibility to himself and the Norsari to find her.
She walked past him, headed north again. “I’m heading for the lake.”
Alex took a few running steps to catch up. “How do you know there’s a lake this way?”
Sage jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I saw a furlong eagle’s nest about a half mile ago. They nest close to water, hence the name.”
“That’s much farther than a furlong.”
“I didn’t name it,” she said, staring straight ahead. “But anyway, they usually stay within a mile, especially during hatching season.”