Page 68 of Winter's Echo
My watch was the one before dawn, the shittiest shift. You slept the longest stretch, then woke, did your watch, and could snatch a little more rest afterward. But that last scrap of sleep could undo all the good of everything that came before it. So if you had sense, you stayed awake, and your day was longer. I had traveled with so many who didn’t have sense.
Either way, it was going to be a crappy day once we started.
The silence had been heavy for a long time. My attention had been on the landscape when I heard it.
A whimper.
I stopped breathing, my head turning slightly toward the camp. I heard it again. A gasp. Oh gods, surely they weren’t…
I focused on the noise, on the movement.
A groan.
I turned toward the camp. That wasn’t a groan of passion. I made my way over to the injured soldier. With my hand on his head, I felt him burning up.
“What is it?”
Nicco was at my shoulder, and I really wanted to ask him if he had slept or stayed awake just to make sure I wouldn’t run.
“He’s got a fever,” I told him. “He’s likely infected by the Hulgrim attack.” I loosened the soldier’s cloak and began untying the laces of his shirt.
“And your plan is to what? Undress him?”
I glared at Nicco over my shoulder. “Myplanis to see how badly he’s hurt to know if we can save him.”
Nicco made a face. “Or leave him?” He waited for my nod. “Fine. I say leave him, and we split his rations.”
I scowled as I worked on the straps of the leather breastplate.
Of course he’d say that. Nicco was as cold as Crystallese itself, and he didn’t hide it. Or apologize for it.
And I wasn’t sure if I admired that or loathed it.
Chapter 16
By the timeI’d checked the soldier, I was no further forward in my thinking of whether we could save him or put him out of his misery.
While Captain Marson and Sergeant Gralen discussed the options in a whisper, I refused to look at Nicco.
I felt eyes on me, and half turned to look at Baxley.
“What?”
He scratched his jaw once and then looked at the soldier who had slipped into delirium. “Skallfen was the last town?”
I shifted on my feet. “Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
I started to speak, but Nicco cut me off. “What he’s saying is that you’re lying.”
My eyes widened with surprise before I masked it, but it was too late. Nicco saw me and stepped closer. His attention was on me, and in doing so, he didn’t realize thateveryone’sattention was on me.
“I don’t know your kingdom,” Baxley said softly but firmly, moving closer so that Nicco didn’t lookquiteso intimidating. “But if the inhabitants are anything like you, Amarya, then I don’t accept that the town we left two days ago is the farthestpoint north in this land.” He looked around for emphasis. “There’s a whole lot of something out here.”
“It’s a whole lot ofnothing, Baxley.” I didn’t look away from him as I spoke. “Crystallese relies on trade with its neighbors. We import everything. Our land is too hard and too frozen to grow crops. Our lakes and streams are too ice-covered to fish for food. We have a window, three to five weeks just after Herag Solstice, when we might get some days without snow, but that’s it. This is a barren land.”
“Then why are you here?” Nicco asked.
