Page 45 of Grave Situation

He gives me a slightly puzzled glance. “It’s early yet. Is something wrong?”

“No. Just… uh… I don’t want to get caught out camping again.” That’s absolutely true. He doesn’t need to know yet that it’s going to happen. “I’d rather have her start looking now.”

He nods slowly, brow furrowed. “That’s sensible. You do hate camping.”

“So, so much,” I agree fervently, then paste on a distant, focused expression, as though I’m mind-talking with my sister. When I sneak a sidelong glance at him, the frown is gone, replaced by the usual lip-twitching amusement. It’s really a crime for a man to be that attractive.

Tia tugs at my mind again, but I ignore her. I’ve had enough mocking for one day.

When I’m finallysure the “easy-to-assemble” tent is actually assembled and not going to collapse like it has five times already—not embarrassing at all—I plant my hands on my hips and survey the clearing.

Tia’s right that it’s a decent place to camp, just far enough off the road that anyone passing won’t see us, but if I find out tomorrow that there was a nice, tidy little village within easy reach, I’ll risk Leicht’s wrath to kill her.

As though thinking of her was a summons, Tia and Jaimin choose that moment to return to the clearing. They got their tents up quickly, so she went to hunt some game while he fetched water from the stream that’s close enough to hear but out of sight through the trees.

“Want me to test it?” my sister asks with a teasing grin, two fat rabbits dangling from her belt. “We wouldn’t want it to fall on you in the middle of the night.”Like it did last timeis implied.

“You can sleep in it, if you want,” I offer, because I’m generous that way. She makes a rude hand gesture and begins digging a fire pit. Until this week, I didn’t even know that was something people needed to do. It just makes me even more thankful I’m a mage and not a rider.

Between the three of us, we finish setting up camp and get a meal started. I do my share, but mostly that means obeying the orders they give me. Being expedition leader means nothing at times like this. A good leader knows when to let others demonstrate their expertise. So I start a fire with magic in the pit, then roughly chop the last of our vegetables while Tia skins and cleans the rabbits and Jaimin sees to the horses. Once I’ve turned the beginnings of the stew over to Tia—since she actually knows how to cook—I go help him.

It surprises me how much I enjoy dinner. Not just the food, although that’s tastier than I expected for something cooked in a can over a campfire. But sitting in the dirt, talking quietly about how we’ll handle our approach to Lenledia, what I’ll say to the king… the comradery of it all is nice. I’m used to working alone, with my master peering over my shoulder occasionally and commenting that I’ve fucked something up. It’s new and different to work collaboratively with others—I haven’t done it since I graduated.

We clean up, then linger around the fire. Stopping early meant we had plenty of light still to set up camp, and it’s nice to be settled and (relatively) comfortable as twilight falls and turns to dark. Overhead, in the space between trees, the stars come out. There’s supposed to be a bright moon tonight—it’s waxing toward full.

“Is Leicht settled?” Jaimin asks Tia. The big dragon won’t fit in the clearing with us, and Tia tells us he doesn’t want to anyway. He’ll share space with her if they’re traveling alone, because it’s safer for her that way, but dragons are very private when it comes to sleep.

She nods. “He’s about half a mile away, and he’s just finished dinner.”

I hold up a hand. “Spare us the details. I don’t want to losemydinner.”

Jaimin chuckles, the sound warm and inviting in the shadows cast by the fire, and that annoying zing of attraction stirs in me again. Tia tugs at my mind, but I can sense her amusement already and don’t need it confirmed.

“I’m going to bed,” she says. “Since we stopped early, I’m guessing you want an early start tomorrow?”

I nod. “I don’t want to delay our arrival into Lenledia,” I confirm. “The sooner we find the champion, the sooner this can all be over. Bed sounds like a good idea.”

We bank the fire, and Jaimin and I go to check the horses. Then we all retire to our tents. Considering how early we stopped, I’m half expecting to have trouble falling asleep, but I start drifting off almost immediately. My last thought is gratitude that Tia let us each have our own tent, and Jaimin isn’t quite so close tonight…

The stone’s scream in my head jolts me to consciousness and has me scrambling from my blankets, not sure whether I’m awake or dreaming. I rip back the tent flap just in time to see the moonlight reflecting off the blade plunging toward me.

My mind goes completely blank with shock, reflexes taking over as I throw myself to the side, and my magic lashes out. My shoulder hits the ground jarringly hard as my attacker crumples in a heap beside me. I lie panting in the dirt for a second before a shadowy movement gets my attention.

“Tia!”I blast the full force of my power through our bond.“Danger!”Scrambling to my feet, I try desperately to remember any kind of battle magic that might be useful right now. I manage a solid blast of telekinetic energy that knocks Tia’s attacker momentarily off-balance just as she emerges from her tent with blades unsheathed. Then a cry has me spinning toward Jaimin’s tent.

The flap is open.

No.

Cold sweat breaks out on my spine as I race toward it, my foot slipping in the cold ash of the firepit. I fall?—

And a blade swooshes above my head.

Fuck. How did I miss the number of attackers? Dark shadows are detaching themselves from the trees, the occasional reflection of moonlight on skin or metal the only way to see them clearly.

Grimly, I roll to my back and aim another telekinetic blast at the man swinging his sword down toward me. It must hit him somewhere vulnerable, because he drops like a stone, but I don’t waste time waiting for the next attack. Tia’s awake, and the ring of steel on steel, plus the occasional grunt or yelp, tells me she’s got my back. I need to check on Jaimin.

By the grace of the gods, I make it the rest of the way to his tent unhindered. I can hear whimpering from inside and brace myself before peering in.

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