Page 14 of Echoes of War

Alexiares grabbed my shoulder, trying to catch my attention. “That’s Abel.”

My flames went out. The last time I’d seen Abel, he’d been a boy. I took in his features as he got closer. Damn, even with the years of distance he was just like Riley. He was tall, not quite as tall as Riley, but he still had years to grow. It was hard to tell how healthy he was as the large black coat and thick sweater underneath swallowed him. There was a lot of bounce in his step. Every bit of his demeanor happy, excited to be here.

“You know Abel,” Sloan said, accusation in her tone. Her blue eyes pierced mine, a chill going down my spine. I would have to answer for this later.

Fuck. Please be cool, please be cool.

Abel nodded in my direction as he approached. His brown eyes lit up with joy, followed by a wary glance at Alexiares, grazed over Elliot, then Sloan last. I honestly don’t know how he made it this far undetected. The recognition in his eyes when he took us in was undeniable.

I hadn’t known Abel would be sent here. It was protocol for Riley to only tell mewherewe had spies lingering, notwhowas there. All I knew was that he had begged Riley for a chance to prove himself on his own and help The Compound. He wasn’t like Riley. Abel grew up with his parents, came from a good home until both his parents turned.

When Riley found him sneaking around and stealing food, he moved Abel in with him. The fuss he went through to make sure one of his men kept an eye on him at all times had been one of his more dramatic moments since I’d known him. Soon after that, Abel had made it clear he no longer found satisfaction within the bounds of safety. Of having a home. He’d had that before. The memory of it was good enough. Why would he want to be bored behind the walls of The Compound now?

While some people longed for a safe environment, a place that’s theirs to call home, others had no desire to have that. They needed that adrenaline rush, that constantwhat if. Tomoe had told me of her time in Transient Nation. It was full of people who found pleasure in uncertainty. We couldn’t stop Abel from leaving. He would do it if he wanted. Had always been a determined kid. But if we gave him a mission in a place with relative safety, we had a chance of preventing his premature death.

I didn’t agree with Riley’s decision, but at the time, I was new to my role. There were certain things I was willing to push backon, and shamefully during times of war, a sixteen-year-old enlisting wasn’t one of them. I’d had my regrets. My rules on who was eligible to fight in my troops came shortly after.

“Tomoe has news,” Abel said, out of breath from the quick pace he’d kept trekking in the snow.

Sloan looked bored, her fiery hair blowing under the fur hat. Alexiares side-eyed me, waiting to see if I was going to encourage him to continue. I shrugged. I hadn’t known Tomoe was close to figuring anything out. She hadn’t consulted me once.

“Okay? What is it?” Alexiares asked impatiently.

He’d been less than thrilled when he’d told me about the car ride back with Abel in tow. I found it amusing that someone was able to match Reina’s energy. It was comforting that someone had been able to bring the Reina I’d grown to love back to the surface, as fleeting as it was.

“She thinks she knows the spell,” he said, peering up at Alexiares like he would pin him down for talking too slow.Nope, knowing him, he probably did do that the first time.

Sloan’s suspicion was still evident, her stare watchful, darting between the three of us. “Thinks or knows?” she asked, her voice raspy from the cold and constant smoke.

“Well …thinkI suppose,” Abel said, not quite sure how to answer her. “We won’t know until she tries … right?”

Sloan grumbled to herself, stomping off in frustration without us. Abel huffed, not having a moment to rest before returning to the miles long snowy trek back inside the walls of Duluth city-proper. He did his best to keep up, sensing the trouble he’d placed himself in. Alexiares studied me, searching my face for a hint of emotion. I rolled my eyes. We had work to do, and standing here staring at each other wasn’t going to bring us closer to our goal.

“Ready to be test bait?” I teased, forcing him to follow.

Tomoe

The heavy door slammed into the wall. Sloan tossed her thick wool coat on the nearest chair, a long blade tucked in a wide leather holster against her hip. Several of her lackeys filled the space in the room behind her, Abel and Elliot on either side.

At least in Monterey, I’d been granted a sense of privacy. Knocking wouldn’t kill her, and if it did, shit, maybe she should knock twice.

A curly bun bobbed into the room. The tip of Amaia’s ears were pink, sticking out from beneath the soft scarf wrapped around her neck. Her dark eyes scanned the room, marking each corner and point of entry. They softened as they found me and I forced myself to peer past her shoulder. Alexiares followed close behind.

“I see Abel found you,” I said curtly.

Sloan’s eyes rolledto the back of her big ass head, her raspy voice cut through the air. “Clearly. You have something to share?” she questioned, a smug expression crossing over her freckled face.

I sighed, already tired of being in her presence. “Possibly, yes.”

“I didn’t haul ass five miles in two feet of snow to be informed overpossibilities,” she said, her fingers making air quotes around the last word.

“Possibilities, Sloan, are the best I can fucking do until I see it in practice. As I said several times, I wasn’t even sure my original spell worked until shit fell apart.” I stopped, realizing we were missing someone. “Where’s Reina?”

“Do you take me for my cousin’s babysitter?” Sloan tossed her wavy, red hair over her shoulders, arms crossed as she leaned against the large high-top table in the center of the room. I couldn’t help but imagine yanking her hair right out her head. Maybe if she was nice, Reina would offer her people a tip or two about homemade conditioner.

“Do you want me to answer that?” I mumbled, her sharp gaze meeting mine.

“You haven’t seen her yet?” Amaia asked. “Sloan woke us up. We went straight to the field.” She paused, realizing I had no clue what was happening. “There’s about a hundred Covert soldiers headed our way. We’ll be able to slow them, for now. Your update couldn’t have come at a better time. It won’t take them long to regroup.”

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