Page 48 of The Nightblood Prince

Whenever I saw men spit in the open or heard them cough too loudly, I would hear the scoldings I would have received if I did anything similar. So did I hate these men and their behaviors, or did I hate my childhood of being held to impossible standards?

I lowered my gaze so I wouldn’t have to look at any of them and began storing my things under the bed when a familiar voice froze me dead in my steps.

“Fei?”

I turned to find the square face of Luyao, the cowherd from my village, seated at a low table with three other men, holding cards. I cursed under my breath. Out of all my preparations, I’d failed to predict that I’d run into someone from the village. There were so many training camps, so many companies to be separated into. It was just my luck that Fate put us in the same tent in the same camp.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a low voice.

“The same as you,” I whispered. “Enlisting in the army.”

His eyes darted around and he stepped closer. Then he added in a whisper, “Girls aren’t allowed in the army.”

“Who’s the kid?” one of the other men asked from the table. Everyone was looking at Luyao, waiting for him to introduce me, and he just waved them away. “Da’sha, you can take my turn!”

I hastily pushed a roll of coins into Luyao’s hand. “Keep this a secret. If anyone finds out, my whole family will be implicated.”

“If you know how dangerous it is, why did you enlist in the first place?” he whispered.

“Because if I didn’t, my father would have to. You know him; he teaches your little brother in school. His gets out of breath by walking up the hill by our home. He’d never survive a war.”

Luyao’s face softened. He pushed back the coins. “I’m not going to tell anyone. But the military isn’t a place for girls. My father fought in these wars, and so have my brothers. Forget about the front lines; these training camps are brutal by themselves. A girl like you won’t survive for long.”

I almost smiled. “I think you are forgetting who caught that pheasant for you, Zhangxi, and your soon-to-arrive baby.”

“A good archer does not a good soldier make.”

“Then help me,” I whispered. “Please. Think of it as doing good deeds for your unborn child. Zhangxi would want you to help me if she were here.”

Luyao’s lips twitched at the mention of his wife and unborn child. “Fine, but only because Zhangxi has been craving roasted pheasant all winter, so you did me a big favor.”

I smiled.

“First thing.” He gestured at my bag behind me. “Keep your bag under your bunk and keep your bed clean. The superiors will check, and you don’t want to be scolded by them. The rules of the military are cast in iron, and they will not be broken for anyone. If you step out of line, youwillbe punished, no matter how scrawny you look.”

I glanced around. “Does anyone else know that they should keep their beds clean?”

Luyao grimaced. “They will soon enough. And take your bow andarrows to the armory, in case someone tries to steal them when you’re not looking.”

“Luyao?” his friend called again.

Luyao turned back to the table. “He’s just some boy from my village. I didn’t think he would enlist in place of his father. Look at him, a breeze can blow him over.”

The men laughed. “Never underestimate the short ones!” one interjected.

“Odds that he won’t make it through the first battle?”

Another man laughed. “He won’t make it through the first month.”

My lips twitched. All the more reason to survive, then. “I’ll take the bet,” I said, making sure to speak from my chest and forcibly pressing each word down so they sounded lower and manlier. It was exhausting, and my throat always ached at the end of the day when I spoke like this.

Skies,this was going to be a long couple of months.

I walked up to them and dropped the roll of coins on the table. “I bet that not only will I survive the first battle; I will survive the longest out of us.”

The men looked at me dead-faced; then smiles began to crack. “I like you.”

“Fei,” I offered.

---