Aveyard Victoria - (RQ#0.2) Steel Scars Page 0,1
not truly. Not for many years.
“I have my suspicions,” he replies after a long moment.
“And they are . . . ?”
“My own.”
I hiss through my teeth. Typical. And probably for the best, if I’m being honest with myself. I’ve
had enough close shaves of my own with Silver hunting dogs to know exactly how vital the Guard’s
secrecy is. My mind alone contains names, dates, operations, enough information to cripple the last
two years of work in the Lakelands.
“Captain Farley.”
We don’t use our titles or names in official correspondence. I’m Lamb, according to anything that
could be intercepted. Another defense. If any of our messages fall into the wrong hands, if the Silvers
crack our cyphers, they’ll have a hard time tracking us down and unraveling our vast, dedicated
network.
“Colonel,” I respond, and he finally looks at me.
Regret flashes in his one good eye, still a familiar shade of blue. The rest of him has changed over
the years. He’s noticeably harder, a wiry mass of old muscle, coiled like a snake beneath threadbare
clothes. His blond hair, lighter than mine, has begun to thin. There’s white at the temples. I can’t
believe I never noticed it before. He’s getting old. But not slow. Not stupid. The Colonel is just as
sharp and dangerous as ever.
I keep still under his quiet, quick observation. Everything is a test with him. When he opens his
mouth, I know I’ve passed.
“What do you know about Norta?”
I grin harshly. “So they’ve finally decided to expand out.”
“I asked you a question, Little Lamb.”
The nickname is laughable. I’m almost six feet tall.
“Another monarchy like the Lakelands,” I spit out. “Reds must work or conscript. They center on
the coast, their capital is Archeon. At war with the Lakelands for nearly a century. They have an
alliance with Piedmont. Their king is Tiberias—Tiberias the—”
“The Sixth,” he offers. Chiding as a schoolteacher, not that I spent much time in school. His fault.
“Of the House Calore.”
Stupid. They don’t even have brains enough to give their children different names.
“Burners,” I add. “They lay claim to the so-called Burning Crown. Fitting opposite to the nymph
kings of the Lakelands.” A monarchy I know all too well, from a lifetime living beneath their rule.
They are as unending and unyielding as the waters of their kingdom.
“Indeed. Opposite but also horribly alike.”
“Then they should be just as easy to infiltrate.”
He raises an eyebrow, gesturing to the cramped space around us. He almost looks amused. “You
call this easy?”
“I haven’t been shot at today, so, yes, I’d say so,” I reply. “Besides, Norta is what, half the size of
the Lakelands?”
“With comparable populations. Dense cities, a more advanced basis of infrastructure—”
“All the better for us. Crowds are easy to hide in.”
He grits his teeth, annoyed. “Do you have an answer to everything?”
“I’m good at what I do.”
Outside, the thunder rumbles again, closer than before.
“So we go to Norta next. Do what we’ve done here,” I press on. Already, my body buzzes with
anticipation. This is what I’ve been waiting for. The Lakelands are only one spoke of the wheel, one
nation in a continent of many. A rebellion contained to its borders would eventually fail, stamped out
by the other nations of the continent. But something bigger, a wave across two kingdoms, another
foundation to explode beneath the Silvers’ cursed feet—that has a chance. And a chance is all I
require to do what I must.
The illegal gun at my hip has never felt so comforting.
“You must not forget, Captain.” Now he’s staring. I wish he wouldn’t. He looks so much like her.
“Where our skills truly lie. What we started as, what we came from.”
Without warning, I slam my heel against the boards below us. He doesn’t flinch. My anger is not a
surprise.
“How could I forget?” I sneer. I resist the urge to tug at the long blond braid over my shoulder.
“My mirror reminds me every day.”
I never win arguments with the Colonel. But this feels like a draw at least.
He looks away, back to the wall. The last bit of sunlight glints through, illuminating the blood of
his wounded eye. It glows red in the dying light.
His sigh is heavy with memory. “So does mine.”
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE HAS BEEN DECODED
CONFIDENTIAL, COMMAND CLEARANCE REQUIRED
Operative: Colonel REDACTED.
Designation: RAM.
Origin: Trial, LL.
Destination: COMMAND at REDACTED.
-Returned to TRIAL with LAMB.
-Reports of LL Silver pushback in ADELA verified.
-Request permission to dispatch HOLIDAY and her team to observe/respond.
-Request permission to begin assessment of contact viability in NRT.
RISE, RED AS THE DAWN.
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE HAS BEEN DECODED
CONFIDENTIAL, SENIOR CLEARANCE REQUIRED
Operative: General REDACTED.
Designation: DRUMMER.
Origin: REDACTED.
Destination: RAM at Trial, LL.
-Permission to dispatch HOLIDAY granted. Observe only,