Retrieve Page 3

  Hadley paused mid-chew, his eyes widening as he looked around at the other boys. “Twice as much?”

  Meg laughed. “You need some reserves before we travel to the springs.”

  Hadley swallowed and gave Meg a strange look before returning to his hot breakfast, eating in a peculiar way Kade couldn’t figure out. Too hungry to contemplate the odd boy, he scarfed his eggs in five mouthfuls and went begging for more; in the hopes his sister would give her final piece of bacon to him as she always did.

  Meg breathed out a sigh and answered his question before he voiced it, holding out her plate. “I got extra too; Carl forgot to mention he was leaving before we started cooking.”

  Kade gave her a nod as he snagged the bacon. “He’s seeing Rose.”

  Meg was silent as they finished their food, the knot on her forehead and the way she was idly stirring her fork around on her plate, enough to let him know that the second Cester sent the newbies off, she’d have something to say.

  Sure enough, when Cester made the call, so the new boys could take instruction on how to correctly scour out a pan and only Hadley remained, looking decidedly green at the amount left of his plate, Meg spoke. “Carl is set on this wedding. I don’t think it’s fair on Rose, she seems such a lovely girl, how can they begin a marriage when she doesn’t even know what he does?”

  Kade’s mouth opened before he realised she wasn’t really speaking to him, her head angled to look in Cester’s direction. The captain considered her for a moment before he shook his head. “I’ve told him as much, perhaps he’s meaning to speak to her before we leave?”

  Meg pursed her lips as she looked Cester. “Perhaps. But doubtful.”

  Kade watched them for a moment, growing increasingly worried by the interaction. He frowned slightly as Meg gave Cester what could only be described as a wilting look as she collected his plate from him.

  The look disappeared as she stood over Kade, her hand extended. “Hurry up; I want to go into the village to find some lye to make soap. My dress is filthy, and it’s getting embarrassing.”

  Kade handed her his empty plate and watched her as she took off after Martha to help with the washing up. “She never cared about clothes before,” he muttered.

  Cester’s gaze narrowed then he glanced at Hadley before his steely-eyed gaze landed on Kade. “It’s fortuitous we can have this moment alone. I’ve been thinking about an upcoming retrieval, and I think you should start training Hadley with the view to taking him along.”

  Hadley sucked in a breath, horror etched on his dirty face. Kade’s veins heated as he slowly forced words passed the sudden tightness in his throat. “He’s a weed. You want me to take a weed as a partner to Amaria?”

  His captain held his gaze, unforgiving and relentless. “I told you. You aren’t going alone. You’ll have two weeks to prepare Hadley for the retrieval. That should be plenty of time to teach him how to scout.”

  The thickness spread to his chest at the way Cester’s eyes kept flicking back and forth to the river where Meg’s lilting voice carried. “What’s the Storm?”

  Cester shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. “The less details you know, the better.”

  A lump of anxiety grew in the pit of Kade’s stomach as Cester turned away. And for the first time since joining the Stormer unit, Kade Dawson knew without a doubt his captain was hiding something.

  Something that was sure to end badly if he was forced to take an untrained newbie like Hadley into Amaria with him.

  Sweat was inching down Hadley’s back as she pulled herself from the lumpy bedroll and filed out of the tent, sleep-dazed, and rubbing at her gritty eyes. Carl’s voice, grated on her already tightly wound nerves as he stood outside, an impatient expression on his face. “Cester wants to see what you’re made of.”

  His eyes probed her as she stood, shivering outside the canvas tent, her arms wrapped around herself to keep what little warmth she had from dissipating. The other boys looked almost as miserable as she felt, though she had no place among them, and to speak anymore, or make any connection with them, was to invite inspection or questioning she couldn’t bear.

  It was bad enough they distrusted her. Her untimely arrival and insistence on joining them, though none of the six boys had known her, was separating her even further.

  When they spoke of their homes, their families and what they’d lost, it was all she could do to curl up on her bedroll, face away in case she revealed just how delicate she really was underneath the grime.

  With a sniff, Hadley waited for Carl, a roguish Stormer with a foul mouth, to give her more orders.

  His lip curled ever so slightly as he appraised her. “You. Captain Cester said you can climb. Go do it. Then go find Stormer Kade.”

  The other boys sent her pensive glances that did little to set her at ease. Her voice was shaky as she pointed to the expanse of forest behind them. “Which tree?”

  Carl shrugged. “The tallest one. You bragged you could climb, so go do it.”

  Her feet remained rooted to the ground as Carl turned away, her heart thrashing about in her chest as the other boys were all given orders to pair up with a Stormer and assist them.

  Before she could move out of the way, an irritated Carl pivoted and shoved her shoulder hard causing her to stagger. “Off you go squirt. Then go find your babysitter. For the next few weeks you’ll be stuck to Kade like horse sh—"

  She didn’t stay to hear his filthy language, her feet quick to back away and run before he could say she was to assist the terrifying Stormer.

  Her eyes misted as she sprinted for the tallest tree she could find, and as she found her hand grips, and footholds, for a moment Hadley lost herself in the comfort of doing what she’d done all her life.

  She climbed until the grass disappeared, and she was safely enfolded in the branches, where the world and all its pain was far below her.

  From his spot beside the campfire, Kade’s eyes shifted from Hadley as he climbed, looking like a scampering monkey, back to his captain’s face. Were it not for the unexpected disclosure, he might have laughed at the ease at which Hadley flew up the tree trunk.

  He lost sight of the boy in the thick of the leaves and returned his attention to the matter at hand. “How is this Storm unusual?”

  Cester tapped his finger on his thigh, his eyes travelling in the direction of where Hadley was climbing. “It’s a person.”

  Kade’s brow knotted. “You want me to retrieve a person?”

  Cester nodded, his expression grim. “A woman of high value has been kidnapped, and a ransom has been demanded. I’ve been contacted and asked if I have a Stormer who can retrieve her safely. Despite your propensity to ignore my rules, you are my first choice.”

  Kade leaned back slightly, his mind whirling with the idea. Stormers hardly ever retrieved people. It was too risky, too many things could go wrong. “Why not pay the ransom?”

  Cester shot a look towards where one of the newbies were splitting firewood. “That’s not something you need to know.”

  Tension began building in Kade’s shoulders, travelling the length of him as he summoned the courage to voice the words he knew he shouldn’t. “Who is she?”

  Cester’s voice was hard as he replied. “It’s better if you don’t know that.”

  Kade’s stomach flipped. Cester had always been forthcoming about jobs. There could only be one reason he was withholding. “She’s not royalty is she?”

  His captain remained silent, but his posture straightened and the slightest of twitches to his jaw gave him away. Kade jumped to his feet. “But not royalty from this country?”

  Cester pulled himself slowly to his feet and met Kade’s angry scowl with one of his own. “What difference does it make? It’s a job, and we need to do it.”

  Kade shook his head. “You know what difference it makes, if it’s one of our own, she can bloody well stay and rot, you know what they’ve done to this country.”

  Cester said n
othing as he scowled back, and Kade wondered if it was because of his agreement. The entire country of Azetaria was starving, while rumours were rife of the palace and the nobleman living a life of luxury, doing deals with mercenaries to ensure their own stayed well, while the poorest suffered.

  The country was growing more and more angry with the king and his apparent lack of concern. Outright rebellion had been averted so far, but it was whispered on the lips of every commoner unfortunate enough to feel the despair sickness and famine caused.

  “Things aren’t always as black and white as they appear, it isn’t for us to question. The king suffers too, perhaps not quite as we do, but his king still. And he has the right to ask this of us. The Stormers were created to do the jobs no ordinary men could do; this is why we exist, this is when we earn our keep.”

  Kade shook his head. “It’s the sodding princess isn’t it?”

  Cester released a sigh. “She was kidnapped two weeks ago while out riding; the king had cut her guard.”

  Kade frowned. If the king was cutting his own guard, Cester was probably right. But lowering the guard on your own daughter hardly resembled the enormity of sacrifice Azetaria was going through. He doubted the princess and all her noble brothers and sisters had even gone without a meal, let alone watch their families die excruciating deaths.

  “Where is she?”

  Cester’s expression did little to prepare him for the gravity of the words. “Numachi warriors hold her in Lazen.”

  He unwittingly made a strangled sound as he gaped at Cester. This just keeps getting better and better.

  “How long have I got?”

  “The deadline for ransom payment is three weeks from now. It’ll be tight, but if you’re sensible and don’t take chances, you’ll make it.”

  The slightest movement behind him alerted him to someone’s arrival. Hadley, still breathless from his climb and the run back, peered up at him. His bony shoulders were heaving, his cheeks flushed as he gathered his breath. “Carl said to come find you.”

  Cester nodded. “Hadley can climb. He’ll do well enough as a scout. Start him on the bow. I need to go into Renhold for a few weeks. When I return, I expect them all to be ready for inspection.”

  Hadley seemed to deflate as Cester strode away, his voice a rasping whisper and a question wrapped in one word. “Inspection.”

  Kade sent a pointed look sidelong to the scrawny lad who he’d been paired with. He had two weeks to train a frightened boy, heal from his wounds, and go rescue a princess in enemy territory known for inventive torture methods.

  All in a day’s work for a Stormer.

  Chapter Three

  Two weeks later

  Her belly overfull as usual, Hadley groaned as she edged closer to the river, hoping Kade wouldn’t insist on her washing in front of him. He was growing increasingly persistent, and even the other boys were making snide remarks. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Not with their departure fast approaching.

  Her anxiety increased, along with her thudding heart as she waited for Kade to arrive. For some reason, he’d asked her to wait at the riverside for him. She could only hope that he wanted her to get in more practice, and that was why he wanted to see her alone.

  The other boys were busy drilling with knives, aiming for targets made from straw. She could hear their grunts, and occasional cheers as the older Stormers congratulated them for their progress. Progress I’m not making.

  Her entire body ached, her muscles taut from tension and from exertion as Kade forced them all to run, to throw daggers, to shoot a bow and arrow until she had even more callouses on her hands.

  But worse than the gruelling regime was the worry that any moment she could be found out. It was exhausting, not knowing when she might be discovered. All it would take was one slip, one mistake and she’d be cast aside.

  After two weeks of plentiful food, she was stronger, nourished and despite being bone weary and terrified, she was now a day away from leaving the camp she’d mistakenly joined.

  When she’d nearly been caught returning from the bushes behind the camp, she’d known she couldn’t stay here forever.

  The moment she could, she’d leave Kade, leave the Stormers and begin her journey back to Kingsport. Until she knew Thomas wasn’t there waiting with an explanation, every waking moment was consumed with finding a way to return.

  She was strong enough now, and she could travel safely as a boy, hide in the shadows and even if Flynn spotted her, he’d never recognise her dressed this way.

  A plan firmly in her mind, Hadley placed her hand on her stomach and covered the wave of nausea that followed.

  Her trousers had grown tighter around her stomach, and her chest seemed even more constricted now she’d put on weight. Her skin was raw from chafing where the binding fabric rubbed, and her scalp was constantly itchy to the point the other boys were sure she had lice.

  Each night, when she’d collapse into her bedroll, and the other boys chatter turned to snores, she’d fantasize about taking a bath, about washing her hair and finally ridding herself of the stench that stopped anyone from getting too close.

  It’s worth it to stay hidden.

  Sweat began to trickle down her back as Kade sauntered towards her. His usual irritated glower on his face, his chin covered in a fine layer of stubble, daggers attached to his waist and strapped across his chest. Even after two weeks of being around him, he was still intimidating. “We leave tomorrow, but you need a wash and a change of clothes.”

  Hadley froze, her eyes skittering around as Kade stepped closer. “We’re going to be travelling the next week, which means we’ll be sleeping in close quarters, you get my meaning?”

  Her jaw dropped at the insinuation before she realised what he meant. “I’ll bathe before then.”

  Kade raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. “Look, no one is watching, we can go further downstream, and I’ll make sure no one sees, and even if they did, no one would think any less of you.”

  Hadley gaped at him. “Pardon?”

  Kade lowered his voice and stepped closer. “If you have scars or something, we’ve seen worse I’ll bet. You haven’t seen one of the Stormers we call Brute, he was mauled by a mountain cat.”

  He shuddered. “Looks like half his back was torn off, whatever you’re hiding it can’t be worse than that.”

  Hadley’s stomach clenched as Kade waited for an answer. His arms crossed over his chest, as he leaned his weight to one side.

  She found herself blinking rapidly. “Uh.”

  Kade’s frown grew before Meg called his name, and they both turned to watch her approaching. Dressed in a freshly washed pale blue dress, her curls tidy and her cheeks pink with exertion, Meg carried a package tucked under her arm. “Here you are, it’s the best I can manage with what they had in Renhold.”

  She handed Kade the package and gave Hadley a smile. “Thanks to Cester, you can go wash now. You’ll have soap, clean clothes and everything.”

  Without a word, Kade shoved the package into Hadley’s arms, and she stumbled slightly. Her mouth flapped open, her stomach churned as they both stared at her.

  Kade jerked his head. “We’re going further up, Hadley is shy.”

  Hadley sucked in a breath and shook her head. “I can’t.”

  Meg frowned and stared at her for a moment, before glancing at Kade. “I don’t think being shy is the problem. Is it, Hadley?”

  Hadley’s eyes widened at Meg’s penetrating stare. A tremor of dread tickled her insides as Meg narrowed her eyes. “There’s more to it than that, Hadley is afraid. The question is of what?”

  Kade looked sidelong at his sister, before turning his gaze to Hadley, the question evident given his expression. Hadley swallowed hard and desperately scrambled to explain herself.

  Her eyes flicked between the siblings, her throat grew tight as the anxiety threatened to overcome her.

  “Well?” Kade said.

  His eyes locked on hers
and the half-truth tumbled from her mouth before she could stop it. “I’m afraid of water; I can’t swim.”

  Kade cocked his head, his forehead creasing even harder. Beside him, Meg’s blue eyes popped open, and she punched the air in triumph. “I knew you were hiding something!”

  “That’s nothing to be ashamed of. And you’ll learn soon enough.” Meg smiled as though pleased that it was such an easy solution.

  With another smile Meg strolled off, leaving Kade’s eyes locked on to hers. Her breath stilled as he narrowed his eyes. “Good thing we’re not swimming across to Amaria then.”

  Hadley half listened to him as he began spouting off what needed to be done before they departed tomorrow morning.

  Her heart in her throat Hadley backed up, unwilling to risk losing the contents of her stomach out of nerves and worry. Her mind was in tatters as she considered what she was doing to people who had shown her nothing but kindness.

  She shoved her swelling guilt aside. She was just doing what it took to survive. And she would do anything to find Thomas. Whatever it takes.

  The sunlight weak, moisture hanging in the air and grey clouds edging closer to the camp, Kade checked his mount’s tack, before reluctantly accepting Meg’s watery-eyed hug.

  “Be careful little brother,” she said.

  He nodded, his eyes moving to Cester as he tugged at the saddle on Hadley’s smaller horse, before sliding in closer to Meg.

  Carl stepped in front of him blocking his view of his sister. He grasped Kade’s shoulders and squeezed hard. “Try and stay out of arrow range. See you in a few weeks.”

  Kade gave him a clipped nod and ignored the growing knot in his throat. Carl wouldn’t stand for any nonsense as far as Meg was concerned, but he was preoccupied with his own problems, and hardly had the time to watch Meg when they had the camp to pack up.

  Hadley stood at his side, still filthy, still wearing the same shapeless dirty clothes. Unfortunately, the boy still carried a prevailing odour that Kade was going to remedy the first chance they got.