Grow the Bond (Nightstar Book 0)

Chapter 2

Shockingly the rest of the day went by relatively smoothly, but Petre was certain that was about to change because it was time for dinner. If Clarith had gone to Ainreth to confirm that Petre actually was his second-in-command, then that meant she would no doubt spread that information around, and Petre wasn't sure what kind of reaction it would get them.

It was certainly seen as a much less desirable position than being the second of any of the other generals, but it was still a position of power that some might be jealous of, especially considering Petre's age. Then again, many of the people in their regiment had already tried to fill the role and had given up on it relatively quickly, so perhaps they would receive pity rather than jealousy.

Petre kept their head down as usual as they entered the dim main hall, the building that served as everything from a mess hall to a place for everyone to congregate for briefings and announcements. The building was full already, the noise of everyone talking drowning out everything else, which made it very easy for Petre to slip inside and take their place in the queue, their wooden bowl in hand. They ran their finger over the silhouettes of mushrooms carved into it. Petre had done that a long while back during one very uneventful day as a joke centered around the fact that half of what the soldiers ate included mushrooms due to Petre being able to grow them easily. But they did like how the bowl looked like this now.

Unsurprisingly, when it was Petre's turn to receive their portion of soup, mushrooms were floating in the brown liquid. They wondered which ones the cook had used this time. Petre had grown several types for him, just to keep the taste a little varied, despite their difficult situation here more than a day's travel on horseback away from any kind of village or settlement. The cook was another sproutkeeper, the kind that could control plants, which at least ensured some of the vegetables were fresh.

Petre sat down at one of the tables, ignoring everyone around them, but they barely managed to put the spoon of the steaming soup to their mouth before someone sat down next to them a bit too roughly, making them spill the soup back into the bowl.

"Is it true you're the Daybreaker's second now?" came the excited, very loud voice of Enlin. Petre sighed, looking over at her as she brushed her short, dark hair off her face. Enlin was basically the only person they talked to on a regular basis, though not entirely by choice. Enlin and Petre had joined the army around the same time, they were both similar ages, and so Enlin had inserted herself into Petre's life. Not that they minded, though they wouldn't mind if she were less loud.

Everyone around Petre was now looking at them, of course, thanks to Enlin's outburst. Wonderful. So much for staying unnoticed.

"Yes," Petre admitted, staring down into their soup even as everyone around them started talking at once, their voices blending together.

"No fair!" one of the soldiers sitting on the opposite side of the table cried. "I've been here longer. I should have had a go by now."

"Maybe our dear general doesn't like you," the woman next to the soldier mocked him, which prompted a series of insults being flung around.

Petre sighed again. They were going to get a headache at this rate. Everyone was always so loud. "I don't know why I was chosen. Ask Captain Fyr-Kyntar, she came to me with the offer."

The soldier who had complained first laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, no way. She's scary."

Petre frowned at him while everyone around them laughed. They would never have thought to call the captain scary, just very stoic and hard to read.

"What?!" came a shout from the other side of the room. Petre gritted their teeth, staring back down at their soup. They knew very well who had said that, and they wanted nothing to do with the man. Hantyr was the person who tended to harass Petre the most, and they wanted none of it right now.