To Bind in Blood

Chapter 5

Jurion volunteered to take first watch, politely refusing the other offers, and set himself up at the edge of the camp on his bedroll. They'd situated themselves under the cover of a small copse of trees, located a good distance past the field. There had been no sign of the Remans or anyone else since the first encounter, but all were still aware of the possibility.

Jurion dropped his cloak's hood and let the cool air—practically warm compared to Quelle's temperatures—brush his exposed face as he listened to the fire crackle and the breeze rustle the trees while he stared into the flames, allowing his thoughts to clear for a moment. A mental catalog of the tasks and responsibilities before him usually ran through his mind at a constant pace, and in his time as Great Lord, and even as Lord General, he rarely let himself sit and just be.

A twig crunched underfoot. Jurion snapped his head around in the direction of the sound and found only one of the soldiers returning from relieving himself. When had he left?

The man stopped when the lantern's light hit his face, his expression sheepish. He ducked his head and with a murmured "My lord," returned to his bedroll by the fire.

The rest of Jurion's watch was equally uneventful. When the moon hit its highest point in the starry sky and he felt his eyes begin to droop, he rose from his bedroll and picked his way through the slumbering forms around the fire and found Commander Odair who had claimed the second watch.

"My lord."

He looked up, his hand still extended to wake the commander. The voice belonged to Wrell Draekon; he knew it well despite the few words she had spoken.

She pushed herself up from her bedroll, alert for someone who was supposed to be sleeping. "I can take the watch."

"I would have let you sleep. You've earned it."

She pulled her cloak around her shoulders. "I cannot sleep tonight, Great Lord."

He wondered if she had sensed he was tired and had woken, for she had been fast asleep when he'd last checked. The mysteries of bloodbinds he did not always understand. In fact, this was his first bloodbind, and it was the one most different from all the others. Sometimes he wished he could sense Wrell through the bind—it was hardly fair that he could feel nothing of her when she was one of the people he would most like to understand. But that kind of relationship was not to be.

He returned to his bedroll not far from hers and laid down, drawing the blanket over himself. "Sleep is an elusive thing, indeed."

"It escapes you as well."

Of course she knew. When he'd been unable to sleep because of the stresses and weight of his responsibilities as Great Lord, he'd often heard footsteps outside his chambers, usually followed by a knock at the door from a servant bringing something warm to drink. He knew it was Wrell's doing, and it was something of a comfort knowing there was someone looking out for him.

It was almost unnerving, though, how she seemed to read him even when they were in separate rooms.

When Wrell said nothing after that, he closed his eyes, trying to let sleep take him. Might as well give it a chance, he reasoned, knowing it was unlikely to succeed, given the events of the day. And sure enough, his mind began to race with the details of their week-long journey, began to turn over the reason why he was traveling to Empire territory—to their capital city, no less—to discuss a possible alliance. When he shoved those thoughts away, questions about how Eira was handling things back at home rose to replace them.

His sister had been optimistic but cautious. She was much like Jurion in that regard. Gaelin had been confident and charismatic; Jurion and Eira were calculating and cool-headed, though Eira leaned more on the fiesty side.