“Yeah. I’ll use our old signals from back when we were searching for you.” Flea gave me a wry smile. “Never thought I’d miss those days.”

I hugged him then followed Odd. His odd squad fanned out around us. As soon as we entered the trees, we all matched our gaits to the sounds of the forest, going silent.

As I recalled the attack, a hundred questions bubbled up my throat, but I only asked one when we stopped for a break. “Did you jackknife the ambushers?”

Odd grinned. “Yes. Seemed the best strategy. We had a few men on the ground as well because there was no guarantee they would have crossed under our trees.”

“Ursan would be proud.” That had been his squad’s signature move, jumping down on the unsuspecting enemy from a tree limb high above. They had earned the nickname the jumping jacks.

“I don’t know. I think he’d be mad we stole his idea. Although...” He gazed at me. “He’d be glad our mission was a success.”

“And how exactly did you determine that?” I kept my tone neutral.

“Since they went after you, we now know Cellina plans to heal Tohon. According to Prince Ryne, that knowledge is important and will help him.”

“Lovely.”

“I don’t know why you’re being so pissy about this. You weren’t in any real danger. We were there the entire time. Plus Cellina needs you alive. That should make you feel better.”

It didn’t. But Odd had been acting under orders. No need to vent my annoyance with Ryne on him. Instead, I asked about our destination.

“HQ.”

A surprise. “Not the new infirmary site?”

“Not yet.” Odd kept his gaze on the ground.

Not the best liar, Odd was hiding something. I considered. Pulling out my Lily map, I unfolded it. “Where is HQ?”

He pointed to a spot a couple days northeast of our location. We’d pass close enough to a Lily cluster to check for Death Lilys and possibly harvest its toxin. It was also outside the area we’d searched for Kerrick, so there’d be new ground to cover. And once we reached HQ, I would get to be pissy to Ryne in person.

A bright side after all.

* * *

Clouds covered the sky on the first day of autumn. A damp breeze rustled the leaves, sending a few spiraling to the ground. Most of the surrounding forest remained green, but a brush of yellows, orange, and reds tipped the trees.

Before leaving our camp, I touched the ground, pressing my palm to the cool soil.

Come on, Kerrick. Where are you?

No response. Not even a faint tingle. I closed my eyes as grief escaped the tight knot inside me, expanding like a bubble, threatening to overwhelm all my senses.

“Avry, you okay?” Odd asked.

“Give me a moment.” My voice cracked.

Instead of moving away, Odd sat next to me. “Ursan used to tell us not to get romantically involved with anyone who fought beside you. It caused too many problems.”