Steelhands - Jaida Jones [199]
“Only the two of us will go,” Antoinette said, taking Balfour’s arm. “The rest of you wait here.”
“Now, don’t be cruel,” Luvander said. “We’re not babes in arms. We’re seasoned soldiers.”
“So you know when to follow orders, don’t you?” Antoinette asked. I glanced over at Adamo, who was chewing things over again.
“Antoinette’s right,” he said finally, making me feel proud. “If an attack comes, I’m betting it’ll come through here. So we station our strongest men at the head of the pass, the rest of us standing behind them, and we buy Antoinette and Balfour some time to plead their case with th’Esarina.”
“And for us?” Toverre asked, voice shaky.
“Heading back through the tunnel’s too dangerous,” Adamo replied. “Besides, you made it this far, didn’t you? I won’t send you away.” He glanced at me, and I grinned at him, just to show him I planned on doing all right. So long as I was there, wasn’t nothing that was gonna be allowed to touch him.
“Come,” Antoinette said simply, taking Balfour by the hand. He seemed startled, and I didn’t understand why, until I remembered all of a sudden what his hands were made of, and I guessed nobody ever had reason to touch them. Antoinette, to her credit, didn’t even flinch.
Then, without any more talking, they disappeared into the tunnel.
Ghislain shifted out to the front, and Adamo followed him. I wanted to go with them, but I knew I’d serve everyone better if I flanked Toverre and protected him.
Staring at Adamo’s back made me feel like I was a real part of the battalion. Nobody’d told me to step aside because I wore skirts over my boots, not trousers. Da would’ve been proud to see me here—in his own way, after he asked me what in Regina’s name I thought I was doing going against th’Esar like this—but more importantly, I was proud of me.
Gaeth stood on Toverre’s other side, twitching around like Cornflower was probably talking to him.
I’d come real close to having a dragon in my head, I thought. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or like I’d missed out on something most people were too meek even to dream of.
Adamo held up his hand suddenly—I knew what it meant even without him having to say anything. Someone was coming.
A moment later, I heard it, too, the sound of feet against stone. Whether it was a few men or a whole damned army, we were ready for them. I swallowed and braced myself.
It was about damn time. All this dillydallying didn’t make me too impressed with th’Esar’s ability to protect his people. He was so twisted around, busy looking after his own hide, that he’d probably forgotten about everyone else. And considering the Dragon Corps had given their lives to protect him once upon a time, I wasn’t too impressed with that kind of self-centered thinking.
I felt sharp fingernails digging into my arm, and I glanced over at Toverre. He was white as a ghost in the darkness, probably scared out of his mind. But he’d come all this way for me, and I was oddly grateful—not as grateful to him as I was to whoever’d decided to let me have Adamo and Ghislain on my side, but it was a different kind of gratitude.
He didn’t have to be afraid. Gaeth and I were gonna protect him.
Then, all at once, the opposing force appeared.
They were dressed the same as Gaeth, and I sensed him tensing immediately. Ghislain and Adamo stood between us and them—and there was Luvander and Raphael, too, as the second force, with us as the last resort—but it was too cramped to tell how many of them there were, or get a good sense of our odds and their numbers. That worked in our favor, actually, since it meant they wouldn’t be able to come at Ghislain or Adamo too many at a time, and I had a good feeling about whether or not they’d be able to pick off the opposition nice and easy, at a pace that suited them.
“Bastion,” the man at the front said, slowing rather than leading the charge, so I knew straightaway what an asshole he was. “What kind of ragtag effort is this? You can’t really think you have a chance, do you?”
“Hey there, Troius,” Adamo said,