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Early the next morning, all four of them lay in the tall grass hidden from Ravkan soldiers now inspecting the carriage left on the outskirt of the fold, abandoned. The same one they had used to get through.
Shan had been glad to put on her normal clothes, a black dress with her dusty red shawl wrapped around her shoulders as she lay beside Kaz, the barest of slithers of a gap between their arms.
They had to head back home somehow and this would have been one of their first options, if soldiers hadn't discovered it.
But things often didn't work out in their favour.
"How many are there?" Inej asked, squinting through the grass at the distance they were at.
"Two. At some pointone of them will have to go tell a superior what they found." Kaz explained. "We'll go in then."
Shan chose to remain quiet, fingers absently picking at blades of grass, watching their escape route.
Jesper cleared his throat. "Not to be that person, but are you sure you can drive that thing?"
Kaz shot him a look across the girls.
"Yes. On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait-"
"-Milo. The goats name was Milo."
"-I was memorising Arkens timings."
Shan frowned. "This won't work."
Kaz shot her a look.
"Not to gang up on you, but Jes has a point," Inej said. "Arkens system was complicated and the ride was chaotic. No one would blame you for missing a count."
"Jes?" Kaz echoed in disbelief, ignoring the rest.
"It's Suli, for friendship!" Jesper cut in with a grin.
The girl shot him a look, nudging his shoulder. "No it is not."
"Fjerdan then. Easily mistaken."
Shan tossed grass at his face. "Jes is just another way to agree with someone. Nice try."
He fought the urge to sneeze, batting away the tickling grass from his face.
"Trust me. Arken and I think alike."
A sudden explosion tore through the carriage, making them all duck down on instinct.
All except Shan who stared at the flames with no sense of surprise.
She sighed.
"Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?" Jesper asked after a long moment of staring at their way out being destroyed.
Kaz dropped his head in annoyance.
She turned to him. "I told you it wouldn't work."
"In fairness, I think we all thought you were talking about Kaz's ability to drive."
