Chapter 159 FORTY: The Dragon’s Heart

Unlike the Lion Camp, which was stationed in a single area for long periods of time, the Dragon's Heart was meant to be moved daily if needed.

The lightweight tents were carried in wagons as the soldiers traveled and then quickly set up in Serin's token bizarre triangular arrangement when they came to a halt. Washing facilities consisted of whatever body of water was nearby (if there was one), and the soldiers hunted when they could to cut down on food packing.

Gideon and the two recruits he was escorting arrived at the camp in the evening when the men had just begun to pitch the tents.

Watching the organized chaos, Kel's heart started pounding rapidly.

Somewhere in the mass of black uniforms could be the Dragon Emperor.

Kel hadn't heard for certain concerning Calix's whereabouts, but she knew if he were anywhere away from the palace, he would be at the Dragon's Heart.

During the months she'd spent as his hostage, however, she couldn't recall a single time the man left to join his army. So it was more likely than not that he wasn't here now.

With that sole thought, she worked to calm the butterflies flitting around her stomach.

Calix probably wasn't here.

"This is where we have to part ways," Gideon suddenly remarked, eyeing a man approaching the trio. "Sir Lucio will take you to your new divisions."

"Thank you, Sir," Kel nodded.

Gideon gave her a sad smile.

"Just remember to keep that fiery temper of yours in check, Kid," he chuckled, patting her shoulder.

Since there had been no further incidents between Kel and Taegus after the night she drew her bow, Gideon had more or less chalked the whole thing up to Kel losing her temper.

"And you," Gideon turned to Taegus. "Try not to get yourself killed out there."

Sir Lucio, a young man with a quiet demeanor, led Kel and Taegus to their assigned squads. As their new units were both part of the infantry division of the army, the two newbies ended up on the same side of camp.

After watching Taegus disappear among the crowd of swordsmen Lucio had taken him to, Kel turned to the archery unit she'd been left with. The squad within the unit that she'd been assigned to consisted of herself and five other men, none of them appearing to be much older than she was.

"Another newbie!" one of the men shouted as Kel approached them. "Matty, you aren't the baby anymore!"

The boy Kel assumed was called Matty grinned at her from underneath his overgrown curly hair. "Finally!"

"Ah.. let me help you with that," Kel moved to grab the other end of the tent pole that Matty seemed to be struggling to carry.

"Huh? No way!" the boy jerked away from her, nearly hitting another man with the pole.

"Don't you know what the newbie's job is?" the man grinned, using a single finger to push the wildly swinging pole away from his face.

A few minutes later, Kel found herself seated in front of a furry pile. With the small knife conferred to her by Matty, she poked at the mound of animals. There had to be over a dozen of them, each with a single fatal arrow wound in its neck.

Grabbing the first creature off the pile, a rather large (and probably horribly gristly) squirrel, she began skinning it. As she worked, she wondered if Taegus had found himself in a similar situation. Having come from a coastal country, was he even used to preparing forest animals?

Judging by the amount of meat in just her squadron's collection, however, she guessed the archers probably hunted for most of the camp. That meant Taegus had most likely gotten an easy job of helping set up tents or something else that was more palatable than tearing skin from flesh.

While Kel was an expert at hunting squirrels, she was far less confident in her ability to prepare them. In Mevani, preparing meat was a coveted job while hunting was considered menial work.

How fitting of the Serin savages, Kel caught herself thinking. They would rather do the killing.

After Kel finished her task, the meat was divided up with the larger portion to be shared with the sword unit, just as she had expected. While remarking that the swordsmen ought to at least skin their own meat if they couldn't hunt it, she learned that the poor sword fighters actually had their own slew of unsavory duties to take care of, such as hauling heavy logs for firewood and digging latrines.

Kel couldn't help but smirk as she pictured Taegus knee-deep in a poop hole.

The atmosphere of the Dragon's Heart, at least in the evening, was more relaxed than Kel expected. Nostalgia filled her chest as she watched her squad members, and those from a neighboring squad, laugh and sing as they sat around a small campfire.

She could almost hear Barclay's deep voice amongst the conversation and picture Leif's silly drunken dancing.

And, for the first time since she'd been betrayed by the country that raised her, Kel felt homesick.

Even if it was a home that she could only visit again in her memories.

She was surrounded by the enemy, but after so much time spent feeling uncertain and alone, she was happy to find a familiar warmth.

The next day was equally as easygoing as the cheery evening.

Kel sat straight up in her bed at the crack of dawn, only to find the other five men crammed into the tent all sleeping soundly.

"Hey.. Newbie.." a man named Alaric grumbled from the cot next to hers. "It's a day off today, so go back to sleep, will ya?"

"A.. day off?" Kel repeated, rubbing her eyes.

Was there such a thing for a military in the middle of a war?

With several whispered apologies to her groaning squad members, Kel slowly picked her way out of the tent. Though Alaric had claimed it was a day off, the camp was still lively with soldiers moving to and fro, completing various chores.

Kel yawned and stretched as she looked around. She was contemplating what to do with herself when she heard someone calling out to her.

"Oi! Archer! What are you doing up so early?"

"Huh?" Kel whirled around to see a broad-shouldered, bearded man she'd never met stomping toward her.

"You might as well take the extra sleep," the man barked. "No matter how tired you are, nobody will go easy on you tonight."

Tonight?

When they said they had a day off, did it mean the archers were going to be working at night now? Weren't they supposed to help move the camp during the day?

"You must be new," the bearded man sighed.

"All cavalry units and most infantry units wait in formation, sometimes all night, to welcome the emperor when he comes to the Dragon's Heart."