Nameless (Nameless #1)
Jennifer Jenkins
For Clint, I’d fight for you…
Chapter 1
Zo couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t fear the Ram. Even after the raid, when so much of her fear had turned to hate, the fear still existed beneath. It was a foundation that she came to rely upon. A constant.
Sleeping under a fir tree so close to Ram’s Gate went against her very nature. While her body revolted, she couldn’t think of a more appropriate place to be. Zo choked down the beastly fear clawing its way up her throat and smiled like this was just another assignment. “It’s time, Gabe.”
Her guard, Gabe, rested on soggy pine needles beside her. His hands were tucked behind his shaggy blond head, eyes closed in feigned sleep. He used to lay like that, with his arms arrogantly thrown back and his chest puffed out like he owned the world, when they were kids. The river would rush by carrying rumors of starving clans and battles lost—heartache that pulled tight strings of tension throughout Zo’s body—while Gabe just laid back and chewed on a grass root.
Today, Gabe’s pretend-sleep didn’t fool Zo any more than it ever had. They both knew he hadn’t slept soundly since they’d left the Allied Camp a week ago. With eyes still closed, Gabe frowned as Zo left the protection of his side to bundle her bedroll. She crawled out from under the skirt of the enormous fir tree. Its sweeping limbs that kissed the uneven ground had kept them as safe as one could be in this godforsaken region. Behind her, Gabe growled impatiently as he gathered his things to follow.
“There’s no need to rush this.” He pushed the branch aside and threw out his pack with more force than necessary. Zo flinched, not used to seeing her childhood friend angry.
“You didn’t wake me for my watch again,” said Zo, unsurprised. Ever since they’d left the Allies, Gabe had been insanely overprotective.
“You need your sleep.”
“And you don’t?”
Gabe sighed and scooped a blob of mud from the newly thawed earth. He frowned and smeared it along the curved planes of Zo’s face and neck. The cool mud felt surprisingly comforting, but it could have just been Gabe’s touch. His capable hands shook while lines of worry deepened across his brow.
“This won’t work.” He stopped and cupped his muddy hand at the base of her neck, his blue eyes pleading. “You’re too pretty. A little mud can’t change that.”
Zo yanked on the sleeve of her shirt until the seam split then ripped and frayed the cuff of her pant legs. Young, unarmed women just didn’t go on casual strolls through the perilous hills of the Ram. Commander Laden said she needed to look desperate if she wanted them to believe her story. Her lie.
As if looking desperate is hard, Zo thought.
Gabe stood a full head taller than Zo. Despite his large frame, he could outrun a jackrabbit and his mind was just as quick. A valuable weapon for the Allies. But with all of his abilities, he was not the one walking into the lion’s den this morning.
He untwisted the strap of Zo’s medical satchel and let out a long breath before dropping his hands to his sides.
“I’ll miss you,” said Zo. Her voice carried the mechanical cadence she’d adopted several years ago. A small part of her—the part that wasn’t dead—hated disappointing Gabe. He’d done so much for her and her little sister, Tess, since they’d journeyed from the Valley of Wolves to live with Commander Laden and the Allies.
Thinking of her wild, eight-year-old sister brought a temporary smile to Zo’s muddied face. She couldn’t think of Tess and not imagine her tromping through the forest trying to catch squirrels and sneak up on rabbits. It was her second favorite thing to do, next to following Zo around the Allied Camp. The little tick wouldn’t take her absence well. Zo had left a note and arranged for her care, but that didn’t mean the kid wouldn’t be furious.
Gabe pressed his cold hands to Zo’s face and forced her to look at him. “Come back with me, Zo. Let Commander Laden send someone else. Someone with less to lose.”
“We’re not doing this again.” Zo pulled away. She had begged for this mission, and she would see it through. No matter what the cost. The Allies desperately needed information that only she could provide, if they hoped to defeat the most powerful military force in the region.
Gabe’s hands curled into fists. His voice rose to carry over the wind that whipped his unruly hair. “Entering Ram’s Gate is suicide! We don’t even know if you can get the information Laden’s after.”
The truth was far worse than Gabe could possibly know. He hadn’t heard what life would be like inside the Gate. They would eventually discover her, and once they did, they’d kill her. Plain and simple.
There were worse things a person could endure.
She’d do anything for the Cause.
“Goodbye, Gabe.” She kissed his frozen, whiskered cheek.
His hand clamped down on Zo’s wrist and he yanked her into a fierce embrace. “I’ll be close, waiting to help you escape the minute you send word.” He smoothed down her wild, dark hair. “I’ll find a way to keep you safe, Zo. I swear it.”
Zo forced a hollow smile, for Gabe’s sake. “Look after Tess. Tell her I’m doing this for her. Tell her I’m doing it for our parents.”