Annie's POV:
The column made camp at dusk, in a hollow between two hills where the wind couldn't reach.
The first camp of a march has a feeling to it. The fires go up fast. The food goes around fast. The warriors talk in the voices of men who have not yet seen the enemy. Everyone is still whole. It's the best night of the road—everyone knows it—no one says it.
The wagons circled. The fires went up. The warriors settled in their watches. I found a place near the medical cart, close to the fire. I was spreading the blanket for Jack when something landed at my feet.
A bundle of bread and dried meat, wrapped in cloth.
I looked up. Alexander stood over me, and he was looking at the fire, not at me. He had the look of a man who had walked over with a purpose and lost it on the way. He stoo
