The Mercenary's Bounty

by Kristen Banet

Repeating it to herself didn’t make the attraction she was feeling go away.

  34

  Luykas

  Preparation to get out of the village and on the mission moved fast. Luykas oversaw all of it, knowing his brother was deep in thought and trusted him. The village, the Company, his title. Alchan needed the day to consider all of it without getting wrapped up in the little things, so Luykas played co-leader, his role. He wasn’t royalty in the eyes of the Andinna, being a mutt, but his half-brother was the King and he was a co-founder of the Ivory Shadows alongside him. He demanded respect in his own right, even if he was always held at a distance like his brother. For different reasons, certainly, but held at a distance nonetheless.

  He had a list of things he needed to do before they left, and he was half-avoiding all of them. He decided to try doing the easier stuff before confronting the hard part of his job.

  “Do any of you need anything?” he asked in Andena, finding Nevyn, Varon, and Kian with Kian’s family in the blacksmith’s open building. Together, he knew all of their armor and weapons would be in great shape by the next morning.

  “No, we’re doing well,” Kian answered, looking up to him, keeping to their native tongue. “What do you need, boss?”

  “Something to do,” he answered, sighing. “I left Alchan at his place, so let’s try not to bother him until we’re ready to go.”

  “Want to tell me even more about this new female?” Kian asked. He seemed nervous to even ask, which was out of character for the large, adult male. “I seem to still be a bit behind compared to the rest of you.”

  “You could try talking to her more.” Nevyn was chuckling. “Never knew you to be nervous around a female, Kian.”

  “He better be nervous,” Senri said, snapping. “If he ends up on her bad side, I’ll have his damned hide. He knows it. There’s finally a female in the Company to keep all of you in line.”

  Kian’s nervousness was suddenly explained.

  “Senri, be nice,” Luykas chided softly, knowing if he was more aggressive, she would gut him. “Mave isn’t an easy female to get a word in with, and she’s hard to know in general. Alchan and I told you everything we honestly know, Kian. There’s not much else. She’s Maevana Lorren. She’s the Champion, or rather, was. She’s standoffish, but trying her best to get to know everyone, at her own pace. She’s out of place and doesn’t know too much about how to react to many situations we find normal. And she holds a mean grudge. She’s not mean, mind you. Just don’t get on her bad side once. It’ll take ten good deeds to fix it.” He knew that from experience.

  “She’s dominant, that’s for sure.” Senri sighed, shaking her head. “One day, and she’s stirred up half the village. Allaina probably already hates her. Jesvena doesn’t know what to do or say about it. Generally dominant females who don’t want power put their eyes down anyway, just to maintain the status quo. She didn’t.”

  Luykas groaned. He needed to take responsibility for this one. They all did, really. “Our fault. We’ve been so busy getting her up to speed with language, history, and everything else that some things have fallen behind. Hard for a bunch of males to really explain the inner workings of females. Mat’s still trying to explain to her all the nuances of a mayara and relationships. I need to get on her ass over her blood magic and our bond, but she won’t let me close enough to try and we’ve been busy. She only found out about Alchan right after we were attacked on the road.”

  “You were keeping Alchan’s identity a secret from her?” Senri gasped, tossing down some tool she was using with all that female indignation he had seen before. “She’s a Lorren! She should have known who Alchan was the moment they met!”

  “Yeah, well, Alchan was putting it off, so that tied all of our hands,” Nevyn said, jumping in to defend them. “Please, Senri-”

  “No! I can’t believe you males! You want her to trust you and you keep something like that from her? I’m amazed a female like her didn’t gut one of you for it. Where’s Alchan? Bedru and King or not, he needs this ass-chewing too.”

  “Wife of mine,” Kian said, grabbing her before she could storm out. “No one gives the King an ass-chewing.”

  “Watch me!” she snapped.

  “Mave beat you to it, but in a different way.” Nevyn began to chuckle and Luykas quickly caught on to why. It led to him needing to smother some laughter. “She threatened him. It was impressive. She doesn’t really care he’s the King. If anything, she likes him less because of the title.”

  “Oh. That’s good. She’s more dominant than him, I think. He needs a real female to finally put his eyes down.” Senri nodded, seeming satisfied. None of them burst her bubble that the battle of wills between Alchan and Mave was an ongoing issue. They were still challenging each other and Luykas honestly didn’t know who would win one day.

  The topic dropped as Kian continued to press for more information, something he could use to get to know Mave. Luykas had no advice, still trying to figure it out. He didn’t want to give up the one secret they all knew worked, telling her about her family. That was something he wanted to use. He needed it.

  “You know what, I’ll go help her today. Senri, would you be appeased by that?” Kian leaned over his wife, smiling.

  “Yes, I would. You’re allowed to come back at dinner. I need you out of my hair for an afternoon.” Senri waved him away, only giving him a dismissal in the form of a kiss on his cheek when he didn’t move for her.

  Kian grabbed Luykas on the way out, forcing them to leave everyone else behind.

  “You’re coming,” he said.

  “She’s really riding you about this, isn’t she?” Luykas looked over his shoulder to where Senri was left with the other males.

  “She is.” Kian sighed. “They spent one evening together and she’s already protective in a way I can’t describe. If I don’t become Mave’s friend and make sure she knows she has a place with my family, Senri will take my balls and feed them to gryphons.”

  “The problem?”

  “I don’t even know her, and getting to know her, as you say, will be hard.” Kian shook his head. “I’ll do it, though. I’ll find a way to get in the good graces of the new female so Senri can have a new friend.”

  Luykas considered him. Then he gave up his best advice, even when he didn’t want to. “We all figured out that she loves hearing about her family. If you have any stories about them, try and tell her some. She’ll listen with bated breath, too curious to resist.”

  Kian crossed his arms, stopping to think about that. With a long hum, he nodded. “That would make sense, if she doesn’t remember them very well.”

  “At all. She barely remembers them at all. Or her brothers, who I bet she saw even less of than her parents in the short time before the War ended.”

  “I remember the day her mother’s fertile time started. Scared the shit out of everyone during a mission. We had to cut it short and get her back to camp.” Kian snorted. “Then no one saw her or the General for days. Two years later, this little female was born and we never saw our commander again. She was sent away to hide. I should have known then it was a sign of bad things to come, not having her in the fight with us.”

  “They didn’t want the War to stop them from having their lives either. You were with Senri back then. I bet you went home when her fertile time was coming closer.” Luykas refused to fall into the belief that Mave’s birth and everything after it was her fault. Or even her parents’. They had done what several others had done during the War, tried to keep moving forward and loving life.

  “Took an entire year off, and we had an oldura make sure the timing was right, so I could be there for it.” Kian smiled wistfully. “Didn’t get lucky that time, but let’s say it was the best vacation I had ever had. She’s due for another in the next couple of years. Can’t fucking wait.”

  “You see a future with kids?” he asked politely. He knew Kian desperately wanted a little boy or girl in the family.

&n
bsp; “Of course! Senri has enough fertile times left to have at least one, maybe two, if we’re lucky. Ah, it would be good to have another runt running around.” Kian’s smile stayed, now turning sad as they kept walking. “Maybe it’ll ease the pain of losing the first.”

  Luykas had nothing to say about that. He knew saying something would only drag Kian down further. Out of all the older males, Kian was the one who used a grin and a laugh to cover a deep pain. At the beginning of the War, his family had one young son, about three hundred, who had wanted to be a warrior like Kian. He’d died in the first decade to a chance arrow during a skirmish. It had caused Senri to step back from the army, practically retiring from being a warrior until they had come to Olost, and Kian to fight even harder.

  Finally, they were at the stables, and Kian’s mood lightened again, covering that pain again, like he always did. “Well, I thought she was with Mat. Is Bryn another of her lovebirds?” Kian chuckled, nodding to the scene unfolding before them.

  Luykas bit back a groan. He didn’t like what he saw.

  Bryn was shirtless, and Mave was just staring. Not even trying to hide it. When Bryn rose up from working on the shoes of one of the horses, she looked away. Bryn now stared at her, so obviously drinking in the sight of her that he was oblivious to them walking up. Then he grabbed a clay cup, put some water in it and handed it to her. She took it so tentatively that Luykas nearly snarled just because of his own stupidity, wanting her to give him the look she was giving Bryn now. He wanted to be giving her the damned drink, now feeling stupid for not remembering to bring her some offering.

  He must have had too much emotion on his face, because Kian was staring at him with curiosity.

  “Are you okay? I hear some grumbling.” Kian elbowed him. “Does someone here have a crush?”

  “Yeah. Brynec,” Luykas snapped. He did not look at Mave like that. He couldn’t. Sure, they were in the right age distance for it to be normal. She was gorgeous and fierce. They had a blood bond, which now made his heart beat with such an intensity that he was concerned it would leave his chest. He was growing better at ignoring the signs from her every day.

  Now it was too intense for him. Seeing her, wanting to be right next to her.

  “Go bother her,” he said quickly, stepping back. “I’m probably needed elsewhere.”

  “Are you sure?” Kian was so obviously trying not to laugh. “Oh, boss, you have problems. Aren’t you blood-bonded with her?”

  Luykas growled, taking off, leaving Kian’s unsympathetic laughter behind.

  He landed at his home, storming inside, trying to push the bond to the back of his mind again.

  “Damn it!” he snarled. “Get out of my head!” He leaned on a wall, covering his face. The bond had nearly broken him during their fight with the Elvasi. He had seen her in that net and nearly lost it. They had nearly taken her. She would have gone so far from him if she’d been taken. Too far. The very idea of it had nearly driven him mad.

  He’d never had to bury anything so quickly before. Seeing Mat and Bryn go to her side. Then his brother pulling her back to them, so they could keep her surrounded. Those things had brought him the shreds of peace he’d needed.

  He wanted to tear out throats now. He’d come to his home to push the bond back down, but now he was absorbed in it. The undeniable need to be near her.

  “I did this to myself,” he said harshly, stumbling into his kitchen. “Fuck.” His hands were shaking. She was too far away and he knew she was only a short flight away. It wasn’t like this for others with the bond. They described it as a soft pull, but for him, it felt like his heart was being pulled out of his chest to go where it needed to be. “Fucking gods and their tricks.” Why couldn’t they just let him do it without this sort of backlash?

  With some quick words, he started boiling water to make tea. A soothing brew would maybe help him. He still had so much to do for the day and couldn’t be wound up with her on his mind like this. He needed to check on Leshaun and make sure Rain was going to be okay on his own in the village again.

  As he worked in his kitchen, the bond faded. He distracted himself with other things he just had to do. Finally, he had a long sip of the finished tea and let it wash over him. It was made with a specific type of plant they had once harvested in Andena. Really, it was made for Andinna to bring down their tempers to better rationally handle things when something was too stressful. Luykas always drank a lot of it. Growing up in the Empire, his mother had made him drink it every night, just to make sure he never lost his temper and hurt someone. When he’d left, he had a hard time dealing with his Andinna side and continued to drink it, but not nearly every day. He’d weaned himself down to the occasional cup every so often, like most other Andinna. Now he wanted to put it into a waterskin and take it with him everywhere. It helped deaden the bond, or maybe just his need to respond to it.

  He sighed happily, downing the glass and having another before deciding he had to get back to work.

  He found Leshaun in the healer’s home, resting quietly. The healer left quickly at his appearance, knowing he would want a private moment with the old male. Leshaun opened one eye and groaned. “What do you need?” the old male asked.

  “I just wanted to catch you up on what was happening. We’re leaving tomorrow for the mission.”

  “I won’t be up in time for that. I thought we were taking a few weeks off and I could heal-” The old male looked pretty pissed off now.

  “They came after Mave. There’s a massive bounty on her head. We need to strike back now. But that’s not the important part. Leshaun, we need to talk.” Luykas hated being the one with this particular duty, but it was finally time. With Rain recently joining them and now Mave, it was time. “No more missions for you.” He laid it out there quickly. “It’s time you take a more comfortable position. I want you to manage our resources here at home while we’re gone. Everything from our personal supplies, backup sets of armor, weapons, to our homes, so we can come home any day and they’re ready for us.”

  Lehsaun’s anger faded quickly and a tired sigh escaped the weak chest of the male. “I know. It’s not just this injury. I’m old and tired. Matesh is still in his prime, but he’s always helping me when he could be doing more.”

  “Exactly.” And it was truthful of Leshaun to admit. Luykas didn’t wound his pride by saying it should have happened a century earlier. Leshaun was an old, grizzled soldier and very few could understand all the things the old male knew. “Rain will be staying back this mission as well, just as we had planned. We don’t need the wyvern for this and he needs the time.”

  “Boy’s not been right since we rescued them, that’s for sure. I’ll keep him close. I’ll be up and moving in the next day. That’s what the healer thinks, anyway.”

  “You’ll still receive a cut from us. You’re still one of us.” Luykas hated this. Leshaun wasn’t the first they had to permanently leave behind. He hated it, but it was better than the alternative. The Company had lost over a dozen men in the last thousand years. Leshaun didn’t need to be another body when they could use him elsewhere. “We just want you in a different role.”

  “I get it.” Leshaun pushed himself to sit up. “You do me a great honor with this, Luykas. It wounds my pride to admit it’s time, but I would rather live to see my nephew try for babies than die next to him, or get him killed trying to save me.”

  “I’m sorry, old friend.” Luykas extended a hand and Leshaun took it firmly, proving he still had strength in his old body. He and Alchan had spoken a lot the night before about it. His brother had wanted to deliver the news himself, but Luykas decided he would. He and Leshaun had their disagreements, often. It felt right to him that he needed to deliver this new to the old male, even when it was hard new to deliver. A sign that he did still respect, no matter what. “Now, I need to go speak to Rain.”

  “Go. Thank you for coming to see me before moving out.” Leshaun waved him away.

  Luykas retreate
d, noticing the old male was back in a healing sleep before he made it out of the room. He must have been trying to doze back off when he’d walked in.

  He jumped into the air once he was outside and went towards Rain’s home with his father. He didn’t bother knocking, something he’d never done with the family. He found Zayden in the main room, cleaning his home, not preparing for an important mission.

  “Where’s Rain?” he asked, eyeing the upset-looking father. He had two hundred years on Zayden, but they never acted like it. Sometimes, he wondered if Zayden was an old man in a young body and sometimes he wondered when the cranky father would grow up. Sometimes Luykas felt too old for his skin. Needless to say, they were never very close. The only thing that brought Luykas close with Zayden was helping raise Rain. Luykas knew what it meant to be a mutt and had grown attached to the little blue bundle when he’d been born. Zayden had to tolerate it.

  “Down with the males who keep the patrol. He’s getting to work to avoid me.” Zayden sighed. “I’m trying, Luykas. I’m not bothering him, letting him deal with whatever is wrong in his own time.”

  “I know it’s hard, but it’s good you’re letting him.” He couldn’t say much else. The secret of what had happened to Rain in the pits was one he would keep until the day he died. Rain would decide who could know and who couldn’t. His heart broke for the young male, like it had when they had met Bryn and learned what happened to him through the centuries of slavery. Like it broke knowing how Mave was treated. “Well, if he’s already getting to work, then I don’t need him. You should go down and help Mave and Bryn with the horses. I bet Matesh will be down there soon. Don’t stay locked away just because Rain is going through some things on his own.”

  “I’m his father-”

  “But you aren’t just his father. You’re also an important friend to many others. Maybe getting closer with Mave will help you reconnect with Rain, or sticking close to Matesh. He loves her and she loves him in return. Matesh is his uncle in more than just the adoptive way I am. He looks at Mat like family.” Luykas threw the suggestion out there, not liking how Zayden was locking himself away because of the situation with Rain. Zayden watched him, narrowing his eyes, so he continued. “I’m just saying. I am your boss and older than you.”