"Mount up," Arun called, already on his horse and heading for the track that led them out of the forest and back toward civilization.
-3-
THE abandoned outpost they'd claimed as a base of operations sat deep in Wallen Forest, on the border of Marnak and the Thousand Tribes land. A disputed area both sides ignored and avoided to maintain the fragile peace that had teetered on the edge of disaster since the war. But keeping their presence there a secret meant avoiding army settlements and noble estates on the ride back and that added hours to the trip.
Exhausted and fighting to keep her eyes open, Selena tried to surreptitiously stretch in the saddle. Up ahead, Nis, Chel, and Anes talked quietly among themselves. Arun rode with his head down just behind the brothers, no doubt drowsing and trusting his horse to follow the mounts in front of him. Glancing back, the rest of the team stretched out in a jagged line of yawning, dozing, and quiet conversations. Silently, Selena ticked off each name on her invisible list, making sure they hadn't lost anyone since the last time she checked.
These people were more than just a collection of misfits and outlaws. They were close, tight-knit and family in a way she'd never experienced before outside of her brother. She hated that sometimes their shared goal meant she had to lead them into danger. But even when it was a necessity, she'd promised herself she'd do everything in her power to make sure they all got home. And make sure they had a home to go back to.
Selena and Arun had done their best not to be so much of a threat that woefully lazy and unprepared local gentry would feel the need to hazard calling the army to the borderlands to deal with them. The attack today had been a calculated risk. And she still didn't know if it had paid off, since the only moment she'd had alone with her brother, they'd spent arguing about inviting a possible viper back to their nest.
Selena glanced over her shoulder at Finn bringing up the rear of the straggling line of riders. Everyone was giving him a wide berth, but their suspicion and distance didn't faze him at all. Neither apparently did the long night and tiring ride. The bard sat up straight in his saddle, alert and wide-eyed, making her both envious and irritated by his endurance.
Of course, his presence alone was an irritant to her. She didn't like that he'd forced his way into joining them. Letting a stranger in among them was dangerous. They had too much to lose. And too many secrets to hide.
His attention shifted back from where it had been scanning the trees beside them, and he caught her staring. Again. It seemed like he always knew when she was looking. His mouth curved into a genuine smile and Selena's breath hitched for a moment, surprised and unwillingly intrigued at how appealing and relaxed it made him look. It was nothing like the provocative smirk from the inn or the smug grin when she'd been forced to concede to her brother and agree to let him come along. It was more like the look he'd given her while they fought side by side.
Confident and as certain of her as he'd been of himself. The implicit trust he'd shown in her from the moment Selena saved him from the guard in the wagon had taken her by surprise. Selena figured, after the obnoxious, chauvinistic flirting, he'd either be overprotective or throw her to the wolves to save his own skin. Instead, he'd trusted Selena to watch his back and hold her own in the fight. He didn't even get curt or wounded about her saving his life. Just offered simple, honest gratitude. A fleeting moment of camaraderie between warriors.
The man was an enigma. A confusing contradiction of conceited self-interest mixed with brief moments of honor and candid appreciation. He left her with more questions than answers, and she was determined to puzzle him out before they got back to the outpost. And focusing on him would keep her awake for the rest of the journey.
Selena slowly dropped back through the line until she rode almost side by side with Finn. Some of the arrogance crept back into his expression as he watched her move closer and she bristled at the cocky half-grin.
Instead of gently, and diplomatically, probing for the truth, Selena snarled at him and demanded, "Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to insert yourself among us?"
His eyes hardened, but the grin remained, though now it seemed more threatening. "I told you, I want my money. You're not going to shake me until I get what you owe me."
"Is that all you care about? Filling your pockets?"
For a moment, he looked genuinely surprised, then his brow furrowed and he shook his head.
"No, it's not the only thing I care for. But it is what this whole night was about. For me, at least. I assume you didn't attack an army caravan expecting to come away empty handed. Your reasons for being out here are just as mercenary as mine."
Harsh denial hovered on the tip of her tongue. But the careful way he watched her made her realize how close she was to giving up way too much information. How close she was to betraying the truth to a stranger she didn't trust.
Selena swallowed back the protest and scowled at him. "It's not for personal gain. There's a lot of us to feed and protect."
"Protect them from what?"
She opened her mouth to retort but forced her lips closed. She needed to stop reacting. Needed to stop letting Finn get under her skin. She still didn't know who he was. Or if he'd sell their secrets to the next bidder that came along. She couldn't admit to the true purpose of the outpost's residents. If Tresk found out they were systematically saving, and sometimes collecting, refugees from being sent to Hafgan for his horrible purposes, he wouldn't ignore them as a harmless nuisance. They'd been too careful to conceal their movements, spreading those attacks out around the kingdom, disguising their band in different ways so it never looked like the same group. Careful to never lead anyone back to the outpost. As far as the authorities were concerned, they were a small band of brigands preying on other outlaws and outcasts living along the border. Not to mention what would happen if the Warlord found out exactly who it was running this particular group.
Settling into her saddle, Selena lifted her chin and glared defiantly.
"From going hungry. From any overzealous Baron who decides he doesn't want undesirables along his border. From the difficulties and hardships of going it alone, if we're run out of the area."
She kept her tone clipped and dismissive, refusing to reveal the fear and pain she felt at all the horrible possibilities. She couldn't let him probe any deeper, couldn't let him begin to guess the truth. She needed to sidetrack him, and the best way to do that was to put him on the defensive.
"How do we know you won't bring that kind of attention down on us? How do we know you didn't already double-cross us? You led us there. You wouldn't tell us anything until the last minute. You chose the spot."
"Because I wouldn't make any profit from it. As far as I can tell, there's no reward for your group. As much as Nis irritated me, I have no reason to want any of you dead," Finn answered calmly. "If I wanted to sell you out, I'd have arranged an ambush before you set up and let the caravan guards take you out. Then robbed them while they were distracted with you."
Her scowl deepened, both because of the reminder of how easily they could have been betrayed and because she hated to admit he was right.
Thankfully, she didn't need to think of a rebuttal because they crested the last hill at that moment. The outpost spread out below them and the feeling of home washed through her.
Finn started when he caught sight of it, sitting up straighter and staring hard at it for a long moment. His posture lost the languid bearing and tensed into an alertness that startled her.
"Something wrong?"
He blinked, rolling his shoulders back into lazy looseness and turned back toward her with a shake of his head.
"No. Nothing wrong. It just reminds me of someplace I've been before."
His cocky grin returned but didn't quite match the serious consideration in Finn's eyes.
"Got double-crossed by a silk trader in an abandoned settlement that looked a lot like that."
Selena was sure he w
as lying but didn't bother calling him on it. She was beginning to understand him better, and she knew he'd never give her a straight answer. Instead, she rolled her eyes and nudged her horse forward, eager to get home.
The building was squat and square and several stories high. The stone wall around it was mostly intact, except for a few places in the back that cracked and crumbled. Dense forest curved around it on three sides, like it was slowly attempting to reclaim the land.
Selena couldn't help swelling with pride at what they'd accomplished there. It had been practically uninhabitable when they first stumbled on it. For a while, it had been a non-stop cycle of cleaning and patching and moving on to the next disaster until they were exhausted. Eventually, though, they could sleep without fear of falling stones and burrowing critters sharing their sleeping rolls.
Outside, they'd had to demolish the old stables and rebuild it from scratch so it wouldn't fall down on the horses. The front courtyard slowly transformed to an all-purpose training ground. And the wild, overgrown back courtyard had become a massive kitchen garden that went a long way to making them almost self-sustainable.
It wasn't perfect yet, but the ground floor was again a comfortable place to gather and eat, the huge fireplace functioning as kitchen, dining hall, and gathering place. More than half of the rooms on the second and third floor were habitable now.
Selena had slept everywhere from rocky cave to opulent castles, but this was the first place that ever felt like home.
Catching up with her at the gates, she followed Arun through and into the stable, hoping to talk to him as soon as they could get clear of prying ears. But, they'd barely taken care of the horses when they were interrupted.
"Arun."
The joyful call echoed through the stables, causing some of the horses to shy or snort.
Her brother automatically turned, focus centered on the petite blonde woman who'd called his name. She paused in the doorway, excitedly poised on tip-toe, before she shifted the ever-present satchel slung across her body then launched herself into Arun's arms.
Selena gritted her teeth when Mora rushed in. There was something about her that grated on Selena's nerves, though she couldn't put her finger on why.
Which only made her feel guilty, considering that Mora had been through hell before they'd rescued her from Hafgan's clutches. The poor girl had been ripped away from everything and everyone she'd ever known. The trauma left her so afraid of being abandoned again, Mora kept all of her belongings in a bag that was never far from her hands.
She and Arun made each other happy, and that was all that mattered. Selena wouldn't begrudge them that. And she'd keep her own irritation to herself.
Her brother rarely smiled. He'd been focused and serious since they'd run away from their father's tyranny at eighteen. When Selena had realized she had no choice but to escape and leave everything behind, Arun hadn't thought twice about giving up everything and going with her.
So, if keeping her irritation to herself meant not causing her brother pain, she'd grin and hide it.
Still, she could only take so much of the giggling and cooing and turned away from where they seemed to have forgotten the rest of the world existed. She had other problems to deal with. Like, Nis and his brothers attempting to loom over Finn. For his part, the bard leaned casually against the wood stall, arms crossed and daring grin firmly in place.
Remembering the way he'd manhandled Nis in the tavern and the skilled way he'd fought even outnumbered by the well trained caravan guard, Selena decided to intervene before things got messy on either side.
"Nis, would you mind helping Eloise finish tending to the horses?"
Nis tore his eyes away from glaring at Finn, pink staining his cheeks even before he caught sight of Eloise. The slight girl, dressed in cast-off breeches and a patched shirt, was hard at work a couple of stalls over. She'd been skittish and quiet since arriving at the outpost, but she'd gravitated to the stables and stayed there. And Nis had found a sudden fascination with horses shortly after that.
Selena gave him a slight push before turning on his brothers.
"Chel, check in with those scheduled for patrols. Make sure to step up the watch for a couple of days. I doubt anyone from the caravan circled around, and there were no signs of being followed, but just in case."
Her gaze slid significantly toward Finn, though she didn't give voice to her doubts. He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes before turning her back on him.
"Anes, find Finn a room." She tapped her lips, considering her options and the places he could be the least amount of trouble. "I think there's an empty room at the end of the hall you and your brothers have claimed. That way you'll be on hand if he has any... issues."
She smirked at Finn's raised eyebrow, then headed into the outpost to seek her own bed. She really wanted to talk to Arun, but she knew she'd have little luck prying him away from Mora for a while. She might as well get a nap and track him down after dinner.
*****
Phelan watched her walk away, amused and irritated by her less than subtle suggestion that the Bruiser Trio would be babysitting him for the extent of his stay.
Mostly, though, he was charmed by the first real smile he'd seen curve her generous lips. Even if it had been more of a smirk.
If this were any other time and place, Phelan would have taken his time to get to know her and entice her with honest appreciation. Nothing like the heavy-handed flirting he'd been doing to sell his Finn persona.
She was smart and formidable, and he had a healthy respect for her sword arm after seeing her in a fight. Her flashes of sarcasm amused him, and her bold courage made him think about things like quiet conversation and trysts that lasted longer than a night or two. Things he hadn't thought about in a long time.
Unfortunately, she didn't trust him.
And, as long as Phelan was pretending to be something he wasn't, she never would. Even if it was worth the risk to pursue her, it wouldn't be fair to her. Or to him.
Anes cleared his throat with a warning rumble, and Phelan pulled his eyes away from Selena's retreating figure with an exaggerated leer. The rumble turned into a growl and Phelan pushed away from the wall, biting back the groan. A brutal fight followed by a full night on horseback with no time to rest or sleep had left him exhausted and sore. Not showing any weakness when surrounded by people he didn't know, and couldn't trust, however, meant putting up an invincible front. So he scooped up his gear, forced a bounce into his step and kept up a steady stream of chatter gauged to annoy.
Phelan's grin grew when he caught sight of the clenched jaw and heavy steps of his escort. Shallow victories were still victories.
By the time Anes led him up three flights of stairs, the bruiser’s own fatigue left him wilted and slumping with every step. He didn't speak, only grunted at Phelan, and jerked his head to indicate the last door at the end of the hall. Then he stood with his arms crossed and watched until Phelan shuffled into the closet-like room.
Not much more to offer than four stone walls, a floor and a swollen door that didn't quite close all the way. No window. No fireplace. No furniture. Just dust and a century worth of grime.
He spent a few minutes sorting out his sleeping roll and bedding, carefully storing his lute, and digging through his pack for any necessities he might need. While he puttered, he stretched out his hearing, listening. Anes remained standing in the hall for a full minute after Phelan shut the door behind him. Apparently, that was long enough for him to decide Phelan wasn't going to sneak back out again. The bruiser went back to his own room with a relieved sigh, and, a second later, there was the tell-tale squeak of the hinges closing. But not the click of a door latching shut. Another few minutes and Chel stomped into his room. But left the door open enough to hear any movement in the hall. No doubt Nis would do the same when he came back from the stables.
All three would stay hyper-alert until they crashed. Not that it mattered t
o Phelan. His own exhaustion dragged at him and outpost residents who hadn't been out ambushing caravans were beginning to bustle about their day as dawn spread across the sky. He'd wait until night when he was at full strength and most of the inhabitants let their guard down before he went exploring. He'd pit his best against the security of this naive group any day.
Phelan flopped onto the thin cushion of his bedroll and closed his eyes.
-4-
PHELAN hadn't given much thought on what to expect from dinner in this inaccessible, dilapidated settlement. If he had, the feast laid out on a heavy wooden table dominating the center of the meeting hall would not have been what he expected. The hundred or so inhabitants of the outpost filled plate after plate from the delicious spread then settled on the hodgepodge of benches, stools and moth-eaten cushions scattered around the room.
Omal, a tiny woman whose features had been lost to decades of wrinkles, ruled over the humongous fireplace, and the meal produced there, with an iron fist and a forceful swing of her wooden spoon. From the mix of hunted, gathered, gardened, stolen and bartered food, she'd created a feast better than Phelan had tasted in many noble dining rooms.
When he made his way around the table to fill his plate a second time, he paused to tell her just that.
"And how many noble tables have you sat at, minstrel?" Omal asked with a snicker and swat of her spoon. The swipe stung his knuckles for a second, but at least it wasn't the painful slap he'd seen Chel get for trying to sneak a taste before she was ready to serve.
"You'd be surprised," he said with a sly smile. "Next time I'm invited, I'll bring you along so you can compare for yourself."
By Blood Betrayed (The Lost Shrines Book 3) Page 4