by T. A. White
How was she going to balance the two forces in her life without losing sight of who she was and the promises she’d made?
His other hand cupped the back of her head. He smoothed her hair before touching his lips to her ear.
He tugged on her, scooping her up and dragging her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, setting her chin on his shoulder.
“You know they’re going to try to kill you,” she said softly into his ear. She wasn’t talking about his council.
His arms tightened around her for a brief moment. “They may try, but better men than them have failed.”
She sighed and pressed her face into the side of his neck.
“They’ll seek to divide us. They’ll strike while we’re not looking.”
“They will not be successful.”
She wanted to believe him. She really did. She just didn’t know if she could. He didn’t understand her people like she did.
“This is not a good idea.”
“You said it yourself. There is something wrong. We must do everything we can to find that problem and destroy it.” He moved a piece of hair away from her face. His thumb ran up and down the side of her neck in a caress that sent shivers coursing through Shea’s body. She leaned into his touch. “Besides, wasn’t it you who advocated for going up there to see what was happening?”
She pulled back, her eyes snapping fire at him. “I’d planned to go by myself, and you damn well know it.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “How is that less dangerous than what I have planned? At least I will be taking an army to protect my back.”
She rolled her eyes. “More like present a nice big target. I could have slipped in and out before anyone was the wiser. You can’t kill what you don’t even know is there.”
“Now who’s cocky?”
She gave him a sharp grin. “It’s not arrogance if it’s true.”
His smile when it came was dark and wicked and hinted of things done in the dark. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. She met the fury of his passion with a storm of her own.
There was a small giggle from the ground.
Shea and Fallon pulled apart, looking at each other with equally surprised looks. They turned in unison to find an imp with a mass of blond curls and blue eyes staring up at them in innocence.
“I forgot she was here,” Fallon said in bemusement.
The statement struck Shea as funny and she buried her face in his neck as she shook with laughter.
His chest rumbled as he chuckled. He leaned back to stare at the ceiling. “We’ll have to figure out other living arrangements for her tomorrow. She can’t stay in our room at night.”
The thought of a child’s presence forcing the Warlord to abstinence made Shea laugh harder.
“You’re the one who wanted children,” Shea said after she’d gotten her laughter under control.
He stared at the child with a put-out expression. “I’m beginning to rethink that decision.”
She pressed a kiss against his jaw and stood. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s find you a place to sleep for the night.”
Mist scampered out from under the table and ran up to hug Fallon before latching onto Shea’s hand.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“DOES SHE speak?” Daere asked, her gaze fastened on Mist as the little girl investigated the tangled ivy growing along the trunk of the tree. Mist’s gaze was fascinated as she bent closer to peer at something among the vines.
“Not much. Not yet,” Shea answered.
“Is she mute?”
Shea shook her head. “Chirron didn’t think so. I think she just needs to get comfortable before she opens up.”
Daere’s gaze was pensive as she stared at the girl. To Shea’s surprise, she hadn’t protested Mist’s presence when she’d arrived to speak with Shea about preparations for the upcoming journey. In fact, the woman had seemed all too eager to have the girl join them.
Shea had expected at least some protest, maybe Daere pointing out how it wasn’t seemly for the Warlord’s Telroi to have appropriated an orphan. Again, the other woman had surprised her.
“Have you explained that you’re leaving yet?” Daere asked.
Shea shook her head. That was why they were out here. It wouldn’t be long before Fallon and his men were ready to depart—maybe days. Shea didn’t want to disappear on the little girl, but there was no way she could bring Mist with her into the Highlands. Not when she still didn’t know what they were walking into.
Daere’s expression reflected understanding, and she turned the conversation to other matters. “With her name, I suspect she may have originated from the Rain Clan. Some among our people will give their children names that honor their clans and show solidarity with them.”
Shea nodded. She’d thought that too, but hadn’t wanted to say anything until she had proof. She had to move carefully or risk alienating certain sects of the Trateri even more than she already had.
“She won’t speak of what came before,” Shea said. “It is making things difficult.”
Daere nodded. “I’m sure you’ll track them down. You are nothing if not resourceful.”
Shea raised an eyebrow, amused. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”
Daere met her eyes with a sardonic look of her own. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
Mist drifted toward a white ivy. It wasn’t deadly, but it would leave the child uncomfortable and with a nasty rash for a few days.
“Mist, don’t touch that,” Shea said. The little girl jerked her hands back, her shoulders hunching. Her wide, frightened gaze swung to Shea. Everything about the little girl shouted fear, from the crumpled expression to the way she held her body. It made Shea’s chest hurt to see that expression on her face at just four little words.
Daere cursed softly enough that the little girl wouldn’t hear them. She kept her face arranged in a pleasant expression—a feat that Shea envied—as she said words that made even Shea’s ears burn. “When we find the people who hurt this little girl, I am going to enjoy visiting some of the tortures of the afterworld on them.”
Shea couldn’t agree more.
“I’m not mad at you, Mist,” Shea reassured the little girl. She came and knelt beside her and pointed at the cluster of leaves Mist had been about to touch. “See the white veins in the middle and the darker green on the edge.”
The fear didn’t fade from Mist’s eyes even as she looked where Shea was pointing.
“There’re usually three leaves that come to a point; like this. Do you see?” Shea used a stick to point out the different features, softly touching each feature as she described them. Mist frowned as she looked where Shea indicated. “It’s white ivy. It’s not really poisonous. At least not in the way we think of poison. There is a sticky oil on the leaves that most people are highly allergic too. That’s how it causes a blistering rash. If you see three, leave it be.”
Mist nodded solemnly after Shea finished, her eyes so serious as she mouthed the last phrase to herself.
“You know, Mist, Fallon and I will have to leave on a journey soon.”
The little girl’s head shot up, and she looked at Shea with horrified eyes. Shea’s heart clenched at the fear she saw on Mist’s face.
Mist gestured to herself and then Shea, her hopeful question clear.
Shea shook her head. “I’m sorry. You cannot come with us. Where we’re going is too dangerous to bring you along.”
Mist’s face fell, and she directed her attention down at her feet.
Shea saw that she was losing the girl and tried to console her. “My good friend, Daere, will look after you while we’re gone.”
Daere smiled at the little girl, her expression warmer and softer than anything Shea had seen before. She came and knelt beside Shea. “Hello Mist. I am very happy to meet you.”
The little girl looked unconvinced and sent a reproachful look Shea’s way. It would have been funny if there hadn’t
been desperation behind Mist’s eyes.
Seeing it, Daere said, “Shea said as a treat she would teach us a little about the forest before she left, and when she gets back she will teach us about more of the Lowlands. Isn’t that right, Shea?”
Mist looked between Shea and Daere with suspicion before finally giving Shea a hopeful expression.
Shea smiled at her. “My mother used to take me on trips when I was your age, and she would teach me everything about the world around me.”
She really had. Even twenty years later Shea still remembered those trips and the patience her mother had displayed. Shea had been a curious child. Always trying to wander off and explore.
“I can teach you a little before I leave and then more when I return,” Shea said, looking around at the forest. They wouldn’t be able to go far, but to a girl who’d grown up in the Trateri homelands, this place would seem plenty wonderous.
Mist’s hand touched the back of Shea’s hand. She waited until Shea looked at her again to point to another plant, this one with a yellow flower that looked like a spiral inside.
“Do you want to know what that is?”
Mist nodded, her eyes still solemn. Shea’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “Very well.”
Daere drifted closer as Shea explained the various properties that she knew for the flower the locals called a golden spiral. An hour passed as Mist and Daere found more and more things for Shea to describe. Before long Shea was holding an impromptu beast class as she sketched out different beast footprints in the dirt.
Shea was completely absorbed in the descriptions as the three of them put their heads together to look at the current beast print Shea had pressed into the ground.
She didn’t even notice how they had become the center of attention until someone asked, “How do you distinguish between the revenant and the cackle dog? The two prints look almost identical to me.”
Shea looked up to find several Trateri dressed in clan colors that she didn’t recognize, gathered around watching. The men and one woman were all bigger than the other Trateri she’d met. Their features broader with a fierce look in their eyes that made Shea think that they weren’t used to playing nice with others.
Ember’s clan leader stood among them, his clothes much plainer than yesterday. He was missing the leather armor and the bloodthirsty look. Surrounded by those Shea assumed were his kinsmen, he almost seemed relaxed.
Daere stood up, brushing her hands against the seat of her pants. “Zeph, I had heard your clan finally joined us.”
Zeph inclined his head, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “It is good to see you again, little cousin.”
Shea’s eyebrows lifted. Cousin? This man was related to Fallon?
Seeing the question written on her face, Zeph addressed Shea, “We’re related on the paternal side, whereas Hawkvale shares a connection with my lovely cousin on the maternal side.”
Shea nodded, not knowing what else to say. The Trateri family bonds were important to them and resembled a thorny thicket. Though Fallon had no immediate family, he seemed to have many extended relations.
A tall man, his blond curls tamed into a bun on top of his head ventured close and crouched next to Mist. “Are you learning about these beasts that we’ve heard so much about?”
Mist ducked her head and edged closer to Shea, not stopping until she was behind her.
The man looked up a Shea, his eyes sharp and suspicious. Mist stayed where she was, her head pressed into the back of Shea’s leg.
Shea stared back at the man and his friends with no clue as to what to say. Mist’s reaction was extreme, and she didn’t know quite how to explain it to strangers. Or if she even should, given the fact that Fallon planned to find the person behind the child’s abuse.
Daere stepped into the silence. “What brings you here?”
Zeph and his man didn’t look away from Shea and the girl, their eyes focused and intent.
The blond leaned forward, trying to peer around Shea. He gave Mist a charming smile “It’s alright, little one. I won’t harm you.”
Mist burrowed deeper into Shea.
“It doesn’t look like she wants to talk to you,” Shea said, not liking how much interest he showed in the child.
She still wasn’t sure how abrupt she should be, not with Ember’s clan leader standing right there. The last thing she wanted to do was alienate another potential ally of Fallon’s. What she wanted to do was scoop Mist into her arms and leave the area as fast as possible. Perhaps set Chirron on them to investigate. The chances were the little girl had associated the man from Ember with someone she used to know, but it wouldn’t hurt to have him checked out.
“Bax?” Zeph asked, his gaze watchful.
“There are bruises on the little one’s arms and the back of her legs.” The blond’s voice remained pleasant as he relayed that information, though there was an edge to it hinting at his unhappiness.
Zeph gaze moved to Shea as the last semblance of friendliness faded from his face.
“I don’t care who you spend your nights with, but if that child has suffered abuse at your hands, I will see that you are punished to the fullest extent of our laws.” Zeph gave her a look that said he’d very much enjoy taking her apart with his bare hands. That he might not wait for justice.
Shea’s jaw dropped. Why did they immediately assume that she was the one to hurt Mist?
The blond lunged forward, attempting to grab Mist. His hand barely grazed her shirt before Shea swept her away with one hand while blocking his attempt with the other. He spun, his arm reaching up to grab her, going for her shirt. It was a technique that Trenton had used on her more than once in their self-defense training.
This man was a shade slower than Trenton and didn’t have Trenton’s creativity. Shea responded, her body reacting through sheer muscle memory. She fell back a step, grasping the hand gripping her shirt and applying pressure to the wrist while kicking at his knee. She pulled him forward, breaking his hold and pulling him off balance. He landed on his back with a grunt.
She thought she’d managed to evade him until his hand shot out to grab her ankle and yank. She hit the ground with a grunt. She kicked out, connecting with the blond’s head as she scrambled backwards. If he got ahold of her, her chances of escaping were seriously reduced.
“Leave her alone!” a small voice screamed. A small form flew at Bax. Mist attacked him with furious fists, screaming her head off the whole time. Shea was taken aback at the fury on the little girl’s face and didn’t move for a long moment, watching the unfolding violence with wide eyes and an open mouth.
Bax, to his credit, didn’t offer the girl any violence in return. He struggled with keeping Mist from hurting herself or him with only mild success. Shea winced as the little girl landed a blow above his eye.
Trenton appeared like a shadow behind Zeph, his blade a threat against the clan leader’s neck. Seeing the situation devolving to a place they wouldn’t be able to recover from without shedding blood, Shea darted in, grabbing the little girl under the arms and dragging her back as Mist kicked and squirmed in her arms. She tried like mad to attack Bax where he lay on the ground, his hands open and spread as if to say he was unarmed and harmless.
Shea soon saw why as Wilhelm appeared from Shea’s other side, blade drawn and his face an implacable mask.
So much for not offending another clan leader. Her guard had his blade at Ember’s throat and her other one looked like he was seriously considering stabbing the man lying on the ground through the stomach.
Daere stepped forward, her face flushed and her eyes glittering furiously. “Explain the meaning of this.”
For a minute Shea thought she meant Trenton.
“Ember will not tolerate the abuse of a child,” Zeph said, his face reserved as he ignored the blade at his throat. He looked with interest at Shea trying to sooth Mist by rocking her back and forth. The child’s chest heaved with the force of a bellows. “But perhaps
we were hasty in our assumptions.”
Shea gave him an incredulous look as if to say ‘ya, think?’ The woman beside Zeph smothered a smirk.
Zeph’s expression was wry as he acknowledged her unvoiced point.
“I met Mist right before the eagle attack,” Shea said. She chanced straightening, not wanting to have this conversation while she was on her knees. “It wasn’t until afterwards when a healer was examining her for injuries that we discovered she’d been mistreated.”
“She’s the child you saved,” the blond on the ground said. Wilhelm shifted forward, his movement a threat. Bax held his hands up higher and gave the other man an apologetic look.
“Yes.”
“My apologies, Daere,” Zeph told the other woman. “I should have known you of all people wouldn’t serve a woman who abused children.”
Shea looked between the other two, feeling like she’d missed something. This wasn’t the first time someone had referred to Daere and a child. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask a question. She swallowed it back when she noticed the grief on Daere’s face. Shea had a feeling this story had a very sad ending. She didn’t want to subject Daere to having to explain such a thing in front of all these people. She’d tell her if she wanted to, eventually.
“Yes, you should have known better,” Daere said, not giving Ember’s clan leader an inch of understanding.
Zeph inclined his head as much as the blade Trenton held at his throat would permit. “You’re right. This was an unfortunate assumption.”
Daere’s face was implacable. “I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”
Zeph nodded, his gaze shifted to Shea. “Please forgive our jumping to conclusions.”
“You’re all idiots,” Shea declared before she could think better of it.
A choked sound came from the woman at Zeph’s left. Shea ignored her and the slightly surprised look on Zeph’s face. Did he really think she’d let this go so easily?