by T. A. White
She straightened as Clark came into view with a taller, skinnier man following close behind. The second man looked like a stick, complete with knobby elbows and long, thin limbs.
“Shane meet Remy.”
Shane nodded briefly, not offering her hand. The Trateri weren’t big on handshakes as it was too easy for an enemy to use them to disable their opponent.
“If you’re serious about heading out this morning, my commander and I would be grateful for the extra help out there,” Remy said, his voice nearly a whisper. “You’ll have to keep up though. We won’t be stopping until well after nightfall.”
Shea smiled, her lips barely tilting up at the corners. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Really? You have to be tired. I know you were out all night last night and before that you were on a two week mission.” Remy’s serious eyes held hers. “I know your reputation so I know under normal circumstances you can keep up, but every man needs rest at some point. We’re covering rough ground this time. We won’t be able to stop if you get tired.”
Shea paused, looking away for a moment before looking him straight in the eye. “I won’t be a problem.”
His concerns would be valid under normal circumstances. This time she had every intention of leaving the group at the first possible chance.
Remy looked unimpressed with her statement but said, “My commander said if you can keep up you can come.”
Shea fought from whooping in relief and settled for a small smile before bending and grabbing her pack.
“Going somewhere,” a cool voice asked as a man wearing the distinctive colors of Hawkvale, golden yellow and dark brown, strode up to the trio. It was Caden.
Shea froze in the midst of slinging her pack on her back as Caden’s knowing eyes examined her. Damn.
Seeing Shea had been stricken mute, Clark jumped in. “Shane’s heading out on a mission with Dark Light troop.”
“Is he?” Caden asked his hands clasped behind his back as he gave her an inscrutable glance.
“Yes, my commander thought it would be good to have some fresh blood around,” Remy said softly, his posture alert and wary.
“I’m afraid he’ll have to get that blood elsewhere. This one’s off the mission register until further notice. Orders of Hawkvale himself.” Caden gave Shea a sidelong glance. “It’s a good thing I caught you before you left. Shane has been promoted to the Anateri, Hawkvale’s personal warriors. I’m afraid your days as a scout are over.”
Shea clenched her jaw in disbelief as Remy’s eyes widened, and Clark’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“I told you this meant a promotion.” Clark punched her in the arm.
“But I’m a scout.”
Caden’s face held a bland disinterest as he said, “Not anymore.”
Picking up on her distress, Clark clasped her shoulders saying earnestly, “Shane, this is a good thing. The Anateri are the elitist of the elite. Every Trateri boy dreams of growing up to be one.”
“But,” Shea said, feeling out of touch with her surroundings, “I’m a scout.”
“Being an Anateri won’t keep you tied to camp,” Clark said, thinking she was distressed at the thought of being restricted. “They go on just as many missions as scouts. You’ll probably even be sent on better ones than the babysitting details we usually pick up.” He shook her slightly. “This is a good thing. You should be proud of yourself. Only the best make it to their ranks.”
Shea came out of it enough to see how worried she was making Clark. Caden was watching closely, cataloging every reaction and assessing every word out of their mouths.
Knowing she needed to keep her guard up, she gave Clark a timid smile that she didn’t feel.
Satisfied she was feeling better, Clark stepped back, once again looking excited for her fortune. He was like a puppy, nearly vibrating out of his skin from having to stay still when he was this excited.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, I’m sure your commander would be happy to have his scout back,” Caden told Remy in dismissal. “Safe travels.”
Catching the hint, Remy gave him a chin dip saying, “To you as well, warrior.”
Remy grabbed Clark’s shoulder and hauled him away.
“I can’t wait to tell everyone,” Clark said excitedly.
Shea missed Remy’s response as the distance between them widened. She was left alone with Caden.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Clark and Remy’s backs feeling suddenly bereft and adrift. Her perfect plan was a nonstarter, and she was left in the company of a lethally dangerous man whose motives were unknown.
He tugged her bag from her back, and she let it go, feeling unsure with things changing so drastically. Did this mean he was her commander instead of Eamon?
She didn’t like that thought.
“Your quarters have been moved. You’ll be residing with the rest of the Anateri,” Caden informed her. “Also, since I don’t want you disappearing without my knowledge, one of my men will be accompanying you until I say otherwise.”
Shea saw a man join Caden out of the corner of her eye.
His next sentence made Shea close her eyes in disbelief.
“Hawkvale is awake and wants to meet you and the others for the evening meal. Trenton can show you the way. Don’t be late.”
He left with her bag, and Shea couldn’t even unlock her voice enough to ask for it to be returned. Not that he would have given it to her anyway.
What was she to do now? She was no longer a scout, and since Clark knew she was promoted to the Anateri, there would be no getting on an outgoing mission. Her new shadow wouldn’t allow that anyway.
Hiding among a different group of Trateri was impossible as well. Her presence around camp and on missions all these long months made it likely she would be recognized fairly quickly.
No, her only choice was to bluff her way through this meeting with Hawkvale and pray he didn’t recognize her. When they had relaxed a little she would try to sneak away.
“We must go,” her companion said, breaking into her silent contemplation.
She looked up, startled, only then noticing he was one of the men who had sat watch over her through the prior night. He’d brought her the food and water. Caden had called him Trenton.
His head tilted as he studied her.
“Where do we need to go?”
“You need to bathe and change first.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste.
She plucked her shirt away from her body and gave it a small sniff. He was right about that. Weeks in the field with a bunch of guys meant she’d had little time for the luxury of a bath.
“You can’t go before the Hawkvale looking or smelling like that.”
Shea sighed inwardly. No, she supposed she couldn’t. Finding a way to get cleaned up, while keeping her gender a secret, was going to be a pain. With the way exhaustion was beginning to pull at her, she didn’t have much faith she was going to be on her feet for much longer.
Sleep was probably going to have to wait. Shea’s mood plummeted at the thought.
She began walking toward her old quarters.
“Where are you going?” Trenton asked.
She gave him a silent sidelong look, unsure if she really wanted to engage in conversation right now. Perhaps if she just kept quiet he’d get the hint that she didn’t really want to talk.
He gave her an expectant look while grabbing hold of her elbow and pulling her to a stop.
Guess her hint wasn’t good enough.
“I was going to head to my old quarters.” The querulous tone of her voice let him know how much she appreciated him grabbing her.
“Why?”
Her eyebrows lowered as she glared at him. He didn’t seem impressed with her glare and just raised an eyebrow.
“My stuff is there.” She pulled against his hold and was relieved when he let her go.
“Not anymore.”
She had already turned in the direction she needed
to go. Her head whipped around. “Wait. What?”
“Caden had everything moved to your new tent.”
“Son of a-” She bit her tongue to keep the last word from being said.
Trenton frowned at her forbiddingly. It probably wasn’t a good idea to curse his commander in front of him. Loyalty and all that.
“That was thoughtful of him.” She hesitated over the word thoughtful and offered him a tense smile.
He frowned harder at her and grunted.
“I guess I’ll follow you then since you know where you are going,” Shea told him.
He eyed her narrowly before setting out in the opposite direction she had intended to go. She mouthed a curse word at his retreating back.
She needed to get a hold of herself. She couldn’t keep saying the first thing that popped into her mind. She’d get through this. She would. She just had to be careful. Speak only when spoken to and then only the absolute minimum.
Trenton led her to a tent only two rows away from Fallon’s. As his personal warriors, Fallon expected the Anateri to be close at all times.
Though small compared to Fallon’s, it was luxurious. Far better than the one she’d used over the past few months. For one, it had a comfortable looking bed piled high with blankets and furs. Every square foot of the tent was covered with brightly colored rugs. It even had a small wooden table, a chair, and several lamps.
The best part was the tub of steaming, hot water.
“It’s a little small, but it’s the best we could put together on short notice,” Trenton was saying as Shea looked around with wide eyes. “We’ll get you some nicer things, but it’ll do for now.”
Nicer? This was better than anything she had left behind in Birdon Leaf.
Trenton turned around and folded his arms across his chest to regard her closely. Shea blinked back at him, nonplused. Her eyes went from him, to the bath, to the rest of the room and back again.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Get in your bath.”
Her eyebrows climbed into her hair. With him in the tent? She didn’t think so.
“Are you planning on sticking around for it? Because I’d kind of like some privacy, if you know what I mean.”
She cringed inwardly at that last part, knowing exactly how he was going to take it, but whatever worked.
He grimaced at the insinuation but didn’t budge. “I’m to keep an eye on you until the midday meal.”
Shea made a show of looking around. “Where am I to go?”
He glared at her, making it clear he didn’t like her response but then dropped his arms and walked to the tent flap. Shea breathed an inward sign of relief. Another crisis averted. Maybe she’d make it out of this with her secrets intact after all.
“I’ll be right outside.”
Shea didn’t respond. Only when the flap swung shut behind him did she allow the tension running through her to relax. Not by much but enough that she didn’t feel like every muscle was wound to the breaking point.
Her ears strained as she listened for any sound indicating he might have changed his mind and was planning to come back. Moving quickly she flung off her clothes, nearly groaning in relief when it came time to unwind the bindings that kept her chest flat.
Angry red welts marked her skin from the uncomfortable but necessary wrappings.
She climbed into the warm water. This time her groan was long and drawn out. Her muscles immediately responded to the heat by loosening and letting some of the tightness float away. She allowed herself a moment to enjoy a luxury she hadn’t had in months before grabbing the soap and making short work of cleaning off.
Every stolen moment enjoying the water meant a greater possibility of someone walking in on her. Truthfully, she shouldn’t have even undressed all the way to climb in. Up until now she had contented herself with birdbaths where she took a rag and cleaned the pertinent areas. It allowed her to stay mostly clothed while getting clean enough that she didn’t want to scratch her own skin off in disgust.
This was too big a temptation to walk away from though. She compromised by rushing through it.
She was just settling a clean shirt over her head when the flap lifted and Trenton ducked inside.
She fought the urge to spin around and bit back the scathing words on her tongue. This sort of thing was normal for Trateri. Objecting would just raise suspicions.
“It’s time to go.”
Shea’s head bent as she fussed with the sleeves of her too big shirt, tugging at them so they lay just right over her wrists. The pants, too, swam on her and had to be held up with a tight belt. The previous owner had been several inches taller so she had rolled the hem to fit her height.
“Your clothes are too big.”
Shea lifted her head and squinted up to see Trenton frowning at her. He pinched the fabric of her shirt between his fingers and pulled on it.
Shea slapped his hand and jerked away.
“They’ll get in the way if you’re ever attacked,” he told her sourly.
Shea made a noncommittal sound and edged around him to pick up the green leather coat that designated her as a scout. It fit better than the rest of her clothes but not by much, having been made for a man with much wider shoulders than hers.
“You’re not a scout anymore.”
She growled and stalked out of the tent.
“You’re one of Hawkvale’s warriors now. You should be wearing his colors.”
“Since I haven’t been issued a new jacket, I’m forced to go with what I have,” Shea snapped.
“Still-”
“Didn’t you say we needed to go?” Shea interrupted, not wanting to hear about the jacket again.
He frowned at her, the bridge of his nose crinkling, and then grunted before turning and walking away. Shea followed, already irritated. Her anger level rose with every foot step until she was fairly simmering by the time they stopped in front of Fallon’s tent.
He didn’t wait to let her enter first but continued in before her, stepping to the side only when she followed. Two of the sides had been rolled up to allow light in and to take advantage of the nice breeze.
The space inside was huge not only in length and width but also in height. The gently moving ceiling was at least the height of two men, making the room even larger than the great room at Birdon Leaf.
An abundance of tantalizing smells greeted them and place settings had been set on two long tables. Normally, Trateri tended to perch on any available surface when eating, or if they were dining more formally, they sat on cushions and ate at low tables.
This table was normal sized, in the tradition of the Lowlanders, and had sturdy wooden chairs with low backs. For a normal sized man, the top of the chair would only reach his lower back. It wasn’t much better than a stool.
Eamon, Phillip and Buck were huddled at the farthest end of a table. Shea headed straight for them, feeling relieved to see familiar faces. Buck and Eamon tried to keep the excitement they felt under wraps. Phillip was his normal indecipherable self.
“Where have you been?” Eamon asked as soon as she arrived.
She opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Trenton. “He tried to leave on another mission.”
“What?” Both Eamon and Buck looked at her like she had grown three heads.
She tried to speak but didn’t get even a word out.
“What were you thinking?” Eamon asked.
“We just got back.” Buck’s words ran over Eamon’s. “Aren’t you the least bit tired?”
“Never mind.” Buck waved away her response. “I’m being made a scout master. I’m getting my own team.”
Shea couldn’t believe her ears. The assignment of scout master was very competitive. Not every scout got the chance. Only the best
“That’s great.” She didn’t have to fake the enthusiasm in her voice. It was great. Buck deserved it.
He grinned at her. “Not as great as this guy’s news. Tell
her.”
She looked expectantly at Eamon whose grin nearly split his face.
“They’re promoting me to the Western Wind Scout Division Commander.”
She blinked twice, not quite believing she’d heard right. There were only five Scout Division Commanders in the Trateri army. One for each of the military elements. It wasn’t just a promotion, it was an elevation in rank and status.
He’d have complete control in the way the scout units in his division were run. He’d be responsible for assigning units to missions, their training, everything.
“I don’t believe it,” she finally said.
“I know,” he told her. “I didn’t either, but the Hawkvale himself gave me the appointment. It’s as good as done.”
An awkward silence fell as they waited for her excitement.
The smile she gave this time was slightly strained, but she meant it when she said, “Congratulations. There’s no one who could do a better job than you.”
He gave her another smile which she returned.
She looked at Phillip, expecting him to tell her what he’d gotten.
He looked a little ill at ease as he said, “I’d prefer to keep what I received to myself for now.”
She nodded. She understood. Maybe he was like her and would have rather returned his ‘gift.’
“What about you?” Buck asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We all got something. What did you get?”
Another silence fell as Shea wrestled with what to tell them. For some reason, she was unwilling to share her draft into Hawkvale’s personal guard.
“He’ll be one of Hawkvale’s warriors,” Trenton spoke up behind her.
A silence fell as she found herself scrutinized by Eamon and Buck. She gave Trenton a dirty look. He stared back at her unfazed.
“I’ll be damned,” Buck nearly whispered.
“I didn’t think it was possible for someone who wasn’t Trateri to become an Anateri Warrior,” Eamon said.
“Hawkvale is making an exception in Shane’s case.” To Shea, he said, “You’re the only one of your team the Hawkvale hasn’t spoken to yet, and he wants that done before the meal so you need to come with me.”