His face lit up, and he beamed at me, nodding. “Yes. We eat first, then go. Hungry?”
A little, but I was also worried about leaving the safety of the wagon. I didn’t want to run into that other warrior again.
Tyos must have noticed my trepidation because he dipped his head, kissing me softly and whispering against my lips. “No fear. You are safe.”
With a bashful smile, I allowed him to pull me up to my feet. Thankfully, there was no mess on my trousers, the small clothes and tucked in tunic last night being in the way spared me from that embarrassment, and Tyos had a spare tunic to wear so I could keep his. It was huge on me, and I had to tie it tight in the front to prevent it from slipping off my shoulders, but it was warmer than mine, and after securing it on one side, it fit well enough for me to feel comfortable leaving the wagon. Secretly, I loved wearing it. It smelled like Tyos and made me feel safe with his scent wrapped around me.
Zakai was dragged out of the wagon with a lot of protest, while Simon absolutely refused to wake long enough to eat. Hishusband had to physically carry him out of the wagon and sit him up in his lap to force him upright, and the look Simon gave him said he’d get revenge later. His husband didn’t bat an eye at the dark look, feeding Simon from his own bowl until he felt Simon was awake enough to eat on his own. I watched it all with a smile, noting that no one around them looked disgusted or even bothered by the couple. It truly was accepted amongst the barbarians.
Matthew plopped down beside me with a sigh, a dreamy look on his face I’d never seen before in the time I’d known him. He looked happy, and when he glanced over his shoulder to track a conversation, I noticed a love bite on his neck that hadn’t been there the night before. I wasn’t going to call attention to it, but I wouldn’t have had to bother even if I considered it. Simon must have opened his eyes long enough to notice it because he called out, “Nice love bite, Matthew. Was that you making all that noise last night, or was that those two sneaking off when they thought no one would notice?”
He pointed at me and Tyos, and my face burst into flames as I gaped at him. “How–”
He snorted, raising an eyebrow at me. “You weren’t exactly quiet. Don’t worry, you weren’t the only ones. Pretty sure we all snuck off at one point. These barbarians are just too hard to resist.”
The man had a point.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TYOS
We were on our way to the next town when Einar stopped us. He and Matthew had gone ahead to scout, and when they came back, his scowl was foreboding.
“We go no further. Knights are scouting the area. It is not safe to bring them any closer.”
My spine stiffened. When Arlen’s townkin mentioned a king’s order, we’d thought he was bluffing. If knights stood between us and the next town, it was likely not the case. Worry over the little male who looked up at me with concern in his eyes made me pull him a little closer against my chest, listening intently as Uttin discussed the plan with his bondmate. I didn’t understand their words, they spoke Al Nuzem’s language, but they had been in charge of the journey’s movements. They decided what would happen next.
Straightening, Uttin waved me closer. “Tyos. Is Ruhkna nearby?”
Frowning, I looked up. My talvok was never far during journeys such as this. The only time she wandered off was whenshe was hunting for her next meal. I put my fingers to my lips to call for her, then hesitated, looking back down at Arlen. Luckily, Dras was nearby and understood my hesitation, telling Arlen, “Cover your ears.”
He did so, and I let out a sharp whistle loud enough that Ruhkna would hear it. Her answering caw was behind us, and when I turned, she swooped low, throwing out her wings to land on my arm when I lifted it. Arlen sucked in a sharp breath, twisted practically in half to look at her, and I realized belatedly I’d never introduced the two. While Uttin scrawled out a message for her to carry, I shifted her closer to Arlen.
“Arlen, meet Ruhkna. She is friend.”
He seemed to tremble, his wide eyes locked on Ruhkna where she sat perched on my arm. She cocked her head, studying him back, and made a clicking noise with her beak to show her curiosity.
Uttin handed the message to Dras, who rolled it tightly and moved closer to me, sliding it into the small cylinder attached to her leg. He gave her a scritch under her chin and a smile, and when she looked to me for direction, I offered her a treat while instructing her, “As fast as the wind takes you, my friend. Find our new home and pass on our message.”
Shifting lower, I jerked my arm upward, giving her a boost as she launched herself into the air and turned toward the south. She was faster than any stallion, could fly higher than most birds and remain out of range of danger, and somehow she always knew her way home, even when we moved to Al Nuzem. She would find her way to our clan leader, I had no doubt.
“What do we do until Shavra returns with word?” Dras asked. Shavra was his companion, and Ruhkna’s sister. She would return to us with a new message so Ruhkna could rest after such a long journey. How the birds knew where to go was unknown to me. I wasn’t their trainer. But I trusted them implicitly. Theirmessages had not led us astray since we began asking for their assistance.
“We find a place to shelter out of sight,” Uttin replied. “I don’t want to be out in the open if knights head this way.”
Matthew moved his stallion closer to Einar’s, leaning to whisper in his ear. Einar nodded, sitting up and speaking with Uttin directly. “There is a forest a few hours south of here. It was where Clan Nahkesh wintered. Out of the way of our journey path, but–”
“But perhaps that’s for the best,” Uttin finished with a nod. “Lead the way.”
It was Matthew who led the way, several paces ahead of us, while Einar raced off ahead to ensure the path was clear. Arlen leaned into my chest, his voice a bare whisper when he asked, “What’s going on?”
I considered my words carefully. I didn’t wish to upset him, especially after the night prior when he tried to suggest leaving our group, but I wished to lie to him even less. “Knights ahead. We find safety to wait.”
“Knights?” he asked urgently. “Were they being truthful about the king’s order?”
I lifted a shoulder. I couldn’t be certain of that. No order was shown to us, just words. But if Einar was warning us about the knights, I doubted they were there as friends. The king of this land rarely got involved in clan business, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.
Arlen’s whimper made me hug him tighter. The poor man was having a rough journey. If I could, I would take him from this place by myself to ensure he crossed into Al Nuzem safely. It was only the knowledge that there were others under our protection that stayed my hand.