“How’s that going?” Ianto asked.
“Not great… yet. But I’m working on it, and it will take time. In the meantime, Ivan and the aristocrats are helping my cause by turning the rest of the amsirah against them.”
“Those bastards,” Ianto muttered before chugging another cup of fire. “These children aren’t an army.”
“And I don’t want them to be. You might be an army on your own, though.”
When Ianto laughed, the warm timbre of it made me smile. I liked this man, but was that a reason to trust him?
In the overall picture, no, but he’d already revealed other reasons to trust him. I’d seen him nudge Mouse into the crowd on the day they planned to cut off the boy’s hand, and he had given up his freedom for these children. In my book, anyone willing to sacrifice themselves for kids must be trustworthy.
“You could have let them all go their own way,” I said.
Ianto turned his warm, curious brown eyes to me. “I saw you offer up your hand for a boy’s; would you have let them go their own way?”
“No, but you could return to your life if you did.”
“And I’d hate myself for the rest of it. These children are my responsibility now, and Iwillprotect them. They deserve a chance at happiness, even if the king doesn’t think so.”
“Can I bring someone here to talk with you?” Ryker inquired.
“Are they trustworthy?”
“He’s the most trustworthy amsirah I know.”
Ianto pondered this for a minute before responding. “Bring him then.”
CHAPTERSIXTY-SEVEN
Ryker
It took mostof the night, but we moved Ianto and the children into Tucker’s encampment. Things were a bit cramped, but many hands were already at work building more tree houses for the new arrivals, fresh clothes were given to the children, and they were feasting on a hearty breakfast.
I wasn’t sure if a tree house would support Ianto, but that was his problem. He and Tucker had hit it off, and it didn’t take Tucker long to accept Ianto and the children, but I hadn’t thought it would.
Though I’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep, I rose early to walk with Tucker behind the backs of the men and women practicing with bows and arrows. We usually spent every morning training with the group.
Swords would come next, then hand-to-hand, and after watching the giant with his staff, I intended to put him to work training the others with that weapon as soon as he helped finish building the new tree houses. Some of Tucker’s followers were already proficient enough with some weapons to go into battle.
The thuds of the arrows hitting the targets mingled with the pounding of hammers against nails and the singing of those who worked to build more shelters. Normally, everyone would be training right now, but with the influx of new arrivals, those progressing the best with their skills were working on the new homes.
Tucker and I wanted them to get as much done as possible before the sun rose too high and it was too hot to continue working. Building would resume when the sun started setting.
They sang an old drinking ballad as they worked, laughing as they tossed hammers, wood, and other supplies to each other. They didn’t have much here, but they were happy and free.
“Is this the army you’re building?” Ianto inquired when he came to stand beside me.
“It’s the start.”
“Do you really think this will work?”
“I think we need to fight, but I have no idea what the future holds.”
Ianto studied the group with their bows and arrows as they fired at their targets. They’d improved a lot over the past month, though I’d still like to see what they could do under Ellery’s tutelage.
“Where does Ellery fit into all of this?” Ianto asked.
I caught Tucker’s troubled glance out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t look at him or Ianto as I replied. “She knows these woods well and is helping me hunt for the Hooded Robber.”
