“Is there something out there?” I asked.
Val glanced at me before shaking her head. “I… uh… I don’t know. I thought I heard something.”
“We’ll keep an eye out,” Callan said.
I nodded to him before smiling reassuringly at Val as I approached. “It’s good to see you. It’s been a while.”
Val clenched her hands before her as she gazed at the woods before looking at me again. “I didn’t think I’d ever make it back,” she said. “Things have been chaotic since you robbed the duke.”
I studied the trees as Val’s eyes continued to dart around them. I’d never seen her so unsettled before. “What do you think you heard?”
Her eyes flew back to me, and she blinked rapidly as she twisted her hands before her. “We kept hearing things moving through the trees, but we couldn’t see anything. I think they’re fucking with us.”
“Probably just some buxon or birds,” I assured her.
She bit her bottom lip before replying. “Yeah, probably.”
“Have things really been that bad since the robbery?” I asked to distract her from the woods.
I suspected it was more than the noise of the forest that had her so rattled; she’d lost at least ten pounds, and it hadn’t happened since arriving here today. She’d been on high alert for a while.
Did we thrust all of Tempest into fight-or-flight mode when we robbed the caravan?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Ryker
“There’sguards in every town and village in Tempest,” Val said. “They go through our houses every day. They harass us on the streets and stand in the corners of our children’s schools. They menace everyone and everything; not even our animals are safe from them.”
“Shit,” Tucker breathed.
My heart sank. We’d been trying to help them; instead, we’d only made things worse.
“I’m sorry,” I said honestly.
“The amsirah want to know if you’re going to do more to help them,” she stated.
“We’re doing our best.”
In truth, we hadn’t done much since the robbery and subsequent fires. We’d focused on recuperating, rebuilding, and ensuring our survival through the winter.
I was keenly aware my father would strike again, and it would come soon. Until then, he’d decided to take his wrath out on the realm.
“Wewilldo more,” I vowed. “We killed a good number of their men during the fires. That blow weakened them.”
“Yeah, we did.” Cryton grinned while tossing his blade back and forth. “Thosefuckerswill stay out of these woods for a while.”
Val glanced around the woods again before she nodded. Relaxing a little, she turned to where the others remained huddled on the rocks. For the first time, no children had arrived with the newcomers, who consisted of four women and two men.
“Are they still taking children for their army?” I asked.
Val flinched at my question and closed her eyes. “Not right now, but they’re never far away from them. They’realwaysbreathing down our necks.”
“No one should live like that,” Tucker said.
“You can come to live here,” I reminded her. “It sounds like it’s time to bring your son.”
Tears filled Val’s eyes before she blinked them away. “I think it’s past time.”
