"There can be. Depends on the bonded pairs." Isdra laughed. "I walked up to Epor at a danceand announced my intention. The look on his face…"
"Do bonded have children?"
Isdra laughed again. "Well, this bonded will not. My moon cycles dried up long ago." Isdratilted her head to the side. "All bonded are older, Lara. They have served then-people in therequired ways, and are free to follow what paths they will." She paused. "This is our lastcampaign."
"Really? What will you do next?"
"Epor wishes to work with the herds. I'd thought of being thea to little ones." She twisted aboutin the saddle to give me a sly look. "Perhaps thea to your babes."
My face flushed again. "I'm not pregnant, Isdra."
She chuckled. "You're young, Lara. Keir is virile. There'll be babes."
I bit my lip, suddenly angry. Had she slept with Keir? I tried to push that little thought out ofmy head. Their ways were different, and I knew that Keir had probably been… active. But thethought of him with another woman burned in the back of my head.
"As to that," Isdra continued. "We need to make sure you understand our languagecompletely, lest there be errors made. There are many words for 'sleeping' in our language.
Let us go through them, starting with—" she broke off her words and looked to her right.
I turned as well, to see Keir riding off to the side. Dressed in his armor, his two sword hiltsjutting over his shoulders, he looked every inch the Warlord. It lifted my heart to see his darkhair and those bright blue eyes that had captured my love the first time I saw him. Evencovered in dust, and with a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, he looked wonderful.
Keir rode a bit closer, with an apologetic expression. "If I can break the bells, I'd ask for theWarprize, Isdra."
She nodded, and removed the bells from the horse's mane. My rescuer rode closer, and sweptme into his saddle, much to my great relief.
Keir took me in front of him, sideways across the saddle. As I settled in place, he claimed akiss, a kiss that spoke of hunger, desire and our separation. Any fears that I had of his feelingsfor me were swept away by the heat that flashed through my body. I understood exactly whatIsdra meant by 'fire of my heart'.
He broke the kiss off, and smiled ruefully at my flushed face. "Hold on, Warprize."
As I put my arm around his neck, he urged the horse into a trot, away from the main body ofthe army. When my normal bodyguards made as if to follow, he waved them off. As he guidedthe horse, it gave me a chance to study the face of the man who had my heart. It hadn't takenme long to learn that the Warlord of the Plains, the feared Cat, Ravager and Destroyer had anodd sense of the ridiculous. Sometimes when Keir was being stern, he was laughing deepwithin. This was one of those times, for he had the oddest look on his face, the look he getswhen he finds something funny but doesn't want to show it. I looked at him closely. "Whatamuses you so?"
"Look behind us."
Puzzled, I pulled myself up, looked over his shoulder, and gaped in surprise. Every warrior hada clump of bloodmoss somewhere on his or her person, their hair, their cloaks, their horses.
Gils had spread the word well. They had all gathered bloodmoss. I choked back a laugh.
"Now why do I think that you might have something to do with that." Keir's voice was solemn,but humor danced in his eyes. I couldn't help it. I laughed right out loud.
Keir held me tight, allowing his grin to escape. "Care to tell me why all my warriors haveweeds adorning their persons?"
"It's bloodmoss. An herb."
"I gathered that." Keir replied, this time in Xyian.
I rolled my eyes and laughed again. Keir's command of my language was much better than myunderstanding of his.
Keir continued, mock growling at me. "It's hard for my ravening hordes to strike terror in thehearts of the enemy when they are adorned in weeds."
"It's very useful."
"How so?"
I explained, talking about its usage and offering to cut myself to show him how it worked. Thatbrought a bellow of laughter from him, even as he declined my offer. I didn't pay much attentionto our direction until Keir brought the horse to a stop. "Let's hope that you don't need thatmuch bloodmoss anytime soon."
We'd ridden a ways off from the army, to a large clump of alders, their branches thick withsmall leaves just starting to turn yellow. A warrior held Keir's horse as he dismounted. Keirlooked up at me, smiling with anticipation. I look down into twinkling blue eyes. "What mischiefare you planning, Warlord?"
His smile grew. "None, Warprize. Shall I carry you? It's not far."
