Page 281 of Salt Between the Wolves

He stopped beside her, and for several moments they simply stood there listening to the storm before Leander held something out.

Eira looked down at a sealed letter bearing the seal of Silverwake, already prepared and ready.

She stared at it.

"You assumed I would leave."

"No," he said calmly. "I assumed you would eventually decide."

The distinction mattered more than she expected.

Eira took the letter.

"What is it?"

"Authority."

She looked up.

"If you're traveling through my territory, I'd prefer nobody arrests you for stealing horses."

Despite everything, a laugh escaped her—small, brief, real.

Leander watched her for a moment longer, then added more quietly, "You won't be going alone."

Eira's fingers tightened slightly around the letter.

"I wasn't planning to take an army."

"Nor would I allow it."

His tone remained even, but there was no room for argument beneath it.

"A small escort. Fast riders. Men who know the northern roads."

She turned to face him now.

"I don't need protection."

"No," Leander agreed calmly. "You need to arrive."

The words settled between them—practical and unyielding.

"I won't have you disappearing somewhere between here and White Pass because you decided to prove a point."

Eira studied him.

There was no attempt to control her decision, only the quiet certainty that once she made it, he would not let her face the consequences alone.

"How many?"

"Enough to keep you alive," he said. "Not enough to slow you down."

A compromise, carefully measured, very much like him.

Eira exhaled slowly and didn't argue.

"When?"