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She gives me a little giggle. “I’m your only niece.”
“Which makes you even more special.”
She continues down the line of warriors as I get up to make space for the next man.
Rina is quiet despite all the nervous boisterousness, and while we eat a quick breakfast, I catch her peeking down at her palm a few times. I want to reassure her that all is well, but if we’re tobetogether, she’ll have to get used to me having to leave at a moment’s notice.
Dawn is breaking over the horizon when we assemble in the courtyard. Nightshade is brought to me saddled and ready, and he nibbles on an apple from Rina’s hand while I double check my gear and supplies. Sheathing my broad sword on my back, I mount my horse and send Ion a quick nod, which he returns. He’s aware of the seriousness of the task I’ve assigned him. Then I meet Rina’s sad eyes and reach down to her. We clasp palms briefly, raven to mountain lion, and without a word, I lead my men out of the gates and to the east.
♦♦♦
I set a hard pace, one that my warriors and their mounts are used to. It hasn’t rained in recent memory and the day is clear, if cool, and we make excellent time heading east by northeast. Noé has taken our best scouts ahead, but they’ve found nothing out of the ordinary.
Koda, Deve of the Wolves, is not a man who’s easily rattled; he deals with the savages day in and day out. If he’s lit the cauldron, there’s no question of his need for reinforcements.
By late afternoon, we’re well into Wolf territory. Their stronghold, along the eastern shores of the vast Lake Nadore, is far-removed from their border with the savages, so unless something catastrophic has happened, the incursion will be further to the east and I’m reluctant to run us so far north only to have to retrace our steps.
With the light fading, I order a halt in a copse of trees we’ve used as shelter before. It’s colder than the Father’s tit, but a fire would give away our position, so cold rations it is.
My guess proves correct and only an hour into our stop, the first perimeter watch signals the approach of Noé, our scouts, and four Wolf riders. In the dark, the only rider I can distinguish is Noé, but he’s not the one to address me.
“Luka, you have my regard.”
I couldn’t be more surprised to see the Wolf Deve himself dismount his horse. We clasp forearms in greeting. “Koda.” He’s a big, intimidating fucker, and not just in size. His presence would be impossible to ignore even if he never said a word. Eight years ago he took over the Wolves by sheer strength and cunning, deposing the realm’s founding family, something that reminds me how precarious my own rule is.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he says, his breath pluming in the cold.
I feel a tick of aggravation. “Since when have I not come when you’ve called?”
“I meant you, personally. You have a lot going on at home, do you not?”
I scan the men around us and imagine they’re all listening closely. I change the subject. “Are we moving on or camping for the night?”
“We camp. First light will see us move out. Light your fires,” he allows, letting his voice carry. “The enemy won’t be on the offensive tonight.”
“You heard the man,” Noé says loudly. “Get set up.”
An hour later, the smells of roasting meat and the low hum of conversation fill the forest. Koda and I have made a fire away from the men to talk privately while we eat.
“I heard you had a savage incursion,” he says in between ripping chunks of meat off of a rabbit leg.
I blow out a breath. “More like an attempt on my life . . . and the life of my new, intended bride. They mentioned her specifically.”
His chewing pauses and his eyes meet mine over the fire, his bald head gleaming in its light. “Mentioned her?”
“It seems someone doesn’t want us to go through with the contract.”
“Any idea who?”
Ever since I was named Warrior Commander at nineteen, Koda and I have been trading information and building a working relationship. At least, that’s my hope. It’s a risk to trust him, I know. But a calculated one.
I shrug. “Either Gaden . . . or Kharon. Or both.” I tell him about the letter.
“I heard your scribe was dead.” He chucks the clean bone into the fire and takes up another. “He’s been replaced already?”
Shaking my head, I take a bite of my own dinner to give myself time to consider how much to tell him. “My betrothed,” I start slowly. “Has pointed out the folly of depending on others in this regard.”
“About time you put those pieces together.”
