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I scowl at him. “Are you saying you have men who can read and write?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t worry about Kharon’s wrath?”
“Kharon is a pampered weakling who sits in his castle like he’s the Father himself.”
Hearing this from Koda’s lips has my stomach turning over. My whole life, two things were beaten into me; loyalty to my sire and loyalty to Kharon. I’m not sure I appreciate Koda’s taking a sledgehammer to the one remaining foundation of my life.
“Tell me about her,” he says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Who? My intended?” My lips twist with irony. “You mean you haven’theardeverything you need to know?”
He shows me a flash of teeth from behind his long, blond beard. “I wish to hearyourimpressions. Have you decided to go through with the marriage, then?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated. Her presence is . . . disruptive.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Luka. The dissent was already there. Either you consolidate your rule or you perish. It’s that simple.”
I sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course I am. And my question remains. Will you go through with the marriage? Not for Kharon or D’heilar. But because she’s an asset to you and your people.”
“Not because I like her?”
He huffs incredulously. “That’s already obvious, young Luka. And I respect that you’re not letting your cock make your decisions, but you have to boil it down to whether she makes you stronger or weaker.”
I break out in a cold sweat, not only because he’s right, but because I know the answer to his question. I’m relieved when Venna takes that moment to interrupt the conversation with a soft rumble of her vocal cords. She creeps up on my left, her maw full of a large rabbit.
“Fucking shit,” Koda mutters.
“Where have you been, Venna?” I ask her. She’s either finally caught up with us or was staying out of sight today and has deigned to join us.
Dropping the dead rabbit in the dirt near my thigh, she butts her head to my shoulder. “Thank you, my friend,” I murmur, letting her smell my grease smeared fingers. “But I’ve already eaten.”
After allowing a few scratches to her ears, she retrieves the rabbit and withdraws to a spot outside the light cast by the fire.
“That shit is unnatural,” Koda informs me.
“She’s saved my life many times . . . and taught me much of loyalty. But enough about that, tell me why we’re here.”
♦♦♦
It turns out Koda’s problems with the savages have become more complex. Instead of their usual hit and run looting raids on farming outposts, they’ve been encroaching on Realm territory in a more permanent way. An actual savage settlement was found on Wolf land a couple of weeks ago.
What Koda should have done was gone in and massacred the whole lot of them, women and children included. But like I would have, he gave their vulnerable the opportunity to evacuate. Now the men left behind have entrenched themselves in the surrounding area, making them harder to root out.
It’s a long, tough week of ambushes and close-quarter fighting that results in Koda’s losing two men. By the end, I’m banged up with scrapes, bruises, and a small gash on my calf that needs to be cauterized, but generally unharmed. I’m more annoyed by the cold than anything else, and I spend the nights when I’m able to lay my head down, dreaming of Rina. I’m not sure if I’m surprised by how much I look forward to returning to her. But I won’t deny that I am, especially when I keep rubbing at the raven on my palm long after it’s worn off.
Day eight sees us heading back, though to my supreme irritation, a heavy rain storm forces us to make camp with only half the journey complete. It’s not until around noon of day nine that we’re close enough to the stronghold that Nightshade perks up and willingly picks up his speed. He wants to be home as much as I do.
With only a few miles to go, I spot a group of six riders in the distance. They’re ours and on a well-established patrol route. Their presence isn’t out of the ordinary, but their number doesn’t sit well with me – at all. Whistling loudly, I get their attention and they rein in and wait for us.
Eldon is with them. Eldon. Eldon who should be in the stronghold.
“What’s happening?” I demand.
“We’ve had a report of savages, my deve,” Eldon reports.
