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He tossed the rock down.
And then, my mate got back to work.
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THE SHUTTLE ARRIVEDbefore Thaleo came back with his men. Which made sense, since he was probably busy rounding up warriors from some far-off hunting territory. But by nightfall, pretty much everyone from Thaleo’s tribe, besides those trapped in the cave, had come to help, even children and the elderly. Everyone doing their part to loosen the rock and the stone.
We may not have had huge excavation machines on the shuttle, but we did have things like pickaxes, shovels, and other tools that made the task easier. Thaleo’s people also had carving and digging tools, which the strongest warriors put to good use while the rest of us carted away smaller rocks. The Bitter Sea men didn’t need any tools – Grim and Tok worked with their bare, scaly hands, their claws stronger than the metal and stone of the tools.
It was an astonishing display of teamwork and good faith. If I weren’t so busy and exhausted from helping, I probably would have burst into stupid, relieved tears. Especially when I caught glimpses of Errok, working side by side with Thaleo. He didn’t even bother making some Errok-like remark about how strong he was, or about how lucky Thaleo was to have his help. He just got his ass down to business. And I fucking loved him for it.
Late into the night, we’d opened up a sizeable hole near the top of the rockslide, and we could communicate with the people trapped inside. Apart from a few minor injuries, everyone inside was thankfully unharmed. Unfortunately, by that time the wind had started picking up. I didn’t need my tablet to tell me the storm was coming, and fast.
“We need to speed this up. Let’s just start hauling people out,” Valeria called. Thaleo grunted his agreement, and we all got ropes from the shuttle and started tossing them down into the hole. The children were lifted out first, followed by the women. I finally did let a few tears escape when I saw Zaria emerge, her face and hair caked with dust.
Thaleo’s sight stars scanned each person who’d been pulled out of the rocky wreckage. The wind clawed at his hair as he did the mental tally.
“That is everyone,” he said. He didn’t show any relief. Or any exhaustion. But he did turn to Errok, who at that moment was busy hauling me against his broad, muscled side. Togo landed beside us, ready to whisk us away. But Thaleo spoke before we mounted.
“Gahn Errok,” Thaleo said.
That was it. Just the name. No other words.
They stared at each other, unheard messages passing between their pulsing sight stars. What those two warlords were thinking, I could only guess.
Finally, Errok said something out loud, calling out over the rising sound of wind.
“Do not worry, Thaleo,” he said. He lifted me onto Togo then jumped up after me. “I am sure we will be back to hating each other soon enough.”
A corner of Gahn Thaleo’s mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.
“Who said I ever stopped?”
Um. Did Gahn Thaleo just crack a fucking joke?!
I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The air howled around us.
Thaleo’s men took off like bats out of hell, carrying the women and children who’d hiked here back to the safety of their home mountain.
Valeria shouted at us from the shuttle as she loaded everyone inside.
“Come with us! My ship can survive the weather!”
Errok clicked his tongues, and Togo lifted off.
“We do not need to survive it,” Errok called down to her as Togo’s wings flapped hard against the wind. “Because we will beat it.”
And my arrogant mate was right.
We hauled ass back over the mountains, staying just ahead of the storm the entire way. By the time we skidded into the hall of Errok’s mountain, the winds were practically pushing us inside. The cloud cover dimmed the dawn making the sky behind us a dark, unyielding curtain.
Errok lifted me into his arms, striding through the wind-swept hall deeper into the mountain. The tunnels blinked with the lanterns that had been set up in our absence.
“You don’t need to carry me,” I said, poking at his chest.
He frowned down at me.
“I saw you out there. You exerted yourself far too much. And I would like at least some of your energy saved for me.”
