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She was right. It got fairly cold at night in the Sea Sands. But it was definitely colder here at night than it was back there. I made a mental note of that, already internalizing the climate and weather differences between the two regions.
Nasrin and Tilly drifted over to us, too, followed by Taylor and Tok. Grim came to stand beside his mate.
“It’s been a long day of travel. We can just get set up to sleep for tonight if you guys want,” Valeria said. She leaned gratefully into Grim’s side and he wrapped a huge red arm around her.
Fiona gave a moan of complaint. “Ugh, I don’t know why but I was picturing the most beautiful hot springs would be right here, ready and waiting for us. I feel like that’s the only way I’ll be able to get warm right now.”
“There are hot springs in my mountains.”
We all jumped, turning to find the source of the new voice in our midst. The Sea Sand men drew weapons. Grim and Tok stepped protectively in front of their mates.
What the hell? Who is here?
The mountain accent had been the same as Gahn Errok’s, but the voice itself was entirely different. When I saw all the warriors looking upward, I looked up, too.
About six metres off the ground, a smooth ledge jutted out from a nearby peak. On that ledge, something huge stepped out from the shadows and into the silvered light of the asteroids and stars.
It was a braxilk.
And a rider.
“Ah. Gahn Thaleo,” Valeria said. She relaxed slightly and stepped out from behind Grim, but kept her expression guarded. “We didn’t notice your arrival.”
“I do not make excessive noise a habit,” he replied simply.
I felt my brows rise at that. The Sea Sand and Bitter Sea men basically had super-powered hearing. The fact none of them had heard this huge Gahn land on the ledge was pretty shocking. That wasn’t a case of not making excessive noise. That was a whole other level. That was near-perfect silence of movement.
And now, it was near-perfect stillness.
Gahn Thaleo sat atop his braxilk like he’d been carved from stone, like he’d been there for a hundred years and would remain there for hundreds more. I shivered, and it wasn’t just from the cold. It was knowing that his impossibly still, searching gaze was on us.
I gasped as that stillness broke. I didn’t see or hear any sort of command from Gahn Thaleo, but the braxilk leaped, its huge, heavy body carving a graceful line through the air as it descended. Its wings carried it easily down to the ground where it landed. Much like when I’d seen Gahn Errok on his mount, I was overwhelmed with the urge to leap up onto the creature’s back and ride it myself.
Gahn Errok’s words echoed in my mind.Once you are in the Deep Sky, you will ride no other mount but mine.
Why was he in my thoughts yet again?!I thought I said I was going to keep him out of there!
I forced my attention back to the scene at hand. Gahn Thaleo dismounted smoothly, landing on the ground in a soft crouch before rising and striding over.
I didn’t need Gahn Errok here beside Thaleo to know that the two mountain Gahns would be an epic study in contrasts. Where Gahn Errok was quick and loud-mouthed and haughty, Gahn Thaleo was... Exactly none of those things. Every slow but powerful step he took was an art of quiet, calculated precision. There was no lifted chin, no imperious gaze sweeping over us with disdain.
If Gahn Errok was a tempest, a swirling storm of rage and desire and pride, Gahn Thaleo was a deeply rooted immovable mountain.
As if to further exemplify the metaphor, Gahn Thaleo settled into that stony stillness once again, standing before our group. The silver light licked down his hide, letting us get a good look at him for the first time.
Even his face was the opposite of Gahn Errok’s. Where Errok’s was rather refined, almost annoyingly angelic with high cheekbones and full lips, Gahn Thaleo’s was broader, tougher, more serious and more mature. A harsh scar lanced down one side of his face, through his eyebrow, eye area, and into his cheek. One shockingly bright silver streak of hair fell along the side of his face, sprouting from the place his scar began at the edge of his scalp. Unlike Gahn Errok, or any of the other warriors with us now, he wore no blades. His only weapon was a massive bow strung across his chest, and the strap that likely led to a quiver on his back.
The only movement coming from this mountain Gahn was that of his sight stars. The movement was slightly asymmetrical, I realized, the sparking sight stars of his scarred eye moving slightly slower than the other eye. But that didn’t stop his gaze from penetrating us with deeply intelligent judgment. What that judgment was, it was impossible to say. His face was entirely unreadable. The only thing that seemed to give anything away was when his gaze suddenly snagged on someone in our group, staying there for a beat longer than was natural.
I subtly glanced to the side to see who’d caught his attention.
Nasrin.
His gaze didn’t stay there much longer, because Valeria spoke.
“It’s good to see you, Gahn Thaleo. I hope you and your people are doing well.”
She gave a little nod that was almost like a small bow.
