That was what Umaira had said. I’d been too stubborn to listen to her. I regretted it now.
“As for the ransom, the barbarians wouldn’t do that. Honestly, if I explain things to them, I’m sure they’ll find a way to get you home. Al Nuzem isn’t part of the treaty, after all.” He paused, chewing on his lip. “Are you actually a prince? I thought Tomas made that up to get me into trouble.”
“How would me being a prince get you into trouble?” I asked, confused.
He lifted a shoulder. “He said I insulted a prince, and they arrested me on the spot.”
I scoffed, crossing my arms. “You did no such thing! Our time together was a gift, not an insult.” I scowled, shooting a glance at the two barbarians standing nearby. “I can tell the town asmuch, if you do not wish to stay. You were forced here as I was. I can get you out.”
He shook his head with a grin. “You’ll find in time it’s really hard to resist these guys. They may look intimidating, but they’re all sweet. And the sex is better than anything I’d ever had.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t change his mind. He just shot a heated look at his barbarian, who took notice and smirked at him like they were sharing a secret between them. Meanwhile, when I looked at my barbarian, he looked as stoic as ever. Asshole.
“I wouldn’t know. I made some attempts to seduce my barbarian, but he refused to even acknowledge me.”
That made the little male cackle, and he switched languages, speaking to the barbarians with an evil grin on his face. My barbarian’s tone when he replied was dry, and I felt the distinct urge to kick him. If he wanted me here so bad, he could at least show it.
“He said he wouldn’t touch you until you understood him better. Let me guess, you refused to learn the language?”
My eyebrows shot up, and he grinned conspiratorially.
“I pretended to do the same thing. None of them knew I could understand them, and I pretended I couldn’t in hopes that they’d give up information when they thought I was ignorant.”
I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. “I would have if I could understand. But I do not speak the common tongue, either. If I did, I would have told them who I am before they dragged me so far from my home. My father will be pissed when he finds out.”
That made the male pause, and his expression darkened. “You can’t blame the clan for that. They had no way of knowing who you were or that you weren’t just a scared tribute. Have they mistreated you since you arrived?”
Aside from refusing my advances and ignoring me occasionally? “No. And I don’t blame them, not really. They’ve been kind. It is Yaifem that will face my father’s wrath. But I can’t stay here. He might think I’m dead. Please, can you tell them to bring me home?”
Turning to the barbarians standing nearby, the little male shared my story. My barbarian went pale at one point, I assumed when the male told him I was a prince, and he looked worried. I hoped that was a good thing and that we could leave swiftly. It was getting colder by the day. I would freeze soon.
My barbarian nodded and hope filled my chest when he offered me his hand to help me stand. I looked at the pink-haired male, who gave me an understanding smile.
“He said he’ll get you home. We just have to talk to the clan leader first about logistics.”
Relief swamped me, and I sagged against my barbarian for a long moment. Finally. I was going home.
Ten
UTTIN
Of all the scenarios I’d considered before Simon arrived, I’d never thought my tribute would be royalty. But Simon told me he’d met the male before and as royalty often did, he’d had an entourage surrounding him before they lay together. Feigrind wasn’t pleased to know a male from Simon’s past was the one who had been hugging him so fiercely, but I didn’t blame the tribute. He was relieved; I could see it on his face. And he was polite to Simon as far as I could tell.
Returning the tribute to his home would be a journey. Our clan had never gone that far south before. I assumed Einar had at one point, so I considered asking for him to accompany us on the journey for directions, but this close to the cold season, it would make the journey difficult. We didn’t want to get caught in bad weather along the way.
First, we needed to speak with Orthorr before any plans were made. Not only would the tribute need to be returned to his home, but the town who had sent him had to be dealt with. According to Simon’s story, they knew the male wasn’t of theirtown. They’d sent him anyway. That went directly against the treaty.
For the first time since he arrived, the tribute eagerly left my tent, even walking a few steps ahead of me as we returned to the village center where Orthorr’s tent sat beside the receiving tent. I called out to my clan leader, waiting for his permission to enter, and ducked inside. I came to an abrupt halt when I saw who Orthorr was meeting with.
“No.”
Orthorr sighed heavily. “Yes. It seems a storm is headed our way. We will need to prepare.”
My gaze flicked to the three older women who stood in front of Orthorr. They called themselves seers and were never wrong when it came to predicting the weather. If they were coming to Orthorr with warnings of a storm, it wouldn’t be a small one. My gaze flicked to the tribute, then back to Orthorr.
“How soon?”
The wind whistled and Orthorr’s tent flap whipped around behind Simon and Feigrind, answering the question before the women could.
