“Tomorrow. This storm will be upon us by day’s break. And it will bring winter with it.”
Cursing under my breath, I turned to Simon. “Can you explain it to him? It won’t be safe to travel until the storm has passed.”
Simon nodded, stepping closer to the male to speak with him. Orthorr narrowed his eyes, so I moved to his side to explain. “We were correct. He was not from that town. But it is worse than I expected. He is a prince of Al Nuzem. We need to return him to his home or risk war.”
Orthorr’s eyes widened in shock, and he spluttered, “How?” loud enough to make the tribute jump. Simon put a hand on his shoulder, drawing his focus again as I explained what Simonhad shared with me. Orthorr looked concerned when I finished, glancing at the tribute again.
“What is the possibility he will blame us for this? We are not prepared for war against an entire country even if we call upon our allies.”
“I do not know,” I admitted.
I’d tried to treat the tribute fairly in his time here, but I doubted he saw it that way. I’d shackled him to my side and ignored his advances. There may have been a dozen ways I’d insulted him. And the only person who could speak with him to change his mind was Simon, who was not known for being sweet and understanding.
The tribute let out a sob, and my head snapped around to look at him. Simon shook his head at my concern.
“They’re angry tears. He’s frustrated.”
I could understand that. Zoya had been right. I should have seen it from his perspective sooner.
“Simon. Issue him an apology on our behalf for the misunderstanding,” Orthorr requested. “We will set him up with a tent of his own and everything he might need until we can return him to his home. And you can assure him of that. We will not force him to stay here with us. As soon as it is safe to travel, he can go home.”
“I’ll bring him myself,” I added firmly.
Orthorr shot me a glare. “You need to stay here. The tournament will be held in the spring. You need to train.”
For the first time in my life, I glared back at him. “He is under my protection. It is my job to bring him home. No one else will do this but me.”
ZAKAI
No amount of bartering would change their minds and make them take me home immediately. Simon, the pink-haired beauty who acted as my translator, explained that there was no way to outrun the storm, and if we were caught in it without the protection of the clan, we could freeze to death. They were preparing things here to bear it, but it wasn’t like we could drag a tent along with us during the journey for shelter. I wanted to shout and scream at the injustice, but I knew I couldn’t. They couldn’t control the weather. And they repeatedly assured me I could go home as soon as it passed. I had no choice but to trust their words.
My barbarian had a long conversation with the barbarian in the robes while I stayed close to Simon. Sometimes the conversation was heated, other times it seemed more like they were discussing nothing important. It was a curiosity to see them interact.
“Is that his father?” I asked Simon, eyes still locked on my barbarian.
“Who? Orthorr?” He snorted and shook his head. “No. Orthorr is the clan leader. Uttin is the clan second. He takes over if Orthorr is unable. I think Orthorr is hoping Uttin will take his place eventually, but he doesn’t get to choose outright. There’s a whole tournament they’re planning to decide who fits the job best.”
My eyebrows rose slowly. I hadn’t realized how important my barbarian was. All I knew about him was that he was frustratingly stoic and bossy.
“Is he uninterested in males?” It was the only possible reason I could think of that he would rebuff me.
Simon tipped his head, studying the barbarian who had cared for me the past few days. “I haven’t ever asked.” He glanced at his barbarian who stood nearby and asked him a question in the barbarian language. The barbarian answered gruffly, seeming annoyed, though I wasn’t sure why. Simon rolled his eyes and ignored the behavior.
“Feigrind says he has no preference but is uninterested in bonding for now.”
Well, I wasn’t interested in bonding, either. I was just looking for a bit of fun to pass the time. Especially now that I’d be stuck here for longer than I’d hoped when my barbarian agreed to bring me home. I eyed Simon suspiciously.
“Sex does not mean bonded, right?”
A slow smirk crossed Simon’s face. “No, but fair warning, these barbarians are criminally sweet. If you start sleeping with one, you might not want to leave.”
I scoffed, waving away his comment. “There is nothing that would make me want to stay in this godsforsaken cold. How do you tolerate it? Yaifem is not this cold even in the winter months, correct?”
Simon tipped his head toward his barbarian again. “These big guys are warm. Just cuddle up to one, and you’ll be fine.”
With a resigned sigh, I looked back at my barbarian. He was still deep in conversation with the man in the robes, a fierceness to his expression that made my dick perk up. I’d been interested in meeting the barbarians at the brothel due to their size alone. After knowing this one a few days, I wished I could get to know him better. But he was surprisingly stubborn about it.
“Have you learned any of the language?” Simon asked, drawing my focus away from the tempting barbarian nearby.
