"Not always easy, love," Omden told him. "But we'll be fine, Meri. And if we're not, you'll be fine, okay? The Moles should be gone. The Reapers are recovering, and as sad as it is, Dragons have done this enough times that we're good at it."
"But it doesn't feel right," I explained.
And the men shared a look.
"What?" Lessa demanded.
It was Omden who answered. "Ayla said the same thing."
"Well, shit," Lessa grumbled. "You two had better come back alive. If you don't, I'll kill you myself."
Drozel turned to face her. "Oh, and we wouldn't want that, right?" Then he dragged the back of his finger down her cheek. "I also think you should stay the night."
"If Meri's okay with it," Omden added. Then to me, "She'll be sleeping with us."
"Oh." Then I nodded. "Okay."
And yet, I was curious how that worked. Did he just mean to sleep? Because that wasn't how Lessa used that term. I had a feeling it wasn't how they did either. I also knew what I'd be thinking about for the rest of the night.
Twenty-Seven
Tobias
Ijerked awake, startled from my paltry sleep by a nightmare. I couldn't get the screams of those women out of my mind. I'd tried to tell them we weren't going to kill them, but they couldn't understand. Unlike Ayla and the Wyvern, these people only spoke that gibberish language.
But hauling them back kept me from needing to kill the men. I'd seen blood before, but this? This had been so much worse. Bodies had laid in the paths where they'd fallen. Their dogs had been the only thing holding us back, and too many of those had paid the price too.
But the wild men had done their fair share of damage in return. We'd gotten back early last night, since the walk was mere hours. Then I'd stayed in the infirmary as long as I could, holding hunters down while Callah and the other healers sewed them back up. Some, she'd healed, like Sylis. Others, she'd done a good job of hurting them even more. They'd live, but I wasn't sure they'd want to.
Thankfully, Sylis's wound hadn't been too bad. An arrow had sliced his calf. It was deep enough to need sutures, but that was all. Callah had cleaned it properly - and not all the women knew to do that - so he'd be okay.
I sat there for a little too long, waiting for my pulse to go back to normal. The hammering in my chest was almost painful, and every time I blinked, I could see those bodies all over again. Some had been children!
We'd gathered them all. Both Dragons and wild men had gone into the cart this time. Women too, if they were already dead. The living ones had been shackled and forced at gunpoint to walk back with us. No one would say where they were going, but I already knew that part.
Quarantine.
Sadly, Callah had made it to our suite first. By the time I'd returned from my shower, she'd been asleep, and I refused to wake her. But turning a bit, I did allow myself to look at her.
She slept in a soft little dress that failed at shielding her body. She was my wife, so there was no shame in seeing it, but it still felt wrong to gape at her breasts, stomach, and legs. The fabric was there, but sheer.
And yet, it was her hair that drew my eye. Loose, it sprawled across her side of our divided bed, looking softer than anything I'd felt before. I wanted to touch it, but that would wake her, and she looked so peaceful like this. Lost in sleep, it was as if the horrors of our lives couldn't touch her.
She was beautiful. Of all the women I could've married, I'd somehow ended up with the woman who pleased my eyes the most - and she was my friend. Not a stranger. Not a bothersome wife who tried to nag me constantly, but an actualfriend.
As I watched, she pulled in a little breath and tensed. A moment later, her eyes opened, finding me immediately. For a second, her brow furrowed, then she pulled the covers higher over her chest and sat up.
"Did I wake you?" she asked.
"No, I had a nightmare." And I laughed once, but it was dry. "Callah, it was bad this time."
"Did you see Ayla?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No. We didn't go there. We went to the wild men."
"I..." That crease reappeared in her brow. "Tobias, I don't understand."
"It's a two day walk to the Dragons," I explained. "We leave the compound and go straight ahead until we reach the path. Then, we mostly follow that, even if we aren't on it. More like walking parallel with it." And I used my hands to demonstrate what I meant.
