“He is not typical to their ranks,” Witt said, never taking his eyes off the other man.
“What’s the big deal? The note was very clear. Shea can come back home and even bring the little friends she’s made.” Reece’s expression made it clear he had no idea why they found the note so offensive.
Fallon snapped. He’d crossed the space in seconds and grabbed Reece’s shirt, jerking him and the chair he was still tied to half off the ground. “The big deal is you trespassed in my space. You violated the room I share with my Telroi. Worst of all, you seek to take what is mine. I have killed men for less. I have destroyed villages and salted the earth they rested on so nothing could grow again for offenses not even half as grave as the insult you gave. That is the big deal.”
Reece’s head flopped around on his shoulders as Fallon shook him with every other word. Fallon’s voice rose until it was a thunderous roar in the small space. The other three made no attempt to separate him from his victim, looking on with bored expressions.
Fallon took a deep breath and opened his hand. Reece fell, his chair wobbling before falling on its side. Reece coughed several times before craning his head to glare up at Fallon.
“I don’t know what she sees in you. You’re not her normal type at all.”
Fallon bared his teeth at the man on the ground and chuckled. It was the laugh of a dragon faced with someone so far beneath him that he couldn’t even be classified as a threat anymore. Reece would have to work harder if he wanted to get to Fallon. It didn’t matter if he was Shea’s type or not. She was his, and he was hers. The end. What came before was unimportant. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d been a monk before he’d met her.
Reece eyed him warily. “Didn’t work, huh? Perhaps you’re smarter than you look.”
Fallon reached down and set the chair and Reece upright. “Start talking. My patience for you is wearing thin. Once it’s gone, my men will kill you and put your body somewhere no one but the beasts will find it. We’ll tell Shea you went back home.”
“She’ll know. They’ll send others until they get what they want.”
Fallon cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. “By then, our bond will not be so easily broken.”
Reece sighed and tilted his head back to look up at the canvas. Fallon watched with interest. It was a trait Shea had demonstrated on more than one occasion—usually when she was frustrated or had to consider a problem. Perhaps it was a family trait. After a long minute, Reece tilted his head slightly and directed his eyes so he could see Fallon.
“The pathfinders want Shea to come home.”
“No.”
He sighed and kept going. “They want her to come home and bring you and your army with her.”
Hmm. That was interesting. And unexpected.
“Why?”
Reece shrugged. “They didn’t tell me that. I’m just a pawn—isn’t that what you said?”
Fallon grabbed a finger of the other man’s and twisted just far enough to put pressure on the joints but not enough to break it. “Why?”
“Because something’s wrong!”
Fallon released the finger and stepped back. “Wrong how?”
“You’ve seen it. The mist. The beast attacks, aggressive beyond anything we’ve seen in generations. We’ve lost four settlements over the past three months. Established settlements that shouldn’t have been destroyed so easily.”
“And what is it that they’re hoping Fallon will do for them?” Shea’s cool voice came from the tent’s entrance. She shot a look at Fallon before turning her attention back to Reece.
Caden sent a questioning look to Fallon, asking without words whether he wanted her removed. Fallon gave a slight shake of his head. No, he wanted to see what she’d do. Then he wanted to ask how she’d followed him.
“What do you think they want, Shea? They want his army. They want his help in beating back the beasts.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Reece. The guild never asks for help. Fallon and his army wouldn’t be content to deal with the beasts and then leave the Highlands to go their merry way. They’ll want payment. Why would the guild chance it?”
Reece sat back and shrugged. “Why don’t you ask them for yourself?”
Shea made an angry sound of frustration.
Fallon leaned forward grabbing Reece’s hand and bending it back at an unnatural angle. “We’re asking you.”
Reece glared into Fallon’s eyes for a long minute. Whatever he saw there made him blanch and look away.
