“I’m going to tell Charles the good news. He’s going to be stunned.” Clark didn’t wait for their goodbyes, hustling off in search of his friend.
Shea turned back to her food, noting with a frown that Trenton was resting his chin on his hand and grinning at her. He fluttered his eyes at her when he noticed her attention.
“Not even a Trateri a full year and you already have followers.”
“Clark’s my friend.”
He made a hmm sound that failed to denote agreement.
“What?”
“I see through you. For someone who likes to pretend they’re an outsider, you sure have a lot of friends in your corner. Not everybody gets asked to design an event. The Trateri take their tournaments very seriously. It’s one of the few activities we can gather for without intentionally shedding blood but still compete for the honor of our clans.”
Shea took a bite of her food.
“And this is something Fallon didn’t give you either. You got it all on your own merit,” he observed.
Shea looked at him in question.
“If you were wondering, that is.”
She hadn’t been, but she was now. Just how much of her life was Fallon responsible for? Was he the reason Clark and Charles were so interested in having her help with the Beast Board? And despite Trenton’s assertion, was he the reason they were getting this chance?
She took a slow bite of her food. It was something to think about.
*
Shea walked towards the tent she shared with Fallon with a slight limp, looking forward to washing off the thin coating of grime she was carrying around. One of the classes had startled a pair of wylde pigs, the slightly smaller cousin of the trihorn boar; Shea had played decoy while they brought the pigs down. Unfortunately, not before one had rammed her leg, leaving a nice sized bruise.
Trenton had not been happy when he found out. He may have even cast aspersions on Shea’s intelligence and muttered about hard-headed women who didn’t know their limits, before he stalked off after leaving her in front of her tent.
One little bruise and he was acting like a child. He’d left worse injuries on her during some of their training sessions.
Shea gave the two guards a resigned nod, not registering their surprise at her acknowledgement. Wilhelm and Trenton hadn’t been the only two to suffer from her withdrawal. The rest of the Anateri had been treated to the same remoteness.
She limped inside the tent and drew up short, noticing that Fallon and several men were seated around the table discussing plans. They quieted at the sight of her, and she found herself the center of attention.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were busy. I can come back,” Shea offered.
Henry stood, aiming a friendly smile her way. Shea hadn’t realized he was there until now. “Nonsense, our matter is unimportant, and we were almost finished anyway.”
Shea looked at Fallon in question. She really hadn’t meant to interrupt.
He nodded, his face guarded and remote. “Henry’s right. This can be continued later.”
Taking that as their dismissal, the rest of the group filed past Shea and out of the tent. Henry was the last to go. There was a slight hitch to his gait as he moved towards her.
He patted her on the shoulder as he reached her. “He’s a difficult man, but I think you’ll find the rewards worth it in the end.”
Shea gave him a confused look as Henry chuckled and made his exit, leaving Fallon and Shea alone for the first time since their argument.
Fallon busied himself, pouring another glass of wine as Shea moved closer.
“I really am sorry to have interrupted. If I’d known, I would have waited,” Shea said, feeling awkward. She hated the distance she could feel between them, but she didn’t know how to bridge it.
“It’s fine. This is your home too. You should never feel that you have to wait to enter it.”
He poured her a glass of water and slid it her way. She took it and sipped, relishing the cool feeling as it hit her parched throat.
