“How did the Airabel villagers fare?” Shea asked.
“They suffered some losses. Many of their warriors fought honorably from above to keep the eagles from carrying off their victims. Their actions have won them much favor from my generals. Eckbert has volunteered his healers to help assist the wounded,” Fallon said.
“I need to talk with Eckbert.” Shea pushed Chirron’s hands away. Something about this didn’t sit right with her.
“I’m not done,” Chirron snapped, slapping a hand onto her shoulder and pushing her back down. “You’ll go nowhere until I’ve cleaned and put stiches in this cut.”
Shea glared up at Chirron. She had places to be and people to question. There were more important things to take care of than treating her superficial injuries. Chirron raised one eyebrow, his expression saying he wasn’t impressed with her glare. He gave Fallon a pointed look.
Fallon stood watching them, with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. He looked seconds away from throwing things.
Shea saw his point. “At least send someone for Eckbert.”
Fallon gestured and one of the men in the room with them left. Shea presumed on the errand of summoning the village elder.
“Now that that’s taken care of, perhaps you can hold still.” Chirron didn’t wait for her agreement, pressing a cloth he’d soaked with a liquid to the cuts on Shea’s forehead. She hissed as it stung.
“The pain will do you good,” Chirron said, bending closer to get a better look at what he was working with. “The liquid will keep you from getting an infection and reduce signs of scarring.”
“Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired,” Shea told him.
He picked up her hand and pressed it to the cloth on her head. She kept it there as he turned and busied himself with his satchel of supplies.
“I treat warriors all day. Men who think they are immune to such common ailments as infection. I’ve learned to be direct.”
Shea snorted. She could believe that.
“If this can reduce scaring, it’s a wonder your soldiers have so many of them,” Shea told Fallon.
Chirron paused in what he was doing and looked up. “His men can’t be bothered with such things. They believe scars are a sign of strength.”
Fallon’s eyebrows were just barely lifted, and his mouth curved down with just the slightest hint of disdain. He gave them a long stare that said he had no interest in this conversation.
“Warlord, I’ve brought the village elder,” one of Fallon’s Anateri said from the entrance. He stepped aside to allow Eckbert to enter.
Eckbert was clad in leather armor and carried a quiver in one hand and a bow across his back. His face had been painted so that he would blend in with the forest and his eyes held a fierce light. One that she had seen many times in Fallon’s. This man was a warrior—old and past his prime, but he still held that spirit, and his garments and weapons said he was prepared to defend his people to the death.
Shea blinked at the odd vision. Eckbert had always seemed like a harmless old man.
“I’ve positioned my men in the trees surrounding this area. If there is another incursion by the eagles, they will sound the horn so our vulnerable can take cover.” Eckbert’s eyes landed on where Chirron was tending to her cuts and softened. “I am glad to see your adventures haven’t left you too worse for wear.”
Shea stiffened as her eyes slid to Fallon. She’d been hoping he wouldn’t hear about her jumping onto the back of a golden eagle while it was in flight. The downward turn of his mouth said that was a futile hope and probably had been since the beginning. The Trateri gossiped as much as any group of old wives she had encountered in the Highlands.
“Thank you,” she told Eckbert. “Your men’s assistance saved my life and Mist’s. I don’t think I would have been able to get the eagle to drop us if they hadn’t attacked it from above.”
“Yes, you have my gratitude,” Fallon said, his voice a deep rumble. “Your people have shown honor and bravery. I will be glad to have them in my army.”
Eckbert eyes got that familiar crafty gleam. “Perhaps my men will bring back Trateri wives and cement our bond by combining our bloodlines.”
Fallon’s lips twisted in amusement. “Perhaps.
“Did you lose many?” Trenton asked.
Eckbert’s eyebrows lowered and his cheeks sagged. Sadness coated his face. “Any loss cuts deep. Our people weren’t prepared, many of our most vulnerable fell to these creatures.”
“Has there ever been an attack of this nature before?” Shea asked, leaning to the side so she could see Eckbert better. She received a cuff to the head from Chirron. She glared up at him but sat back and let him clean the wound.
“I’ve asked my elders to review our oral history. I can say they haven’t attacked in so many generations that they’ve faded from our collective memory. It seems many things that were once myth are returning to this world.” His face turned grim. “I fear my people are not prepared for this.”
