He picked up on that and gave her a fierce smile. “Thought it was time to see what hides in the Badlands. Besides, I owe Griffin for a few things.”
Shea gazed at the group, noting the back of a familiar head amongst them. It was attached to a youth’s body, one just on the cusp of manhood. Delia stood next to him, her face bored.
Shea strode over to the person and said in an irritated voice. “Clark, you’re not coming.”
He jumped and spun to face her, guilt in his expression. From that, she could only assume he had hoped she wouldn’t notice him until it was too late.
“Shea, I can be of use,” he said, his voice uneasy as he glanced at Delia.
“No, absolutely not.” She shook her head. “To both of you.” She met Delia’s blank face with a hard stare.
He flinched, his expression recovering to that same inscrutable remoteness many of the Trateri used. “Is it because you don’t trust me?”
She gave a harsh sigh and grabbed his arm, towing him behind her until they stood just out of earshot. Delia trailed behind them at a discreet distance, lingering next to Reece and Trenton only a few feet away. The three gave them the illusion of privacy.
“It has nothing to do with that,” she told Clark. She couldn’t believe he’d even ask.
“Then why?”
She rubbed her forehead. Had she ever been this young and hungry to prove herself? Short answer, yes. Clark was only a few years younger than her but at the moment it felt like a huge canyon stood between their respective ages.
“Clark, you have a unique opportunity right now. One that could benefit the Trateri greatly. You’re one of the few, even among my people, who show great promise for pathfinding,” Shea said, fixing him with an unflinching expression. “What you could do in the future is of much greater use to us than what you can do today.”
He gave her a sullen look. “There’s no guarantee they’ll allow me to study.”
“I’ve already talked to Whelan and my mother. You’re in as long as you pass all the tests,” she told him.
He might not understand the significance of this opportunity but she did. Even if that hadn’t been the case, she wouldn’t have allowed him to come. Not on this mission.
He might be a full-fledged scout, but he was still young. There were plenty of other missions to prove himself on.
“Heads up,” Reece said in a soft voice, his gaze going to a point over her shoulder.
Shea turned. Fallon strode out of the Keep, Braden and Caden at his back. That wasn’t surprising in and of itself. It was unlikely he’d let her leave without a goodbye, especially knowing how dangerous this could be. No, the thing that stopped her was the sight of a pack thrown over his shoulder.
Braden’s eyes flashed with anger. He looked exactly like the grumpy man Shea had first met in the Lowlands, the one suspicious of everyone and everything.
“No,” she said before they were even close. “You’re not going with us.”
Damn it, she should have seen this coming.
Fallon set the pack down at his feet and straightened, his face calm with just a hint of a smile.
She folded her arms over her chest and huffed at him. She was glad he found this amusing.
Her focus turned to Braden. “You can’t let him go.”
Of all Fallon’s people, Braden was the only one other than Darius who stood even half a chance of getting the warlord to listen to reason.
He gave her a dissatisfied look. “No one can tell the Warlord what to do.” He slid Fallon a dark glance. “Even if he is being unbelievably stubborn and unwise.”
Shea turned her attention to Fallon, lifting an eyebrow in question. It was an expression she’d picked up from him at some point. It asked just what mad thought was in his head at the moment. Usually it was her who was being the crazy one.
“Give us a moment,” Fallon told Braden.
Braden gave him a nod of acknowledgment, looking no happier at the dismissal. He shook his head as he walked away. He was too upright to mutter anything derogatory about his warlord’s decision-making powers, but Shea knew that rigid set of the shoulders, having experienced it herself a time or two. Braden was thinking some very unsavory thoughts about his warlord right now. She’d bet anything.
She turned her attention back to Fallon and raised her eyebrows in an expectant look. He raised his eyebrows right back.
