Gawain blinked, seeming unsure. Her response was unexpected.
He turned to go.
“Gawain,” she said, stopping him. “I’ll be watching you.”
“I’d expect nothing less of the battle queen,” he said without turning around.
She watched him go, waiting until he was out of sight before addressing her guard. “You can come out.”
Trenton stepped from the shadows, his gaze pointed in the direction Gawain had gone.
“That’s an interesting development,” he said. “I would have expected his betrayal the most.”
“Then I’m glad he surprised you,” Shea said. She’d grown to like Gawain.
She turned to study Trenton, noting for the first time the circles under his eyes and the tautness in his face. She’d been so preoccupied with herself over these last few days that she hadn’t taken the time to see how he was faring.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
His startled gaze turned to her. He opened his mouth, no doubt to tell her he was fine, then closed it at her look. There was no reason to pretend with her. There was no way to be fine after what they’d went through. They’d reached the heart. Like it or not, it had affected both of them.
His shoulders slumped and he looked away, his expression uncomfortable. “I’m surviving.”
Shea thought about asking him if he’d noticed any changes, but the rigid way he held himself warned her off. She understood that. There were things she wasn’t yet ready to discuss with Fallon.
She squeezed his arm, letting him know she’d be there when he needed her and turned back toward the center of camp where Fallon waited.
She hadn’t made it far when a whoop drew her attention from rehearsing her excuses to Fallon about where she’d been.
She turned to find herself lifted off her feet in a back-breaking hug, a hulk of a man grinning down at her.
“Eamon!” she cried in surprised delight.
“Lass, you have no idea how happy I am to see you,” he said.
Shea wrapped him in a hug and held tight.
Buck popped up next to them. “Is this a group hug?” He didn’t wait for a response, wrapping his arms around them both.
“You know, if the warlord sees this, he’s going to kill you both,” Trenton drawled.
Buck leaped back, a cocky grin on his face.
“What? You don’t think he’d make an exception for one of the Badlands’ heroes?” Buck asked, referencing how he and the other’s who’d gone on the mission were now called.
Trenton gave him a wry look. “Considering he’s threatened to kill me at least twice a day since we’ve been back, I’m not sure how much weight your new title will carry with him.”
Trenton wasn’t exaggerating. There’d been tension between her warlord and him since their return. Fallon had made it obvious he grudgingly tolerated Trenton’s continued presence as her guard. Some of that was because she’d made it clear she’d accept nothing less.
She knew deep down—very, very, deep down—he appreciated and respected all Trenton had done. But, he was also protective of Shea, more so now than he’d been in a long time. She wasn’t the only one to carry the scars of the past month’s events. Until they healed, she had a feeling Fallon would continue to be difficult whenever Trenton was present.
“Good point,” Buck said, putting his hands behind his back.
“How did you escape the beasts?” she asked Eamon. “I was afraid you’d been overrun after firing the flares.”
“We have Darius’s scouts to thank for that,” Fiona said, strolling up to Eamon’s side.
She touched his arm. Eamon covered her hand with his, a soft look on his face. The intimacy of their actions wasn’t lost on Shea. She widened her eyes at Fiona in question.
