Shea stopped on the edge of the bridge, staring at the Keep. It had been so long.
It was home, or it used to be, before so much had happened to take it from her. She hadn’t laid eyes on Wayfarer’s keep, birthplace of her people, in nearly six years. She had thought never to do so again.
She was surprised at the yearning and nostalgia that swept over her. She’d thought she was fine with the path she’d taken. For the most part, she was, but there was still a pull inside that said the Keep should be home, impossible though that was.
It just went to show that emotions and the ties you were raised with were not so easily untangled, much as you might wish them to be.
On the other side of the stone expanse, a wooden gate stood closed. Shea glimpsed movement on the walls above. They’d been spotted.
Trenton staggered past her onto the bridge, one arm crossed over his front as if he could keep his ribs from paining him with that alone. “They’d better have whiskey. Lots of it.”
“Is it what you expected?” Fallon asked, glancing from it to her.
Shea was silent for a long moment. “About the same.”
Fallon waited patiently beside her as she came to terms with where she stood. This time she wasn’t returning as a favored daughter or a dutiful pathfinder. She was Telroi to Fallon Hawkvale, Warlord of the Trateri and the man who’d conquered all the Lowlands. Now, he was also the man her former people wished to use for their own purposes.
The reminder of who she now was got her moving, like the thought of her past never could. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, Wilhelm at her back and Trenton limping along at her front.
Dane and the other woman had already crossed the bridge, arguing the entire way.
The large wooden door creaked open and they passed into the Keep before it slammed closed behind them once again.
Shea could hear loud voices arguing before they were even in view of the large courtyard in front of the keep.
“I’ve already told you. I don’t know what happened to them. We got separated in the mist. They were gone before I could do anything,” Lilah said in a loud voice. She sounded frustrated. There was a small tinge of fear behind the words, as if she was desperate to make those listening believe her.
“You’re lying.” Caden’s voice was low and dangerous. “Tell me where the warlord and the telroi are.”
“I don’t know!”
A clump of people had gathered in the middle of the courtyard, most from their journey. It looked like the majority of Fallon’s warriors had already made it through the mist. Strange, since Shea’s group had been the sixth to leave. Most of these people should have left well after them.
Shea doubted their battle with the bashe had taken long enough for everyone to filter in, which meant time had jumped again. That was disturbing news considering the little mist had never caused people to lose time.
Shea would have to ask her father about that when she had an opportunity.
She turned her attention to the small gathering and sighed. It appeared they’d arrived right in time to prevent bloodshed. From the way Fallon’s warriors were squaring off against the pathfinders, Shea judged them moments from open battle. Everyone was tense, their faces grim.
The hostility both sides had fostered on their journey seemed to have waited for this moment to ignite.
“Let’s all just stay calm,” Patrick said, holding his hands out.
“Hear that, barbarian?” Eric swaggered toward Gawain, who watched with arms folded over his chest, a small smile on his face. “We won’t take any shit from you lot.”
Oh, brother. Eric was even more stupid than she’d thought.
Reece jerked Eric from the fray, while the rest of the pathfinders closed ranks when Gawain’s men stirred behind him.
“We should probably do something,” Shea said. She didn’t really want to, though. She was tired, and the brewing confrontation promised to be annoying even as it took up more time and energy.
Fallon grunted, glaring at those in front of him. He didn’t seem any happier about the situation than her. “Enough,” he barked.
The crowd quieted, beginning to turn, finally noticing their group by the gate of the Keep.
Fallon seemed to grow in size, radiating raw menace. Silence fell as he studied those before him with a frown. “We left the body of a bashe out there. I want two groups to go and retrieve it.”
Reece lifted his chin. “A bashe? Here?”
