Her warlord wasn’t traditionally handsome, but he had a charisma more potent than beauty ever could be. He looked like what he was, a warrior. Strong. Fierce. Dangerous. This was enhanced by the small scar along his jaw and the deadly grace with which he moved. Every line of his body, every feature, the intense focus he used to watch the world, all declared this was not a man to be trifled with. He wasn’t the sort you wanted as an enemy unless you had a very clear way of ending him.
“Your practice went long today.” His voice was a low rumble as she drew near. His gaze went to Trenton beyond her, and he tipped his chin down in acknowledgment. She knew without looking that Trenton would head off to get food, now that she was safe with Fallon.
“Braden thought my attacks could use work.” Her voice betrayed her grumpiness.
He chuckled as one hand touched the small of her back, giving it a brief massage of sympathy. “He says the same about mine.”
Shea craned her head back and gave him a skeptical look. Amusement tinged his eyes at her expression.
“It’s true. He’s even said something similar to Caden.”
“No,” Shea said. Both men were extremely efficient warriors. Shea had seen them practicing against each other before in a graceful dance that was as mesmerizing as it was deadly.
“Ask him.” Fallon tipped his head to where Caden listened to one of the Anateri, a frown on his face.
“Caden, what advice does Braden give you about your swordwork?” Shea called out to him. She gave Fallon a significant look as if to say ‘there, your bluff is called.’
Caden was short, his body stocky and built for power. He was a lethal warrior, one of the best among Fallon’s Anateri. Shea thought only Trenton might be capable of challenging him. With his hair partially pulled back to tame the curls they reverted to when loose, and the skin beneath the half ponytail shaved, he looked as fierce and intimidating as his reputation suggested.
Blue eyes flicked to Shea as he rumbled, “He always harps on the slowness of my attacks.”
Shea’s head whipped around so she could glare at Braden as he joined them. If he thought Caden was slow, there was no way she would ever be able to gain his approval.
He lifted one eyebrow at her. “Just because it is a common piece of advice, doesn’t make it any less true.”
“It is also true that Braden is a stickler for the basics,” Fallon said, giving the other man a wry smile. “But that is why he’s known for turning out highly disciplined warriors with strong foundations.”
Braden inclined his head at the praise before looking at the chasm between the two groups. “This division has made some uneasy.”
“I, for one, will be glad when we get to our destination,” Caden murmured as he drifted over, fixing the pathfinders with a hard stare.
From the other two men’s grunts, it sounded like they agreed. The Trateri were finding the Highlands even less hospitable than they had previously thought. Their horses were not as useful here as they were on flatter ground. The journey was taking longer because they had to find paths the horses could traverse since they wouldn’t leave them behind. That, coupled with several beast attacks and their traveling companions’ hostility had meant more than one temper had flared in the intervening days.
“We should be getting close now,” Shea said. “I recognize the area. It’s no more than three days ride.”
“Somehow, that’s not the relief it should be,” Braden said. “Not when our end destination means we’ll be walking into a pit of vipers.”
On that Shea agreed.
“Did your father find you?” Fallon asked in a quiet voice.
Shea looked away as she nodded. Her eyes flicked to the other two men. She would prefer to be alone if they were to discuss her father. Actually, she would prefer to leave the topic untouched, if she was being really honest.
Fallon jerked his chin in dismissal and the other two men excused themselves. “What did Patrick want?”
Shea jerked up one shoulder as she folded her arms in front of her. “Who knows? He didn’t really say much. Just took some of his men to task for something they said.”
Fallon’s face was thoughtful as he cast a glance at their reluctant companions. “And what did they say?”
Shea stilled, his mild tone not fooling her for a moment. There was a dark threat there, one that only someone who knew him well might detect.
“Nothing of importance.” Knowing that wouldn’t stop him from trying to find out if he really wanted, she fixed him with a hard stare. “And if you’re smart, you’ll leave it at that. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Interfering wouldn’t help matters. You’d just make them worse.”
“Aren’t you the one who is always saying that we’re partners? Partners share things,” he said in that same silky voice. It was made all the more menacing because of the utter reasonableness of it.
“Does that mean you’ll share whatever it was you were discussing with your men when I walked up?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.
“You only have to ask,” he murmured.
