“There must be more to it,” she said. “My father made it sound like they wanted more than just an alliance.”
“I agree. If it was just that, they would have never brought us all the way up here, or let us into the very heart of their power,” Fallon said. His horse shifted under him, stamping at the ground.
“We should send out scouts,” Shea said. She was suddenly the focus of several pairs of eyes.
“Explain,” Fallon said.
She tried to articulate what was nagging at her. “The way they’re acting, it’s like they know something is coming. We should see if we can find out what that is.”
Fallon shifted in his seat, his gaze piercing. “See that it’s done.”
Shea nodded.
“For now, the rest of us will keep an eye out and see what else we can pick up,” Fallon said.
“What should we tell the clan leaders?” Caden asked. “You know they’re going to wonder how today went.”
Fallon tilted his head back, his expression already vexed. “Tell them that negotiations broke down. To treat this like any other Lowland village.”
Both men nodded.
“What happens if they try to back out of the agreement?” Braden asked.
There was a short silence.
Shea firmed her resolve. “Then we take what we need, just like we would in any other situation.”
She met their stares with determination, as if she hadn’t just proposed betraying her former people. However, if it came to it and they were forced to seize the weapons, it would be because her mother broke faith first.
Still, it wasn’t the easiest of things to digest, but something foul was blowing in on the wind from the Badlands. They were going to need every advantage they could get.
CHAPTER TEN
A nightmare yanked Shea out of a sound sleep. Somehow, she managed to stay quiet enough she didn’t wake Fallon next to her.
Moving carefully, she slipped out of their bed, grabbing the thin wrap lying on a chair nearby and wrapped it around her shoulders to protect her against the chill of their chamber. She padded over to the fireplace, throwing a few logs inside and coaxing a flame out of them, patiently stoking them until they caught and warmth began pouring out.
Settling onto the rug in front, she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared into the flames.
She hadn’t been sitting long before a heavy body settled behind her and a muscular pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a hard chest.
Fallon’s lips found their way to the side of her head. He didn’t say anything or ask any questions, just sat there quietly with her until the stink of her fear had faded and she relaxed into him.
Sighing, she uncurled, sliding down until she could rest her head in his lap, one hand wrapped around his thigh as she stared into the flames, mesmerized by their hypnotic flickering.
“I feel like my dreams are trying to swallow my soul,” Shea finally said, her voice showing how bone-tired she was.
His hand was soothing as it smoothed her hair away from her face. “Do you think they have something to do with what is happening now?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I’m beginning to think there might be more to them than normal. The bashe knew my name.”
So much had happened after the issue with the bashe that they hadn’t talked about it. Not really. Now, she couldn’t help thinking everything was intertwined.
“How did it know my name, and why was it after me?” she asked.
“That is a very good question,” Fallon said, his voice soft. “One, I would dearly like to know the answer to.”
Fallon wasn’t accustomed to being denied, and Shea suspected he wouldn’t rest until he found what he was seeking. Woe to anyone who tried to deny him.
