“My Tolroi sleeps with me,” he informedher.
He arranged her so her front was pressed tohis side and her head on his chest. He cushioned his head on onearm and looked up at the starry night sky peeking through thetrees.
“Is this going to become a thing? Where youmake a statement of what your Tolroi does and expect me to followit?” Shea asked, drawing her fingers in a light caress on hischest.
“It is not a statement. It’s fact.”
Shea smiled. In their past interactions, shehadn’t noticed how funny he was. He’d always struck her asserious.
This thing between them felt so new and yetold at the same time. She pressed a kiss against his skin. Shehoped they lived long enough to explore it further.
Chapter Twenty Three
Shea stirred whenher pillow shifted under her. A rumble under her ear and a voicespeaking quietly over her head brought her fully toconsciousness.
“What’s going on?” she asked sleepily asFallon carefully slid out from under her, lowering her to theground.
“The scouts have returned.”
Shea sat up.
“Go back to sleep,” he told her.
“Listen, you. If this thing between us is towork, you’re going to have to treat me as a partner or I walk. Notin everything.” She held up a hand to forestall the automaticrefusal she saw coming. “You’re the warlord. I get it and I have nointerest in being involved with every little thing you do, but whenit concerns me and my wellbeing or a skill I excel at, you willinvolve me and treat me as an equal.”
“I do not respond well to ultimatums,” heinformed her.
“I don’t respond well to being pushed to theside or patted on the head.”
The man who had woken them left as they had amini stare down. In this, Shea was not budging. She knew that inmany things she would have to compromise, but this was one thingshe knew to be essential to her happiness and continued well-being.He either learned to live with it, or she would take him up on theother choice he’d offered her last night.
“Fair enough,” he said grudgingly.
Shea held back the relief she felt, knowingthat at the first sign of smugness he might recant.
“It won’t always go your way this easily,” hetold her.
“I’m counting on it. What’s life without alittle challenge?”
A flash of teeth in the darkness should havewarned her. He grasped her behind the neck and hauled her to him,pressing his lips against hers, consuming her in a passionate kissthat left her panting afterwards.
He buried his face against the side of herneck as they both struggled to catch their breath. She felt hislips curve in a smile as he pulled away. “Well, let’s go, myfire.”
Caden, Trenton and another man waited forthem near the fire. Shea looked around, picking out the outlines ofthe rest of Fallon’s men in the dark. Though it was the middle ofthe night, very early morning to be precise, all were awake. Eithersitting, standing or in the process of packing their gear.
A map was spread out close to the flames andpinned to the ground with small rocks. Colored pebbles were placedwhere Shea estimated their current position to be. Differentpebbles were placed a fair distance further down the map as arepresentation of their enemy.
“We’ve managed to locate their force andbelieve they plan to attack once we reach this point.” Cadenindicated the spot on the map.
“Why there?” Fallon asked.
“They’ll be able to place archers on thecliff here.” Another pointed finger. “Since our way narrows upahead with a thick forest of trees and brush on one side and thehills closing in on us behind it. There’s no way we’d be able toveer left. If they cut off both our way forward and to the rear,they could potentially deal heavy damage even with a smallforce.”
The area Caden had shown on the map wasseveral miles further north and west of where Shea had traveled theprevious evening so she didn’t have firsthand experience with theterritory. It seemed a fairly accurate assessment from theinformation laid out before them.
“How did they even get in front of us? Wewere riding slowly, but not that slow,” Trenton said.
“We only told this route to one person. Therest of our suspects were given an alternate route.” Caden saidwith his eyes firmly fixed on the map. “We have a traitor, someonehigh up in the ranks.”
