"While we cannot enforce our will on you, Kyren, the same cannot be said of her. She's one of us and she'll keep her distance from you until such time when the question of her honor has been satisfied," Darius said, speaking to the Kyren as if he was a visiting dignitary.
Sebastian shook his head, the expression on his face dissatisfied.
Not one of them. One of us. Kyren,he insisted.
He gave Eva an expectant glance as if expecting her to translate. She kept her mouth closed. She was in enough trouble already without stirring the pot further.
"Sebastian says his people no longer consider Eva human, but Kyren," Ajari said cheerfully.
"Is that so?" Darius said, slanting a glance Eva's way.
She couldn't help the mildly guilty look that crossed her face.
"You get more and more interesting every day, herd mistress," he said in a velvety voice. Despite the softness, Eva sensed the menace behind it. To the men behind her, "Watch her carefully tonight. We'll leave before sunrise."
Eva stepped forward, shaking her head. "We have to go now. He may not survive that long."
Darius cocked his head. "Are you really trying to give me orders?"
Eva gulped, realizing too late that ordering a general around was probably not the best idea.
"Because that would be a very grave mistake," he finished when she didn't speak.
"I told him I would come back for him. I won't break my promise," Eva said, gathering her courage.
Desperation could push you to do crazy things, like challenge a Trateri general who had already indicated he didn't trust you. His patience was dangling by a thread, but Eva couldn't make herself leave this matter alone.
"I thought you, of all people, wouldn't abandon him considering your history together," she said.
Darius's face darkened as he stepped forward. "What would you know of that?"
"He said you were all childhood friends, bound by tragedy from a young age. He counts you as brother," she said, not backing down.
Darius stared at her for several long seconds, thoughts moving behind his eyes.
Hanna looked intrigued and she gave Eva a nod of approval.
Eva sensed a shift in Darius as he looked away from her, his gaze distant.
That hope was dashed in the next moment when he faced her again. "How long did you fly? Can you tell me what lies between us and him?"
Reece had stopped on the edge of the small group, unnoticed until Darius gestured toward him.
"Pathfinder, what dangers await us out there in the dark?" Darius ordered.
Reece folded his arms in front of him as his forehead creased. "Most times I would say the danger was minimal, but as the lake and the water sprites have demonstrated, things are not as easy as they once were. Your safety would depend on the distance we need to travel. There are bluffs and cliffs, treacherous terrain is likely. To say nothing of beasts or mythologicals. I would be hesitant to take people unfamiliar with the area on a hunting expedition without more information."
"Would you have me put the lives of everyone here, including yourself, in danger for one man?" Darius asked her.
"The Trateri put their lives in danger for much less every day," Eva shot back. "It's what you do—run straight toward danger while the sane run from it. It's how you've conquered so much, how you've come to be here. Why is this any different?"
He nodded slowly. "And if you could tell me what I would be walking into, I'd consider it. Can you tell me how many men we'll face? How far we'll need to ride? The obstacles between us and him?”
He stepped closer. Eva wasn't small but Darius loomed over her.
He bent down, saying in a low voice meant only for her ears. "Don't think you're the only one who cares. I'd like nothing more than to ride out and find him now, rather than wait." He straightened. "But I have a duty to all those under my command. Neglecting that duty, even for my oldest friend, would make me unfit as a leader."
He held her eyes for several minutes, hammering home her defeat. It galled, but he was right. She'd known it before she started arguing, even as she'd hoped for a miracle.
