"I'm going to the herd lands," Eva snapped, sarcasm raising its head. "I hardly think a few lessons with a wooden stick are going to do much if the Kyren decide they don't like me."
Caden took a deep breath as if she was testing his patience.
Good. That made two of them.
"Ajari said you would be the only one welcomed in their herd lands. Is that still the case?"
Eva's eyes slid toward where Sebastian was snoozing while standing up. His ears pricked and she felt his agreement with Caden's statement.
The sour expression on her face was answer enough.
"Then you need to be prepared. The people who took him number more than we previously thought. You'll be alone. If one of them slips through, you need to be able to survive until I, or someone else, can get to you," he explained with more patience than she would have thought him capable of.
"Hence the training," she finished for him.
His hands squeezed her shoulders. "Hence the training."
"Does it have to be so early?" She couldn't resist one more complaint.
His grin flashed. "Darius wouldn’t appreciate you being the reason for another obstacle to this journey. You're welcome to ask him to delay our start, however."
"No, this time is fine," Eva said with resignation.
"I thought you might see it my way."
*
Eva cursed the sadisticAnateri commander as her arms and the muscles in her back complained voraciously. To make matters worse, Caia had decided a light canter was overrated and instead desired a vigorous gallop. Holding Caia back against Caia’s need to race ahead made for an uneven gait that jolted and jostled Eva's bruised limbs with every step.
Caia was lucky Eva didn't thump her between the ears. If she could lift her arms, she would have done exactly that.
"Tell me again whose idea this was," Jason groaned from where he bent over his horse, basically lying along its back.
If Eva was sore, he had to be doubly so. Caden and the Anateri had been ruthless with him
"You can thank the herd mistress for that," Caden said, riding up to join them. "She thought you'd enjoy a little of my individualized attention."
Eva struggled to lift herself upright from where she was slouched. "Because you told me that's what he wanted."
"And now you both have it," he said, giving her a beast's smile, full of teeth and smug superiority.
"You did?" Jason asked, his expression earnest.
Eva sat back and shrugged. "He said you might want something more than the life of a herd master."
Jason's eyes widened. "And you would let me?"
"It's your life. What you do with it is up to you."
He was quiet.
"Hardwick only accepts a few apprentices every few years," Jason said. "He won’t be pleased if one of them decides to pursue the warrior's life."
"Leave Hardwick to me." Eva waved away his concern. She wasn’t worried about that. "Either way, he'd prefer an apprentice who actually wants to be there. You've got talent, so he won't be happy to lose you, but you shouldn't let that stop you."
"This was the smallest taste of what life as an Anateri means," Caden said. "You can use this journey to see if it's something you'd like. At the end, I'll decide if you're good enough or not."
Jason gulped, excitement and fear crossing his face. He looked like he didn't know whether to thank Caden or back away very slowly. Eva knew what she’d do if offered the chance.
