Nephew of mine, you have much explaining to do,Orion said, a snap in his mental voice. Its intensity made Eva wince.
She watched quietly, her hands still cradling Caden's head as Orion stared the younger Kyren down.
Sebastian was two hand widths smaller than Orion, his horns not quite as developed. The two were opposites, one the color of starlight, the other the night that enveloped the stars and made them shine brighter in contrast.
You have broken nearly every tenet of our people,Orion bit out as he advanced on his nephew. He stood tall, intimidating, as he forced Sebastian back.Explain to me why I shouldn't excise you from the herd here and now.
"He had his reasons. Several very good ones." Eva set Caden's head gently on the ground, standing to face Orion.
She met Sebastian's ashamed gaze briefly before focusing on Orion, the head stallion of this herd. At least that's what it felt like.
You defend him when he wronged you the worst.
Eva lifted her chin. Yes, he had. He'd mislead her and forced her into a dangerous situation. Worse, was the knowledge she would have gone willingly if he'd explained what was at stake.
Yet she couldn't blame him. His foals and mates had been in danger.
He hadn't trusted her, not until much too late. She understood what it was not to trust. She was guilty of the same with the Trateri. Letting them in only so far, keeping her distance, hiding parts of herself so they could never truly know her.
She couldn't let him become outcast, hated and ostracized from his people. She knew what that felt like. She wouldn't see him go through the same.
"He did so to protect others. I don't blame him for it," she said.
Orion considered her, the weight of his mind brushing against hers. It was immense. Old. Different from Sebastian's who reminded Eva of a wild fire, capricious and full of heat. Orion's was cold, methodical, a high mountain lake fed from glacier and snow melt. Refreshing but its icy depths could kill too.
"The mares and their young would have been at the mercy of the humans had he not acted as he did," Eva said.
He could have come to me. I would have helped you,Orion said, swinging his head toward Sebastian and spearing him with a look.
I couldn't,Sebastian said stubbornly.The humans were hunting me. I only made it as far as the Trateri camp when I fled. Luck was with me when I found the Caller.
Instead, you decided to endanger any chance of a future treaty with the humans,Orion thundered.
Eva stilled. Treaty? She was under the impression there was no treaty. It was the entire reason Fallon had sent her and the rest here, in the hopes of influencing them to his side.
"Pardon me, great one," Eva said, not knowing how to address a Kyren of Orion's rank. "If a treaty is what you're interested in, the Hawkvale and his people would be more than willing to discuss it with you."
She was pretty sure Fallon would drop everything and ride north if Orion indicated.
Orion studied her.It is not so simple as that. Certain criteria must be met.
"You’re not so far from your requirements as you might think," Ajari said from the trees.
Orion snorted and stamped his foot at the new arrival. He didn't seem surprised, even as Eva jumped slightly. The mythological had disappeared after her talk with him in the city, and she hadn't seen him since.
He stepped into view. Blood caked his arms and around his lips. He was a nightmare stepping into the light of day. A human arm was held in his hand. As Eva watched, he lifted it to his lips and ripped another piece of flesh off, chewing and swallowing the meat as he stared at the rest of them.
Eva made a small sound of revulsion. She flinched as she realized the Kyren who had accompanied Orion were consuming the humans they'd killed, small slurping sounds accompanying their meal.
She paled further. It was one thing to know the mythologicals were carnivores, another entirely to actually see them eat humans. There was no hiding from that knowledge.
Eva swallowed hard, trying not to lose the contents of her stomach. The Kyren had saved her. Insulting them after that seemed wrong—even if her stomach was trying to turn itself inside out.
"Problems, Eva?" Ajari asked, his fangs peeking through as he regarded her through narrowed eyes.
He knew exactly what she was thinking and found it amusing to tease her for it.
Eva lifted her chin, forcing away the knowledge he and the Kyren had eaten what had once been people. Humans ate animals all the time. It was sort of the same, at the basest level. Even if that small voice in the back of her mind was trying to scream it wasn't the same at all.
