She touched the small saddle roll and bags on either of Caia's flank but didn't open them. Ollie had helped her prepare for the journey ahead and she knew she had everything she needed—even if she was slightly terrified she'd forgotten something, despite checking everything five times already.
She took a deep breath, quelling her instinctive anxiety. You've got this, she told herself. It's just another movement like all the ones before. Who cares if you're going into the upper reaches of the Highlands where people are scarce and the beasts are terrifying?
She'd be in the company of a hundred Trateri warriors. She'd be fine. She would. She needed to stop acting like a mealy-mouthed Lowlander and start acting like she was a Trateri—chosen, if not born.
Caia's ears tilted forward and she let out a soft whicker.
"Aren't you a beauty, but I suspect you know that." Shea's voice came from behind Eva.
Eva lifted her head. "Tel—" She cut herself off with a wince.
"It's alright. I'm not quite used to my new title either," Shea said. "You can call me Shea, just like I will call you Eva."
Shea's hands went to her belly as she surveyed the proceedings wistfully.
Eva realized the Battle Queen wished she was going with them. It was a different outlook than she had been raised with. When women in her village got married and started having babies, they were tied to the hearth and the home and rarely left it.
It was one of the biggest reasons Eva had resisted any of the men her parents had thrown at her. She was too invested in keeping her freedom, what little there was of it. If she had settled for a husband, it would have curtailed her wandering outside the village borders. She would never have explored the dark interior of the forest or run with her beloved horses again.
She couldn't think of a worse fate—except maybe acting as a sacrifice for their harvest. A shiver ran down her back at the close call she'd had to losing it all.
She wondered if the warlord would expect his queen to stay behind from now on. If so, it was a pity. Shea's example was an inspiration for people like Eva, who'd had others tell her all her life what she could and couldn't do, because of her misfortune of having been born a woman.
Seeing Shea waiting expectantly, Eva finally nodded. "Shea it is."
A small figure peeked shyly out from behind Shea. A girl, no more than six, with bright blue eyes looked around with curiosity.
"Who is this?" Eva asked, crouching and smiling at the child.
"This is Mist. She wanted to see everyone off," Shea said.
"Do you want to meet my friend?" Eva asked.
Mist nodded, taking a step from Shea's side with more confidence than Eva would have assumed from her silence. So, not entirely withdrawn, but not trusting either.
"This is Caia," Eva said, standing and patting the mare's shoulder. She didn't worry about what Caia would do to the little one. It was only adults who had to be wary.
Mist's smile brightened her whole face, allowing Eva a glimpse of the blond-haired imp waiting inside.
"Do you like horses?" Eva asked.
Mist nodded.
"What do you like about them?"
Mist jerked a shoulder up but didn't speak, petting the parts of Caia she could reach.
Shea joined them. "Mist isn't much of a talker."
Eva met the Battle Queen's gaze, noting the tension in her expression as if Shea was preparing to intercede if Eva tried to berate or make fun of the girl.
Eva's smile was easy and held no judgement. "That's alright. I'm not much of one either. It's better to listen than run your mouth all the time, isn't it?"
Mist looked up, her gaze bright and wondering. Slowly, her chin dipped in a nod as she made an affirmative sound.
Shea touched the girl’s head, her gaze fond. "I'd go with you, but the little one makes that an impossibility. Stopping every hundred feet for a bathroom break would make the journey last months instead of weeks." Shea grimaced. "Next time, when my stomach isn't bigger than my head. Until then, I'm sending my cousin with you."
"Do you regret being so restricted?" Eva asked, nodding at where Shea's baby rested.
