Caden finished conferring with several of his Anateri, all of them attired and outfitted for a journey. Eva took that to mean he wasn't the only one of the elite guard joining them.
When Fallon and Shea had said they were sending people with her, she hadn't thought there would be quite this many.
"There's Fallon and Darius. I want to talk to them before you set off," Shea said, spotting the hulking form of her warlord across the way. "I put some things I thought might be useful in your pack. Good luck and don't let them push you around."
Eva murmured a thank you as Shea moved away, striding across the pasture toward Fallon, every inch the queen in that moment. No one would dare get in her way. Not with the regal bearing she displayed.
"Did Shea look your pack over?" Reece asked.
Eva came back to herself and nodded.
"Good, she knows what she's doing. I need to confer with Darius, but if you need help, ask. The terrain for the first few days won't be too brutal but it's not for the faint of heart either," he said before looking around at the rest. "At least we're not going on foot. There'd be no end to their whining then."
Eva didn't get a chance to ask what he meant as the pathfinder wandered off, shaking his head.
Eva remained where she was, unsure what she should be doing. Normally, she'd help prepare the horses, check them over to make sure they were fit and healthy for the journey ahead. Not this time. Ollie and Hardwick had already chased her off twice, saying she had other matters needing her attention.
Only she didn't. Speaker for the Kyren might sound prestigious, but the position didn't come with a lot of guidance. It left her aimless. Something she had never been.
With a sigh, she headed for her equine-sized pain in the ass. He waited impatiently near the edge of the field, Ajari a watchful presence beside him.
A bubble had sprung into being around them, one no Trateri seemed intent on breaking.
"Little mouse, have you come to gawk at the monsters?" Ajari asked.
"Do you always hide behind sarcasm and intimidation?" Eva couldn't help but ask.
Ajari's gaze moved from the Trateri around them to her.
Eva didn't wait for his response, knowing it would probably be more of the same. "But no, I came to check on Sebastian."
Jason lingered nearby and looked as if he would approach them when Ajari gave him a predatory look. The apprentice balked and glanced away.
"The human thinks to possess the Kyren," Ajari observed.
Eva sighed and shook her head. "He can think all he wants but the Warlord would never let that happen."
Nor would Sebastian, she suspected. Not unless it suited some plan of his.
"What about you? Would you prevent his enslavement?" Ajari asked with a sly look.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Eva asked, bending down and lifting Sebastian's front leg. She squeezed the bone, noting how he let out a grunt. Yea, that's what she'd been afraid of. He’d gotten good at concealing his injury but there was no hiding it now. The past two days had seen some rest for the leg, but it was still injured. "I'm neither a warrior nor do I know how to fight. I'm as much at the mercy of another's whims, perhaps more so."
"How refreshing, a human without delusions of their capabilities," Ajari teased.
Eva lifted her head and fixed him with a long look. "I assume you're talking about the Battle Queen when you say that. I thought you respected her."
"Who's to say I don't?" Ajari challenged, raising one eyebrow. "It's quite fun watching her force the world to change to fit her ideals. She is almost stupidly naive and noble at the same time. She and her warlord are trying to accomplish something many, more powerful people, have tried and failed at in the past."
Eva finished what she was doing and straightened. She headed with slow steps back to the main body.
"What? No protest on your queen's behalf?" Ajari called after her.
Eva raised her hand and waved it. "I'm a herd mistress. What do I know of politics or what is possible or not? I know how to deliver a foal and take care of my herd. I leave everything else to other more capable hands."
Ajari didn't say anything to call her back as she walked away. She sensed his and Sebastian's eyes burning into her back as the two trailed behind her.
She scanned those assembled, trying to catch Hardwick's attention. He moved at a quick clip, too distracted to notice her, as he made sure the secondary mounts were ready to move.
