Everything about him spoke to strength. From the harsh plains of his features, the almost brutal lines belied by the softness of his lips, to the wide shoulders and barrel chest.
Caden might have been considered short for a Trateri, but he was still taller than most Lowlanders.
Underestimating him would be a mistake. Eva had seen what he could do. The explosive power of his body. The exactness with which he could take a life.
Caden hummed an agreement as Eva joined him. He nodded over his shoulder at a line of horses winding their way through the land below.
There were many more than Eva was expecting. Far more than a handful, there were at least a hundred or more horses down there. Enough to make up two Trateri war bands.
"This—" Eva started and then stopped.
She couldn't lie to herself. This wasn't a resupply mission. There would be no convincing the Kyren that the Trateri were only taking care of their own.
It didn't make sense.
"Why would Fallon do this?" Eva asked, feeling lost.
This wasn't the type of behavior she had come to expect from the Trateri leader. The Trateri as a whole placed a lot of emphasis on honor. To break your word was to be considered the lowest of the low. She couldn't see him doing something like this without a very good reason.
"Looks like we're about to find out," a man familiar to Eva said from where he was leaning against a boulder not far away.
Roscoe had a playful smirk on his face as he straightened to watch a trio of riders break from the train to make a beeline toward where Eva and the rest waited.
Roscoe and his friend Ghost had a bit of a reputation. Some might even call them notorious.
Promoted as often as they were demoted, they were Fiona's subordinates. They feared nothing and no one. The Trateri in general didn't have high fear responses, but those two took it to extremes.
If there was trouble, you could bet they'd be hip deep in it.
The only person with a chance of convincing them to listen to a modicum of sense was Fiona. And even that was only fifty percent of the time.
They were every bit the walking disaster that the fire fox was. Despite that, Eva found she liked them.
They played by their own rules. Eva could respect that and even admire it in a way. Wasn't she the same? Forging her own path despite the obstacles that might present themselves along the way.
Then again, they'd also never aimed their particular brand of trouble her way. Maybe if they had, she'd feel a little differently.
"Well, damn. They have the pathfinder with them," Ghost said in a quiet voice.
Roscoe's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he made a point of hawking a giant glob of spit on the ground at his feet. "Son of a bitch. He knows better."
Roscoe rubbed the knuckles of his fist.
Ghost sent him a sympathetic look. "Do they itch?"
"They do, but don't worry. I have a way to make it better." Roscoe made a show of cracking his neck before aiming a bloodthirsty smile at the approaching riders. "His face should do nicely to sooth the sting."
"How about we save the violence until after we get an explanation?" Fiona said.
"Fine, fine. Have it your way," Roscoe muttered. "I would've been only a little violent."
Ghost snorted in laughter. "In your dreams."
The two shared a look as identical grins spread over their faces. The playful expressions fell from their faces as the three riders reined to a stop not far away and dismounted.
The lightheartedness was conspicuously absent as Roscoe and Ghost stared at the newcomers, making no effort to conceal the hardness in their gazes or the reserve on their faces.
Caden's arms were folded across his chest, his face arranged in similar cold lines as he studied the three.
