Well then. That was just what Avery planned to do.
Chapter fourteen
Savine
Savine sat in a meeting with the members of his council, discussing plans to move from their summer encampment to the winter grounds near Bayberry. This was one of the most dangerous times of the year for his followers, but he couldn’t focus on the conversation. He was entirely distracted by Avery. She was hidden in his tent, and he knew what he was about to do to her would drive her even further away from him.
It was fine. It was what needed to be done before she drove him mad in return. The whining yell that pierced his sensitive hearing. Her complete lack of discipline and no proclivity for taking orders. That toned body in those skin-tight pants. Yes, she was going to make him mad, especially now that they shared the same tent.
As a private man, he didn’t like sharing his space with others. He hadn’t even shared his room since those days when Lilith had snuck into his room in the Tower of the Moon. It had not been enough, those short-lasting nights tangled together in his room.
But here he was, against all he desired, forcing a new woman to share his space. After his imprisonment in the Tower of Teeth and Lilith’s death, he’d sworn he was incapable of growing close to another woman. Not when the Nepheli Sage had personally carved out parts of his soul and snipped the remaining bitsinto ribbons.
The situation with Avery couldn’t be avoided. It was impossible to keep a guard on her all the time. They didn’t have the people to cover her, and he’d admit to himself that he only trusted himself to keep this precious treasure safe. She needed constant protection until they could sharpen her skills. Goddess alive, she was like a child! Completely unaware of the surrounding dangers. Even her footsteps seemed to boom as she walked. It was like she’d never had a care in her life until now. When the Hylax attacked, he thought he’d lose her for sure. Somehow she’d had the dumb luck to kill that final Hylax. Otherwise, he would have lost his shot at finally winning this war.
The momentary tenderness he’d felt for Avery while on Quartz Mountain all but vanished when she had argued with him over getting out of the bath. Then her screeching in the tent had made him want to dump her out for any enemy to pick up.
But he couldn’t help but think about her tight body in those pants. Those unusual stretchy pants that showed off her every curve and muscular ass. And that tight top that revealed the flat planes of her stomach and the curves of her small breasts. Goddess alive!
And her smell. It was so peculiar. She certainly didn’t have the fae trait of hiding body odors. No, she smelled like the earth and salt. But underneath that, there was this hint of honeysuckle and mint. Smelling that faint scent of mint from his bed was going to drive him wild.
But these thoughts were useless. She may have an intriguing body, like no fae woman he’d been with, but she was his pawn. His tool to freedom and everything he hoped for. Not only that, she would be difficult to train. He had no interest in getting involved with this woman, or so he kept telling himself. There had been plenty of women that he’d found attractive without acting on his impulses. No need for her to be any different from the womenwho came before her. In fact, he’d been doing that for over twenty-five years. It hadn’t failed him, so why be tempted now?
“Savine? Care to join the conversation?” Kyla said. The beauty of the purple mountains reflected off the setting sun. Sparkles of light cascaded from the peaks down to the valley below as the sun set across the valley.
“Yes, of course. Just a bit distracted.”
“I’m assuming you’re thinking about Avery?”
“Beg your pardon?” Savine asked. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to respond.
“It seems you either can’t stand each other, or you’re ready to jump into bed together. I guess we will all find out now that you’ve moved her into your tent. We all have our guesses on which. I belong to the lust category, but not if she continues to cause permanent damage to your hearing.”
Savine pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Goddess help him. He had a headache coming on already.
“All of you have nothing better to do than stand around and discuss my business?” He would not be having this conversation with his council. It was not any concern of theirs why he shared a tent with a woman who hated him. Changing the subject, Savine said, “Gaelyn, I need you to oversee the storage of the tents, furniture, and summer bedding in the storehouse.”
Gaelyn nodded as she spoke, shaking a head of heavy blue hair, perfectly done in shining waves. “Of course. We began to store the herders', farmers', and soldiers’ quarters. All that remains are the tents of the council, baths, and kitchens. Everyone else is in traveling tents,” Gaelyn said. As the quartermaster for his encampment, she did not need him to tell her what to do.
“I appreciate your hard work,” Savine said.
He turned to Garnel, the general of the army. “Keep all the guards and troops on high alert. Word is out that we are traveling with a human, and there will be many ambitious enough to try to take her. Plus, the typical late-season skirmishes with the loyalists.”
“Everything is prepared. We have guards in the skies and the ground, as well as scouts and soldiers. We already had a powerful force ready to protect our herds and goods as we traveled back to Bayberry. I briefed them on our situation,” Garnel replied. He could be the funniest fae Savine knew, but he also took his job seriously. Garnel became a calculated and organized leader when it was time for work, and his lighter side slid away.
“Will the human know how to ride an elk?” Jay asked. He was the master of the herds and oversaw the care and training of the elk and moose.
“I believe she will not know how to ride an elk. I would like her to learn, but I can have her join me on Jari until she can manage on her own.”
Savine turned to the last person in the council. This slight man was once loyal to the king, but time and again he’d proven himself to Savine. “Raikin, I need you to get to know Avery, too. I want her to understand the political climate here. I want you to prepare her for her role in taking down Jasper.”
Savine watched his council’s reaction. Garnel didn’t seem surprised at all, so Kyla had filled him in. But everyone else looked at Savine like he had lost his mind.
Raikin spoke up before Savine could continue speaking. “Can I interject?”
“It seems you have. I would prefer if you kept your opinion on this matter to yourself, though,” Savine said.
“Right. Of course, sir. But I believe I should speak up since nobody is going to. Why should we put our trust in a human? If we know anything about their history, they lie. They are weaker than the fae, and they were the enemies of the fae folk.”
