Turning his back, Raiden walked away from Melody and waited for her to follow.She did so immediately, coming up close to him and nudging his back.A smile broke out on his face as he rubbed her muzzle and murmured to her.
Ignoring the soft flutter that took flight inside her, Daya strode forward.
“Done for the morning?”she asked.
“Yes.”He grinned.“Are you ready to take me out hunting with you?”
“Can you hit my mark with the long bow yet?”
Raiden laughed and shook his head.
They both knew he needed several more months of healing his bad arm before he could manage to hit the center mark repeatedly.She’d been impressed at his insistence that he needed to be equally skilled with both sides.
The conversation had jostled his mind, and he’d shared with her that that was how he’d been trained with all of his weapons.He’d also remembered bits and pieces about his mentor, a fierce warrior woman he looked up to.He absently reached for the missing pendant around his neck whenever he talked about the woman.
Trailing behind him, Daya followed Melody and Raiden as they walked slowly to the barn.She tried to ignore the enticing scent of woods and sweet citrus that she’d come to associate with Raiden.
His scent hadn’t changed much since she found him, telling her that whatever he did, he spent a lot of time riding in the woods.She’d have guessed that anyway, with his firm confidence that his horse was missing him somewhere.
Watching him interact with Melody, she believed it.The animal wasn’t just a means of travel to him.He genuinely enjoyed working with her.She felt a pinch of guilt that she’d be taking his companion away with her for several days and leaving him alone, but there was nothing for it.
Lost inside her head, she nearly ran into him when he stopped just outside the barn.Amused green eyes told her he’d noticed her distraction.
Raiden dipped his head close to her ear, lingering to allow his breath to tease the nape of her neck.“Another day then, anaiah.”
Heart stuttering, Daya tensed as she always did when he used the endearment.His sensual teasing and deep laughter tugged the most at her lonely heart, and he used them as the weapons they were.He’d stayed firm in his belief that he was free to engage romantically.She believed him, which made her refusal that much harder to give each time he referred to her as his saving grace with the resonant tone of a lover.
Still, some of what he’d said gave her pause.He may not have a mate waiting for him, but she was almost certain he had a daughter.He often rambled incoherently as he came out of nightmares—to her or Neka, usually.
Much of what he said and worried over indicated he felt strong ties to watch over young ones, particularly the little girl he kept seeing.Was what he said and saw just the jumbled musings of his recovering mind or real?She was at a loss as much as he was on that point.
By the time she buried her emotions and gathered her wits, Raiden had taken Melody all the way back around the corner to her stall and disappeared.Shaking off the distracting thoughts once more, she swept and tidied the front of the barn.It was built directly into the mountain with slats of light pouring in from high above, matching the design of her home.
Wood beams mixed with open rock walls to create a cavernous feel to the space.A rolling barricade could be pulled and latched to protect them from harsh weather or wild predators, but the owlcat was a fierce guardian.
The front held roosts for the hawks and a large nest for the owlcat.Ereven and Ember perched quietly on their beams, no doubt conferring after their morning apart through their private mental pathways.Sweeping around them, she continued to Neka’s empty nest.Bright strands of sunlit gold glinted in the top layer of the nest—strands of Raiden’s cut hair that Neka had taken back to her home.
Around the corner in a protected alcove were stalls for horses.More of them than she would ever use.Instead, she’d taken to using some as storage.Her home at the front of the valley entrance was a visitor post of sorts, still standing from ancient days.A guard house standing protectively in front of the valley’s entrance.
Raiden had tied Melody’s lead to a metal bracket in the aisleway, his body angled toward the front of the enclosed space.He was grooming her coat to a shine, humming softly as he worked.
Her fingers stilled on the broom as she listened to him hum her mother’s lullaby.Did he realize she’d sung to him while he’d been delirious with fever?It had been the best way to soothe him, barring Neka’s presence in the room as a chaperone.His deep voice grazed over her soul.
“What’s that you’re humming?”she asked as she set the broom aside.
“I don’t know.”He glanced up from behind Melody’s shoulder.“I wake up from the nightmares with it in my mind.It’s soothing.”
“Have you remembered any of your recent dreams?”
Tossing the brush into the grooming box, he shook his head and gave Melody a final pat.“Bits and pieces.Just like the memories.”
“You know what might help?Working with your weapons.”
His eyes darkened with emotion as his throat worked.“What if I hurt you again?”
“It’s part of who you are.You can’t deny it forever, especially now that your body is healing.”Figuring the moment was as good as any, she pushed on.“I need to leave for a few days, so there won’t be any extra danger in practicing a little.It’s time, Raiden.”
“You’re leaving?”His head whipped up to hers in dismay.
