As they approached, all conversations died away, and everyone turned to watch them.
It felt like that first day, stepping out into silence as everyone stared. But, since then everything had changed.Shehad changed. And with Val gripping her hand solidly beside her, anything was possible.
Alanna lifted her chin and grinned at them all. And was answered by slow smiles, twinkling eyes, and a few nods. Nim threaded her arm through Alanna’s and pulled her toward the sputtering fireplace and made space for her in the circle, this time with Val right next to her.
Keely winked as she passed them each a bread roll stuffed with bacon, and Alanna took a big bite, hoping that no one else could hear how loudly her stomach was rumbling.
Surprisingly, no one had said anything at all, and she glanced sideways at Val, wondering what he thought. His wings were drawn back, as if battle-ready, but his face held a crooked smile, and she wondered if he had been hoping that someone would say something to provoke a fight so that he could put them in their place.
She snuggled closer, leaning against his arm, just in case, and felt the rumble of the amused chuckle he let out as he realized her plan.
“Sooo,” Mathos began, looking at them both with a wide smirk, “have you ever had—”
“No,” Nim interrupted.
“I just wanted—”
Nim glared at him. “Don’t. Say. It.”
“But—”
Beside her, Val cleared his throat aggressively, which only made Mathos laugh. “It was a good one!”
“Okay, fine.” Alanna huffed a bemused chuckle. “You’d better tell us.”
Mathos ran a hand through his dark blond hair, his hazel eyes twinkling. “Nah, it’s not funny anymore.”
“Bard, you’re infuriating!” She reached over to cuff his shoulder and then hesitated. He was a huge soldier with gleaming burgundy scales glittering over his extremely defined muscles, and she was about to smack him. And not in the heat of the moment or in self defense either. Had she lost her mind?
Mathos noticed her pause and leaned closer, his eyes focused on her. “Don’t stop now, Your Majesty.”
“Argh!” She growled in frustration as she gave in and swatted him on the arm. “I told you not to call me that!”
Everyone laughed cheerfully, and she realized he was teasing her.
It felt strange to be teased. To be part of the joke, but not humiliated or shamed by it. These people wanted to share in her happiness and for her to share in theirs.
It was overwhelming and wonderful, and she had to blink several times as Val dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
Thankfully, Keely came to her rescue and changed the subject. “Will we be sticking to the forest today, or will we brave the West Way for the last few hours?”
Tristan dusted off his hands and stepped forward to speak. Despite everything that had happened, or perhaps because of it, he was still their undisputed leader. “Garet and Jos have already been out this morning, but the rain is ruining visibility. We can’t see further than a few hundred feet, so we can’t judge the safety of the road. It would be better for us to stay on the local paths as far as possible.”
“Do you want me to go and take a look around?” Val stood and asked quietly, both of them aware that he had missed a rotation.
“No.” Tristan gave him an amused look. “I took you off the roster last night. With the hours you’ve been doing in the air, you were due some downtime.”
“Thanks,” Val replied quietly, and then surprised them all by stepping forward and holding out his hand toward Tristan. “Thanks for everything.”
Instead of shaking his hand, Tristan pulled Val forward into a rough hug, slapping him on the back with a friendly grunt. Alanna had never heard a more welcome sound, and by the suspicious gleam in Nim’s eyes, neither had she.
“Right, enough of that.” Tristan stepped back and raised his voice. “Break camp and get ready to move out. Keely with Tor, Alanna with Val. Nim, you’re with me. Jos and Garet, back in the air. Mathos, you take lead with Reece; Jeremiel and Rafael form the rear. You have ten minutes.”
Mathos frowned. “Actually, Captain, where is Reece?”
Tristan rubbed a hand down his face, looking tired. “Anyone seen him?”
There were a few frustrated mutters as it quickly became clear that no one had seen him since the day before.
