“Because we do not venture into your realm for long enough to form such attachments,” Thallax said, with a wave of his hand. “It is also possible that - although the pair of you could still feel the bond inyour realm - now that you are in Xanthia, it is heightened significantly. For Rionan, at least, given that he is Xanthian.”
Thallax removed his feet from the table and sat forward, looking at Alianna earnestly. “While you are here, Rionan will feel an overwhelming need to protect you. If there is anyone that he feels is snide towards you, or may harm you, he is unlikely to take it well. He will calm, as he adjusts to the feeling of the bond now that he is back on home soil.”
“You know this to be fact?” Alianna asked.
“I know this from personal experience.”
“You’re bonded?” Alianna asked, shocked that this was not something she knew about this male so far. But then again, why would she?
Thallax laughed. “You ask with such surprise. Am I so unlikeable that it would seem unattainable for me?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. Rionan hadn’t mentioned it.”
Thallax nodded. “I am bonded. I have been for one hundred and thirty years,” he smiled wistfully. “My partner and child have found safe passage to the Northern territory, where they will hide away until the war passes.”
Alianna tried to hide the shock on her face. Not just bonded to another, but a child, too. How difficult it must be to be away from them both at such a perilous time for them all.
“When you first bond with another,” Thallax went on, “it is all encompassing. The drive to protect, to be near each other, to be with each other. You are connected, body and soul. It is instinctive, and likely made worse by the fact that Rionan is currently trying to contain a quarter of the power of Xanthia. I suspect the power within him is desperate to break free and enter the network within our lands once more.”
Alianna shook her head, feeling stupid that she had not even considered all that Rionan had told her about his power. It had been asking him to return to Xanthia. Sending him nightmares to draw him home. How much strength had it taken him, every minute that they had been here, not to open the flood gates on all that he contained?
“Be understanding, with Rionan. Give him time. He will adjust. He is a good male – I am sure you know this yourself.” Thallax finished,with a polite nod, finishing his sentence more like a question than a statement.
“I do,” Alianna confirmed. “Thank you, Thallax, for explaining. I hope you get to see your family again soon.”
“So do I,” he smiled sadly. “So do I.”
***************
When Rionan returned, he dismissed Thallax, thanking his friend for staying with Alianna. He had promptly removed the stone from the chest that he had placed it in, returning it to the canvas bag that they had been so diligently carrying, and beckoned for Alianna to follow him.
Exiting the tent, they walked through the camp. Several fires still shone brightly, with the occasional guard passing through, presumably on some sort of patrol. They carried no weapons, but they were identifiable by the armour that they wore, which was similar to that which she had seen on Thallax.
The guards did not speak to her or Rionan, but they looked to their Lord, nodding respectfully as they passed. It was entirely possible that Rionan had already found the opportunity to converse with them while she had waited with Thallax.
Alianna followed Rionan wordlessly, winding through the rows of tents which extended into the dark night. The mountains stood on either side of them like tall, watchful guardians, encasing them from prying eyes.
“Ulreah has set snares around the camp, at each point within the mountain pass which could connect a passing group to where we are now,” Rionan explained, although Alianna had not thought to ask how vulnerable they might be if any enemies did locate them. “The snares are spelled to go off regardless of who steps into the fog. As you saw, they are reasonably effective.”
“Effective enough that you dodged the lightning,” Alianna mused, and a smile tugged on Rionan’s lips.
“Once again, Ali, you sound as though you wish to see me injured. Yes, I did dodge the lightning. I have watched over decades as Ulreah has developed and fine-tuned the magic of his snares. I helped him todo it. I know exactly where the lightning will cut through the fog, at the precise speed. Very few others have had such insight into his work.”
“Ah,” Alianna nodded, looking around. “And where are we going?”
“Toour tent,” Rionan said, plainly.
“Your tent wasn’t the one from before – the largest in the camp?”
“No,” Rionan huffed, glancing over his shoulder from left to right, to see who was awake and who may be listening. “I might be Lord of this territory, but I do not like to make a show of it by insisting that I always have the biggest and the best of everything. We will be using a small tent, the same as everyone else. The larger tent is for Council purposes.”
“You say that like you don’t live in a palace,” Alianna remarked, nudging him with her elbow.
“My palace is my ancestral home. All of the Western Lords have lived there. It, and the land surrounding it by around ten miles in every direction, is known as Savangrad. I would like to show it to you. When all of this has…passed.”
There was one, two, three beats of silence before Alianna decided to change the subject.
“Was that who those three were then? Your Council?”
