Page 14 of The Forgotten Throne

“Cassy-bear!” Dayson called out, walking up with his arms wide, letting me know he was going to hug me. His strong arms wrapped around me, and he picked me up off the ground, making me squeak in surprise. “Now I see why Cole calls you mouse. You sound just like one.” He chuckled, setting me down. “Did everything go well? I heard about the dragons. That is a major help, seeing as we had far fewer horses than we originally thought.”

“Things went fine in Sheca, but it wasn’t a long enough visit to really get a feel for what things will be like,” I shared with a heavy sigh. “Day, there is so much that we don’t know. The things they were telling me about being queen and my purpose is overwhelming and strange yet made perfect sense at the same time. Being there was like tasting a dessert before it’s done baking and now, I have to wait to get a real piece of it.”

Dayson’s eyebrows rose higher the more I spoke. “Sounds like we better get these people hustling so we can get you back there. You sure going with us is the best choice? Sounds like it might be better for you to be there already.”

“No, this is the right move. I already sent Vasin off with Sal and had to tell Gavin’s parents they couldn’t be selfish, so neither can I.”

“Love, the last thing anyone would call you is selfish,” Gavin announced as he walked up to us. “My parents deserved to be scolded. They have been tucked away in their castle for too long and don’t know what the real world is like anymore. Even though it’s been a short while, being here with the clans has opened my eyes to so much.”

“I shouldn’t have been that hard on them,” I countered. “They just lost everything and now I’m forcing them to look after people they’ve been fighting against for decades, if not centuries.”

“You didn’t force them to do a damn thing. Hell, you gave them an out, little mouse,” Cole said, joining our group. “All you asked them to do was prove that they weren’t just allies in name only. If you were in the same situation, would you hesitate to help them by allowing one person to ride with you on Vasin?”

“Of course not,” I answered.

“Exactly. You aren’t asking anything from them that you wouldn’t do yourself,” Cole pointed out. “Now that we have that settled, I’m to tell you everyone is ready to move out at your signal.”

I looked around the space and saw people mounted up and the rest lingering behind about with their packs at the ready. “Then we should be off.”

Double-checking my tack just as I’d been trained, I grabbed hold of Inali’s mane and tossed myself up on her back as if I’d been doing it all my life. Inali pranced in place, far too well trained to actually step out of her position until given a command.

“Would you look at that? You’d never know she couldn’t do that six months ago. I wonder who taught her that?” Becka mused as she settled on the back of her red roan gelding behind me.

Laughing, I gave a light kick of my heel and Inali was moving out into the bright morning sunlight. Cole pulled up next to me, acting as the guide out of the fortress and steering us in the right direction for our journey to Sheca. Zan sketched out a map for us to follow for the first part, since tomorrow we would have a few dragons to lead the way as they scouted, making sure we weren’t being followed. Thankfully, the ground was rocky enough that it would be hard to follow our trail from the fortress. Vasin said they would help keep it hidden as well.

This was it. I was bringing the two factions of mercenaries back together after three hundred years apart. I hoped they could learn to be a united people once we got there.

Chapter Nine

Three People One Tent

The day started out fairly easy, but once we got into the deeper part of the Restless Mountains, the real struggle began. The ground was unsteady so we had to pick our way the best we could, stopping often to make sure that those walking could keep up. Many of the group switched out in intervals to give those walking a break which helped to keep people from getting too tired. I was the only one that had to stay on horseback because none of my guardians would let me walk on this unreliable footing. Even Ballard threatened to tie me up like a sack of potatoes if I didn’t comply, so I helped by letting some of the older kids we had with us still ride with me.

By the time the sun faded to a point, and we had to find shelter before it got too dark, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Even with the help of the beans that Alto gave me, my body was exhausted and was going to force me to rest whether I liked it or not. Thankfully, we’d just made it over a ridge and into a fairly flat pass before the next mountain slope we had to cross over. It gave us a place to rest for the night. The weather was much colder now that we were higher up in the mountains with snow lightly drifting around us. I was thankful to whoever packed my bags because wrapped up with my bedroll was a fur-lined cloak that kept most of the chill at bay. The group was silent as we set up our meager tents, struggling to pound in the stakes to keep them up. Some just tied the lines to rocks instead. We didn’t build a fire since we each had our ration packs of dried meat and hard tack bread that softened in water.

Once everything was set up, I tumbled right into my tent and wrapped myself up in my blanket, missing Vasin’s warmth. Even if he was back by now, it wouldn’t have made a difference. The pass was too narrow for him to land with everyone else here. What did surprise me was when Cole and Gavin showed up outside my tent just as I was on the verge of falling asleep.

“Cassarah, you awake?” Gavin called.

Groaning, I peeked my head out of the tent, blinking up at them. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, well... we didn’t have enough tents like we thought for some of the families, so we gave up ours,” Cole explained.

“Wait, does that mean you don’t have a place to sleep?” I asked, my tired brain struggling to keep up.

Cole and Gavin looked at each other then back to me. “See, we were hoping we might be able to bunk with you...” Gavin hedged.

I blinked at him a few times as my brain registered what they were asking. “You want to sleep in here, with me, in this tiny tent?”

“Hey, more bodies make for a warmer night’s sleep,” Cole pointed out. “We would have found somewhere else but there isn’t room. You wouldn’t want us to sleep out in the cold and chance freezing to death, would you?”

Scowling at him, I crawled back and flopped on my mat once more. “Hurry up, before I change my mind.”

They both scrambled to get in at the same time, making them mutter at each other as they didn’t fit. Cole shoved Gavin back, entering first. He settled on my right but cursed at Gavin. He accidentally stepped on Cole as he got situated on my left side. The tent was really meant for one person, maybe two. With the three of us all packed inside, it meant I was pressed up against Cole’s chest while Gavin was at my back. Even though I felt exposed, all of us were fully dressed with cloaks and blankets between us. But my brain had been trained at a young age that this was inappropriate, and I couldn’t seem to relax.

“Night, mouse, we’ll make sure no one else bothers you tonight,” Cole whispered, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

I grunted my acknowledgment to his words but still couldn’t seem to relax even though I was much warmer than I was before. A hand started to drift up and down my back in a soothing motion as Gavin started to hum some song I knew but couldn’t place. Finally, my tired body won out over my worried mind, and I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a dance I’d seen Miranda and her men attend right after they’d married. The whole night, her face had been beaming with the love she had for all her men who took turns twirling her around the ballroom in the castle. Could I really love more than one man that much? I knew I didn’t want to lose any of them, and even though Paxton had only been around for a day or two, he seemed to fit the space his brother hadn’t been able to. Even Zan who’d come from another kingdom had managed to find his place among my men in a way that just seemed to work. But could they each be okay with sharing me with each other? Soon enough, even my brain gave up trying to fight sleep and I sighed into the warmth surrounding me, feeling safe and cared for.