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She returns to her own place, I told myself even more sternly.
Reuben kneeled in front of her, his hands on either side of her bare ankle. The color drained from her cheeks, and her teeth dug into her bottom lip. She whimpered, and all that careful calming of my body went right out the door. This time, I didn’t manage to hold back the low, possessive growl. My body—those primal instincts—didn’t give a care at all that Amethyst had come to be in the Grand Rite illegally. She was mine.
Sweet Freia, I was not going to survive another week of this. Hopefully her ankle was truly mended now.
Reuben glanced over his shoulder and then pulled his touch away.
“Much improved,” he said, focusing on Amethyst again. He stood slowly, adjusting his bag. “I don’t think you’ll need a splint today, but let me know at once if you get those sharp pains again. And you can ride astride if you’d like to make that adjustment.”
Amethyst looked to me, a conflict clear in those gray eyes. She breathed carefully through her nose and twisted a hand into the fabric of the oversized sweater.
“It’s easier?” she asked.
Shelby nodded, circling her wrist. “Much easier. You won’t feel like you’re falling as much.”
“All right. That sounds appealing.”
Reuben nodded. “I’ll alert Phillip to the change.”
He left, but the tent didn’t stay uncrowded for long. Not even a minute later, Vincent quietly entered, two small trays balanced in a single-handed grasp. He handed one to Amethyst and then offered me the second.
“They hope to leave as soon as Elyssian’s saddle is changed,” he said. “Best to eat now.”
19
CALLUM
The sun was low in the sky when Phillip signaled for the guard to tighten their formation around the rest of us. Elyssian pressed closer to me, avoiding Amaria’s horse to her other side. Amethyst sucked in a harsh breath as her leg bumped mine, and I forcibly swallowed a growl that would help no one. Amethyst had done much better riding astride than the last few days of her needing to ride sidesaddle to accommodate her healing ankle. The last thing I wanted was for her to need to switch back at this juncture. The more I could ease her travel, the less of that horrid dread-and-desperation ball of emotion sitting heavy in my stomach I felt. Not to mention I wasn’t sure I could handle another round of her pained whines while Reuben mended her.
With a soft touch, I carefully eased Elyssian away, leaving a few inches so that Amethyst’s ankle wouldn’t be hurt from bumping into my leg again. Arden frowned as he adjusted Monique’s horse, glancing over his shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in Nyndrec, turning toward me. “What did Phillip see?”
The trail had widened after the worst of the pass, and we’d resumed riding four or five wide. Arden’s own horse shook its head as he eased another couple inches closer to my left side, accommodating the guard closing in around us. Amethyst looked from Arden to me, her eyebrows drawn low.
The guard adjusted on their horses, pulling swords in a coordinated movement that spoke of long training and familiarity. Phillip looked over his shoulder. His look had that building pit of despair shrinking just a bit. Not Enoch’s personal beasts, then. Praise Liam.
A cackling, distorted laugh of a call came from the right, far enough away to be distant. Arden’s gaze cut to the trees, instantly on alert like the guard.
“Urgul,” he murmured.
Vincent’s curse was swift and vicious behind me. “The omegas.”
“I know.” I grabbed the lead rope connecting my and Amethyst’s horses and quickly undid the knot, letting it fall to the snow. Elyssian shook her head, antsy at all the sudden movement.
“Take your reins,” I instructed Amethyst as I dug for my additional daggers in the saddlebag behind my left hip.
Her eyes flashed to me, confusion etched into the lines of her face. It was only then I realized I’d spoken in Nyndrec. The guard tightened again. I looked over my shoulder, confirming the movement pushed the pack horses closer to us.
“Take your reins,” I said in Alwesh. “One in each hand.”
Her confusion only grew more profound as she did so, her hands trembling as she took up the leather in too loose of a hold. I reached across, adjusting her grip. Her breath caught, some of her orange and vanilla scent bleeding out from her.
“You follow Amaria regardless of what happens, all right?” My tone brooked no argument.
The bit of rose color in her cheeks disappeared. “I’ve never—”
Gods, the fear in her voice was a knife cutting across me, slicing straight through my heart. Not only was she recovering from horrific injuries from the rite she hadn’t consented to joining, but now there was the very real possibility that those urgul were going to decide to attempt to find food within our convoy.
