“I’ll find him when I need to. I might not like him, but I won’t let him go to war without saying something,” she said, sighing. “Thanks for the reminder, though.” As she spoke, Zayden wrapped his arms around her waist, casually leaning on her between her wings. No one blinked an eye, but she was glad for the quiet support. She hadn’t spoken to her brother since he arrived, and she had ripped him apart for bringing the ahren. “Where’s Rain?”
“He’s with Lilliana for the day,” Alchan said, groaning. “There was a small…It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” she said, keeping her eyes locked on his. He was upset about something, but if he wasn’t ready to talk about it, she would trust her king—for now. “Well, go to your meeting and leave me be. You’ve had your fun watching me train someone.”
Alchan chuckled as he turned, gesturing for Nevyn and Varon to follow him. He pointed at Luykas as well. “You need to come too when you’re done here.”
Luykas only waved him off, agreeing to follow in silence.
“You are so mean to him,” Zayden whispered in her ear. “It’s gorgeous.”
“You only think so because you like it when I’m mean to you,” she reminded him.
“I love it when you’re mean to me,” he corrected. Mat came up in front of her, taking one of her hands, but as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted.
“I come out here to see my daughter, and all of you are being handsy,” Kian growled. “Haven’t even gotten a damn hug.”
Every male was five paces from her in two seconds. Kian smiled as he walked up, and she accepted his hug.
“You took a nemari,” he said softly. “Want to tell me why?” Adjusting, he took her arm, tucking it in his, walking across the clearing away from her husbands who didn’t follow. “It’s not a bad look for you, teaching other warriors. People will respect you for it. I just didn’t see it coming.”
Mave explained to him the chain of events, then sighed as she got to the part where she needed to explain to him why she almost said no.
“Have you ever wanted to keep someone from getting their hands too bloody?”
“No,” Kian said, shrugging.
“I didn’t want to get his hands bloody,” she said, trying to explain her question. “But it was pointed out to me, his life already was. Sometimes, he just seems so untouched by it all, and I really like that. At least someone is, right?”
“Ah…” Kian nodded slowly. “That I understand. Who gave you that great advice?”
“It doesn’t matter. So, I decided I would make him my nemari. At least then, I can keep him from getting killed, right? I’m the best warrior there is. Even Nevyn says so.”
“That he does,” Kian agreed, chuckling. “He has a point, though. How are you getting so much better? You have everyone dying to know. Are you just a protégé who’s gone to the next level? You fight like you can read your enemies’ minds. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. I’ve been fighting with Nevyn for a long time, and he was considered the very best until you showed up.”
“You know what?” Mave looked at her father. She knew she could trust him with anything. “On our next mission, because I know we’re going to do whatever it is together, we’ll talk about it.”
“A mission story. I like it. I’m going to hold you to it.” He poked her nose. “Now, do you want to go to your males or spend some time with Senri and me?”
Mave looked back at her males, wonderful husbands she saw every morning and every evening at the minimum, then back to her father.
“I’ll come spend time with you and Senri. Are Willem and Gentrin around? I never get to bother them. They’re so busy all the time.”
“They are welcoming a group from Kerit who got here really late last night. We can find them.”
They walked together, and Mave liked it, enjoying the warm summer day, the sun beaming down on them and not a cloud in the sky. She hadn’t heard of a group coming in from Kerit, so when they arrived, she turned on him again.
“There was no party for them. Why?”
“Because there’s a small group from Kerit every week, it seems. It’s a schedule, actually. There are a few traveling caravans that take supplies through our three main hubs. Here, Leria’s territory, and Kerit. They go