right?” Kick smiled, but it looked angry. “I would have assumed you were like him when we met, but I guess you can’t be. You’re already at the top with that wife of yours.”
Mat tried not to roll his eyes at that assumption.
“I spent several centuries under Nevyn, Luykas, and more importantly, Alchan. They know I can do what they need me to. I didn’t need to marry her to get this position.”
“You can’t deny it helps,” Kick countered.
“I can. When I fell in love with her, she wasn’t Alchan’s Champion, she was the colosseum’s. Do you think that did me any good?”
Kick’s eyebrows went up. “No, I don’t think it did,” he murmured.
“It nearly got me, her, and Rain killed,” Mat explained softly.
“Forgive my assumption.” Kick went quiet for a moment, then turned to Mat with another frown. “Do you really call His Majesty by his name?”
“Yes,” Mat smirked. “When we were just a mercenary company, trying to make ends meet, he never wanted us to stand on formality. Also, it would have given away who he was to anyone who didn’t already know. We couldn’t contain the information entirely, but it saved us in more than a few situations when no one realized. Plus…” Mat wondered for only a couple of seconds if he could take this liberty. “He’s family. The Ivory Shadows are a family. A loose one with problems and fights, but we’ve fought by each other’s sides for too long not to be. He is Luykas’ brother and my wife’s adopted brother. Luykas is one of my wife’s husbands. Rain is Zayden’s son, Alchan’s Consort, and Mave’s little brother. We’re all tied together in ways that can’t be undone simply. So, we use names most of the time instead of trying to stand on title.”
“Ah, I see now. Up north, we don’t know much about you Ivory Shadow warriors. We just knew you flew with the king in Olost.” Kick nodded slowly. “Sounds good, having a family like that.”
“It is,” Mat whispered, for a moment aching to be back with them. “That’s just half of it. There’s Nevyn and Varon, who are best friends of Kian. Kian is my wife’s father by formal adoption and there’s the rest of the family to account for. Senri, Willem, Gentrin, and a new baby on the way. Bryn is a close friend of Nevyn and Varon as well, and he’s married—”
“To your wife,” Kick said with a soft chuckle. “Females tend to do that. Tie everyone together.”
“They do.” Mat looked into the woods, listening. There were the natural sounds of birds and a stream nearby, but nothing out of the ordinary. “How’s the northern community?”
“Leria and Seanev stand above us. Leria is a great mativa but hands-off when it comes to really knowing us. There’re too many of us for her to know. Seanev knows all of his warriors. He’s a fantastic commander, but seeing him alone and seeing him at Leria’s side? Two different males. He’s entirely focused on her when she’s around.”
“Of course.” Mat accepted that. He had a hard time focusing when Mave was around and he didn’t have a blood bond.
“She also doesn’t like your Champion,” Kick admitted, sounding a little guilty. “Seanev doesn’t make his opinion known, but…Seanev and Mave are the last of the Lorrens. I’ve heard it’s complicated.”
“You have no idea,” Mat said with a heavy sigh. “Complicated doesn’t begin to describe it.” He’d been told about Leria’s behavior with Seanev, and no one in the Company was ignorant of Mave’s feelings about the couple. They’d all thought Seanev would remain loyal to his wife, but even that assumption was thrown out with his decision to leave his wife. “It’s all personal from my understanding. There’s a lot of history there that can’t be undone or changed.”
“The woes of family,” Kick said softly. “That I understand much better. I’ve watched all of mine die.”
“Yeah…” Mat thought of his uncle. He spent as many days and nights as he could with the old male, knowing his time was running short. The years took a greater toll on him every year, but he’d stuck around for a long time for Mat, for the Company. Mat leaned over, putting his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands as he considered the change it was going to be for his uncle to leave them in the fall. Leshaun deserved to rest. He had hoped to retire years ago before Shadra had attacked