right?”
“I am not guarding your wall. I’m guarding Brenna.”
I rolled my eyes as I reached the top and walked to an unmanned section much farther away. Even though I didn’t hear Thallirin, I knew he followed me.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” I asked when I took my position and saw him several yards from me, staring out at the trees.
“No.”
“I find your constant attention smothering and would like it if you left. I’ve guarded walls before, without you standing ten feet away, and can manage again.”
“But when you needed me, I was close enough to protect you.”
I knew he meant the day the infected breached the walls. If not for Thallirin, I wouldn’t be alive, and I was big enough to acknowledge it.
“Yes, you saved me. And I’ve saved countless other people. That doesn’t give me the right to force my unwelcome presence on them or try to tell them how to live their lives.”
He grunted and crossed his arms, not looking at me but watching the trees.
This was going to be a long day.
“You should eat something,” Thallirin said when my stomach growled yet again. It wasn’t delivered in a nice, considerate way but in an angry, impatient tone he’d been using on me every time he spoke.
“I will when I get home. You should go away.”
“I will when we get home.”
I breathed through my nose. He’d been like that all day, annoyingly present and unbothered no matter what I said. I wasn’t trying to be rude, just like I was sure he wasn’t trying to be a pain in my ass. Why couldn’t he understand not all human women wanted a man in their lives? I’d made my opinion pretty clear when I told him I wanted to shoot every arrow in my quiver at him. The ass had opened his arms and told me he would hold still…as if I needed his cooperation.
“I still want to shoot you.”
“I know.”
The distant sound of engines drew my attention to the road. Three trucks drove down the center of the unplowed lane, escorted by fey on all sides.
“Are any missing?” I asked, knowing Thallirin’s sight was far better than mine.
“No.”
I believed him, but that didn’t stop me from adding, “Are you sure? Maybe you should go check.”
He grunted and remained where he was, ten feet away. That was the maximum amount of distance he’d maintained all day even when I was given a break to go to the bathroom, which is why I threatened to shoot him.
The trucks rumbled to a stop in front of the wall. The back of one of the trucks opened, and humans jumped out, moving toward the other two trucks to help the fey unload the supplies. Boxes and totes filled with clothing, blankets, and food were carried over the wall and taken to a large storage shed. The bay door stood open, and I could see long tables set up inside.
Matt watched over the proceedings, directing where things should go.
“You and your grey monkey can go,” a man said as he climbed up to join us on the wall.
I put my foot on the ladder and shoved it off balance. The man gave a startled cry and clutched the rung as he started tipping sideways. Thallirin caught the end of the metal rail and righted the equipment, his cold gaze landing on me.
“Brenna, no tipping ladders.”
Chapter Four
I looked away from Thallirin to see the man cringe at the sound of Thallirin’s deep, angry tone.
“Did you hear him?” I asked the man. “Even after you insulted him, he’s sticking up for you. Learn some respect or next time, it’s an arrow, not a ladder shove. Got it?”
The man glared at me, but remained mute as he climbed the wall.
“And for the record, he isn’t my anything.”
I climbed down without fear of retaliation because Thallirin remained on the wall until my feet touched the ground. How could that fey be so smart about some things and so annoyingly stupid about others?
“What was up with the ladder drama?” Zach asked, jogging up to me.
“Darwinism.”
Zach laughed.
“Looks like you survived your day well enough. Was your section of the wall as quiet as mine?”
“Not a single infected. Kind of weird, given the noise of the trucks.”
“Take it as the blessing it is,” Ryan said, joining us. “Come take a look at how Tenacity does things.”
We followed him to the shed and watched as all of the scavenged items were laid out on the tables. Meats were separated