Shauna. It was apparent in the way his eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Oh, Willow. I didn’t know you would be joining us. Jonas had awakened and didn’t return to sleep, so I made us some mead…” Lucky for Jonas, Shauna hadn’t heard his well-timed jest. “Let me get you a cup.”
“No, I’m not staying. You two enjoy your time alone.”
“Nonsense.” Shauna said. She handed Jonas his drink and sat in a chair opposite him. “Stay and talk with us.”
After a few minutes of light, yet affectionate banter between Jonas and Shauna, Willow had to admit, as delicate as Shauna looked, her tongue was just as sharp as Jonas’.
“Tell me about the Warriors,” Willow asked.
“Ah, the Warriors.” Jonas grinned as if he had just found trees growing in his yard. “The Warriors began long ago. My father was a Warrior, and his father before him.” Willow tucked her legs under her and settled more comfortably in her chair, listening to Jonas’ heavy, deep voice. “From the beginning of time, there have been battles needing to be fought and ki—” He coughed into his hand and Shauna shifted in her chair. “…kings to protect.” He recovered quickly and went on with his tale, “My father taught Caleb and Shauna’s father. Of course, Predaria was quite different then.” As he spoke, Jonas’ eyes took on a dreamy quality, and Willow realized that this man loved being a Warrior almost as much as Caleb loved Predaria.
“I taught Caleb and Shauna the ways many years ago, and I will teach my sons when I have them.” He cut a quick side glance to Shauna, who caught it and blushed.
“Why do you all bellow into the air before you fight?” Willow asked. “I saw you and heard you all doing it when the Catchers were after me.”
“The Catchers were after you?” Shauna gasped. “When?”
Jonas answered for Willow. “When we were bringing her here. We dispatched them easily,” he said as simply as if her were telling Shauna about the weather. He took a sip of his mead, then laid the cup down on the table and continued, “The chant is a symbol of our strength and unity. We cry out to Heaven to alert the warrior angels that we are extolling justice. It also alerts other Warriors nearby that we are in battle, and when they hear it, it’s their duty to come to our aid. If we need any,” he added with a sly smirk.
Willow twirled a loose thread from her gown around her finger. Her father had told her the Warriors were nothing but merciless savages. She felt ashamed sitting here in the company of two of them, never realizing that the people they fought were snatching lives away, destroying families.
“Depending on who we fight,” Jonas continued, “we sometimes wear war paint, as we did with the nobles from some of the other cities when we warred with them. When we wear the paint, no surrender is accepted.”
“No surrender?” Willow shivered at the thought of it. They were not going to accept surrender from her father. She looked at Shauna. “You kill even if they are unarmed?”
“Yes,” Shauna said, offering her no explanation to go with it.
“It’s hard to believe that Caleb is one of you. He seems too gentle to kill someone who pleaded for mercy,” Willow said, suddenly not wanting to continue the conversation.
Jonas smiled easily. “Caleb is not so gentle, princess.”
“He’s a Warrior,” Shauna added. “You must accept that he has killed many people in battle.”
“I do,” Willow protested. “It’s just that his life is so dedicated to helping others. It makes no sense that he could kill so easily.”
“Who said it was easy?” Jonas asked her. “Taking someone’s life is never easy, Willow. But men like the Catchers, or some noble who has hung women and children…or king who had destroyed the land and caused the starvation and suffering of thousands of people and animals. They don’t deserve pity. It’s up to us to protect the innocent.”
If Caleb tried to let her father live, everyone would turn against him. What was he going to do? “Are there Warriors in every city?”
“No. Prandar and Alare are the only two other cities in which Warriors reside. And any man with children to feed may not enter. Caleb has decreed it.”
Willow knit her brow. “Caleb?”
“Yes,” Jonas answered her calmly even though Shauna shot him a murderous look. “In case you haven’t noticed, Caleb is the leader of Shondravar.”