introduced the women in the silence that followed.
“I’ll be staying here for a while,” Cami added. She shot Linc a sizzling look and turned to Colm. “Are we ready now?”
“Yes, we’re ready.” Colm wasn’t going to get into an argument with her about how long she’d be staying here.
She wasn’t going to be swayed by words. The woman was convinced that she wouldn’t be able to live within a Thent. They had time to let her see that wasn’t true and they needed to find a way to reveal her secrets without making her run.
They showed her a little of the area within the walls of the fortress, but knew that most of that would be familiar to her. Aside from that, he wanted her to see the beauty of the land outside of the thick stone barriers. She wouldn’t get many chances to wander for the moment and when she did go somewhere, she would have an escort because of the threat of Laed and Kynar.
In a way, he would be more comfortable if they were facing a large force of men instead of simply two. Two men could slip onto the planet without notice fairly easily. They could hide in the surrounding area without drawing too much attention if they knew what they were doing. According to Avan, the two men had the skills to do it. He’d make sure that the men at the gates watched and stopped every stranger even if they didn’t seem to be a shifter. Laed and Kynar could disguise themselves just as easily as Cami could.
“There are more houses around than I expected and the fields look huge.” Her eyes swept over the fields of crops and the grazing animals almost as if it was something she hadn’t seen before. She seemed more relaxed now and not as wary.
“Scali Thent isn’t like this?” Linc asked.
“There aren’t this many people at Scali Thent and a lot of the houses are in the surrounding forest. It’s just safer that way. Well, it was. Everyone knew that haven wouldn’t be offered to all by Laed and Kynar.” Cami frowned and took a deep breath. “There would be a price for that protection.”
“I know we’ve said this before, but it looks as if it’s going to be something that we’ll say again and again. That isn’t how a Thent is supposed to be. The fortress is so large because we know we’ll need the space. We keep it stocked and are prepared for an attack, although the only time it’s been used in that way is when I was small. That was just for a few days.” Linc’s voice was calm, but Colm could tell from the tense posture that he wasn’t as patient and unemotional as he seemed.
“How about we keep walking and we can go into the forest for a while?” Colm didn’t give her time to respond to what Linc said. She could think about how this place was different from what she knew later. He didn’t want her mulling over sad or frightening times right now.
“That sounds good. A run sounds even better.” She glanced at the trees and then back to them.
“No running tonight, I’m too tired to keep up with you after riding all day. How does early tomorrow sound to you for your run through the forest? You can enjoy the cool of the morning.” He wasn’t afraid that the false Ardin were anywhere near the Thent. No, he wanted to have a little time to prepare. Regardless of the fact that the men chasing her probably weren’t even on the planet yet, she needed to realize right from the first that they wouldn’t be taking chances with her safety.
“You’re not tired and you’re not afraid that I’ll get attacked,” she said slowly. “So why wait?”
“Ardin!” The voice caught them as they reached the edge of one of the fields. Colm looked back and saw Conn running up the path between the fields toward them.
“That man’s name is Conn. He, along with his bond brother Eric, are two of our most trusted men. If you need help of any kind and we’re not around, they’ll help you.” Linc’s voice drew Colm’s attention back to the two people with him.
Both of them had turned around to see who was coming and he saw Linc leaning toward her. Colm smiled at the fact that he might have been leaning toward her, but he also gave her plenty of room. They were