The War Priest (Ars Numina #5) - Ann Aguirre Page 0,6
lost without Beren too and hiding my incompetence in anger.
But he couldn’t admit that. Not to anyone, ever. Even if I’m not enough, I’m all they have.
“How close are they?” he asked.
There was no need to elaborate. With the Gols massing, their intentions weren’t in question. It was a matter of when they’d attack, not if. After their ignominious defeat at Hallowell, they had to have bear ordinance to compensate for the troops they’d lost, both to death and defection.
“Fifty kilometers, but they’re breaking camps. If they push, they’ll be here before dawn tomorrow.”
Quickly Callum checked their arrival time and privately cursed the fact that he’d weighed the political benefit of showing good will that he didn’t feel regarding Thalia and Raff’s wedding. Not that he bore them any malice—he just found it a colossal waste of time when he had precious little of it to spare.
“Did the engineers complete the minefield?”
“It’s set, but we can’t go live until you’re back,” Renna answered.
He thumped his fist on the back of the driver’s seat. “Don’t put us in a ditch or slam into a tree but get us home as soon as possible.”
“Understood,” Garven said.
He might be a feckless flirt, but he was also hell on wheels. The vehicle jumped in response to Garven’s demand and Callum tried to gentle his expression. Hopefully Renna could hold her tears until they terminated the call.
“Did you catch that? We’ll be back before they attack.” He couldn’t bring himself to promise because shit went wrong all the time. “But…if something happens to delay us, then activate all defenses. All of them.”
Renna gaped, her eyes wide, tears forgotten for the moment. “You’ll be locked out if I do that.”
“And so will they.”
Nobody objected, though it was a death sentence. Twenty tired bear soldiers, split between two Rovers against the collective might of the Gol empire? His mouth quirked in a reluctant smile. There were legends about bear berserkers who could take out five times their number, but even a performance like that wouldn’t save them. This time, they needed to be fast, not fierce.
“I understand,” Renna said heavily.
“Don’t fret too much. With Garven at the wheel, this Rover is practically flying. And…” He angled a look behind him. “Vehicle two is keeping pace. Try to keep everyone calm until I get there.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks. McRae out.” He shouldn’t be so gruff with her.
Callum knew damn well that Beren hadn’t chosen Renna for her competence. She was his uncle’s pick, however, and would’ve been Beren’s mate if the old bear had finished courting her before…well. That left Callum and Renna in an awkward, uneasy relationship, as she might’ve been his aunt by marriage, but she was also younger than he was. It had seemed right, respectful even, to leave her in charge when he went to Daruvar, but maybe he should have picked someone more seasoned…
Eh, whatever.
Tired of everything, he tilted his head back and went to sleep. When he woke, long hours later, they were racing toward the hold with Gols in sight behind. Groggy at first, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but apparently Renna’s nerve must have held. Though it was close as hell, she seemed to be watching their progress via remote and activating defenses behind them—with only seconds to spare.
As the grid went up, the Gols abruptly broke pursuit when the lead vehicle went up in a fireball, taken out by bear mines. Whoops rang through the Rover as they cruised into the hold. Good work. Seems like Beren chose well.
Exhausted and sore, he clambered out of the vehicle and stopped, unable to believe his eyes when Joss Bristow hopped out of the second Rover.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he bellowed.
She lifted her chin and pointed at Garven. “I was invited, remember?”
2.
“I’m so glad you made it back in time.” A stunningly beautiful woman hurried out of a large building nearby, and Joss could only stare at her in wonder.
Before, she’d thought Dalena Asher, Dom’s first mate, was the loveliest person who’d ever existed, but this woman rivaled her with a spill of silken black hair, melting brown eyes, and golden skin that practically shimmered in the early spring sunlight. Her features were symmetrical and delicate, brows perfectly arched, lashes thick and lush, framing soulful eyes and a prettily curved mouth. Thankfully, her arrival also distracted Callum, who was likely about to roar his head off over Joss’s presence.