The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,101
narrowing and his expression slightly disbelieving. "Is that so? I couldn't tell yesterday, when I had to haul your ass out of the way to keep you from being crushed by the boulder a giant had thrown at you."
Eva's mouth snapped shut against the many responses she wanted to spew. For a moment, they were locked into a glaring match. Neither wanting to give ground.
Eva became aware they had become the center of attention. Fiona stared at her in disbelief before mouthing, “what are you doing?”
Eva didn't know, but she really wished someone would tell her. Every time she resolved not to poke the beast in Caden, she found herself unable to restrain herself.
The fire fox leapt off Caia's back, forcing Eva to catch him and breaking the tense moment.
It was hard to pull off intimidating with an armful of furry adorableness, so she settled for snapping, "Oh, go kill something already."
She stalked off without waiting for a reply, feeling vaguely proud of herself when she resisted the strong urge to kick any of the watching Trateri.
They stared at her as if they didn't recognize the meek herd mistress in the wild fury.
"I already did," Caden shouted.
Eva kept going, not responding. She was counting the days until they reached the herd lands and she could be away from the annoying pest. Any gratitude for what he'd done for her or relief that he was safe, disappeared under the weight of her irritation.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Caden watched Eva stalk off, her fury hanging like a cloud around her.
The dapple gray horse sent Caden a look saying this was all his fault before trotting after her mistress.
Caden's hands tightened as he fought down the urge to go after Eva. That would likely only make the situation worse.
Eva was a proud woman. He'd erred in interfering the way he did. She didn’t need it, not when she'd struggled on her own for this long, making a name for herself, finding acceptance despite the drawback of her birth.
His fingers squeezed, his victim letting out a small whimper and reminding Caden of the man he still held. For a minute he wrestled with the urge to continue squeezing, to show the man the true meaning of pain. Slowly, as if moving too fast would break the tight leash he had on himself, Caden released the man in his grip.
The man backed away, one hand going to his neck as he kept his gaze on Caden.
Caden regarded him impassively, waiting to see what he'd do, as Darius and the Anateri looked on.
"Alright, alright, that's enough of that," Fiona said, appearing and slapping the Trateri on the shoulder. "We're all going to go our separate ways and act civil. Aren't we, Commander?'
Caden leveled a steady gaze on the woman, slightly amused she dared give him orders.
That seemed answer enough to satisfy her.
"There, all settled." She gave the man a sideways look. "Just to be clear. You won't be bandying that word around in connection with the herd mistress again or the commander won't be the only one after your throat."
The man flicked a glance at all of them, his expression darkening.
"That'll be all, Loren," Darius said in clear dismissal.
Where Loren might have pushed back against Caden and Fiona, he wouldn't dare with Darius. Darius was his general, and his word was absolute. Loren's mouth snapped shut and with a stiff nod he strode off.
Darius waited until it was just the Anateri and them, Fiona and Hanna listening before he glanced at Caden. "I can see how impartial you are to the herd mistress. I've seen the little thorn she wields. It's awfully familiar. Some might even say it’s an exact replica of yours."
Caden flicked a sour glance at the man.
Darius's lips curved up in a slight smile, amused that he'd found a way to pull the normally unflappable Caden's tail.
"Update me on what's been going on in my absence," Caden said. He had no intention of going into the complex emotions that had led to him giving her that dagger. He only partially understood it himself.
There was something about Eva that called to the protector in him, and he found himself trying to safeguard her, while also looking forward to the soft look in her eyes anytime she came across one of the small items he left in her bag—items from his own gear.
The accusation of traitor disturbed him.
Darius's expression sobered, the previous playfulness falling by the wayside. "When she took off and you followed her—thanks for the notice