The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,157

He nosed through them, snorting on several and spraying them with snot in a clear rejection.

Finally, he nosed around Eva's, a simple blanket with a sparse saddle and two stirrups. It was one of her spares. Ajari had coached her on which stood the best chance of meeting with Orion’s approval.

This will do. However, it will still need to be modified slightly.

Eva relayed his instructions to the rest and it didn't take long to scrounge up several saddles that fit the Kyren's specifications.

Darius clasped hands with Hanna. "Take your time on the way home and don't take any chances."

She smiled, her gaze lingering on the Kyren with a trace of envy. "When I said I'd serve you in any capacity, I didn't quite know what I would be missing out on."

He chuckled. "Next time."

"If there is one," Hanna said.

He slanted a look at Eva. "I have a feeling there will be."

Hanna smirked. "You and your feelings."

"Be grateful. It's what led me to give you a chance after all," he said.

She shook her head. "Can't argue with that."

Reece joined Eva as she went over the saddles. "Be careful."

"I'm not the one who has to remain behind and guide them home," Eva said. She wouldn't classify the pathfinder as a friend, but they shared a lot of common ground. Neither were quite outsiders, but they weren’t Trateri either. Both existed on the fringes, necessary and needed but not accepted by everyone.

"Our stories of the mythologicals say they can be capricious and cruel. It would be wise not to forget that," he instructed.

"From where I stand, humans are the same. As long as I treat the mythologicals as I would a human, I’ll be fine," she said lightly.

His lips twitched. "True enough, little Caller. Perhaps you're right."

He turned to go.

"Reece, do the pathfinders have stories about the callers?" she asked.

In light of recent events, Eva decided it would be better not to trust the mythologicals to tell her everything she needed to know about herself and her abilities.

"If we meet up again, ask me then." Reece waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Mysterious and unhelpful as always," Caden remarked from beside her.

Eva controlled her startled jump.

"It's smart to look for information from many sources," he told her.

She made a grumpy sound. She hadn't really needed his approval.

"Never trust anything fully," he said. "This is a dangerous world and everyone's motives are suspect."

"Even yours?"

His smile was brief and warmed his eyes. "Mine most of all. I want things too deeply to ever be trusted. It's why I've worked so hard to not want anything real at all."

Eva couldn't help the way her heart clenched at that admission.

"Until now," was murmured so softly it could have been the wind playing tricks.

She put a hand where his wound had been. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

He'd died. Or at least he'd been so close to the edge. Now he wanted to fly halfway across the Highlands.

"I'm Trateri and Anateri. We're made of hardy stock," he assured her.

"Arrogant too."

This time his smile nearly cracked his face. "It's not arrogance when its truth."

"Keep telling yourself that." Her smile faded. “Caden, there’s something I haven’t told you about what happened after you were knocked unconscious.”

She’d gone back and forth over how much to reveal about that presence shadowing Pierce. It might be a flight of her imagination, something her mind conjured in a stressful situation, but she couldn’t let them return home without telling him what she’d seen and felt.

He sobered. “I know what you’re going to say and it’s probably best you don’t.”

She shook her head. “If that presence gave Pierce his ability to compel people to his cause, it means that it could do it again with someone else.”

Caden’s forehead furrowed, confusion crossing his face briefly before clearing. “Pierce is dead.”

“Yes, but I sensed something in him before he died—a presence that felt malignant and greedy. You and Darius thought he was myein, like me. What if he wasn’t the one with an ability? What if he made an agreement with another mythological who used him as a host?”

Caden’s thoughts moved across his face. “It would mean we didn’t kill the leader of the rebellion. We simply weakened them for now.”

She nodded as his gaze turned inward.

After several seconds, he shook his head. “This is speculation. I’ll carry your observations to Darius and Fallon, but for now, be happy with our win. If they move against us again, we’ll be ready. An alliance