The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,37

a bit about you."

Eva flushed.

Shea covered her ears and shook her head. "I so don't need to hear you flirt right now."

Reece scoffed. "This isn't me flirting, but I can change that if you'd like."

"Keep your attention on the mission, pathfinder," Caden said, striding up. "This isn't the time for romance or whatever antics you want to get up to."

The flush that had been fading came back full force as Caden's eyes swung to Eva. He didn't say anything before striding away as silently and quickly as he'd come.

Reece let out a small grunt. "You couldn't have saddled us with someone else? Anyone else?"

Shea shrugged. "He volunteered. More importantly, Fallon trusts him implicitly."

"Like he never will us," Reece muttered.

Eva shifted, not sure if she should walk away. This conversation felt like something she shouldn't be a part of.

Shea's lips twisted. "You have no one to blame but yourself for that. You gave Fallon plenty of reason not to trust you during your first meeting."

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Reece snapped.

"No, I don't think I will," Shea responded with a superior smile.

By this point Eva's eyes had grown big as she watched the bickering. The two acted more like close siblings than cousins.

"You get used to it," the friendlier of Shea's guards said quietly. "They like to argue with each other for the simple sake of arguing."

Eva didn't know how to respond to that, so she settled for nodding slowly.

"Wilhelm, you're supposed to be on my side," Shea protested.

"I am ever on your side, Shea," he promised with a charming smile.

Shea's eyes narrowed as if she wasn't quite sure that was true.

Eva found her gaze unwillingly drawn to Caden.

Caden finished conferring with several of his Anateri, all of them attired and outfitted for a journey. Eva took that to mean he wasn't the only one of the elite guard joining them.

When Fallon and Shea had said they were sending people with her, she hadn't thought there would be quite this many.

"There's Fallon and Darius. I want to talk to them before you set off," Shea said, spotting the hulking form of her warlord across the way. "I put some things I thought might be useful in your pack. Good luck and don't let them push you around."

Eva murmured a thank you as Shea moved away, striding across the pasture toward Fallon, every inch the queen in that moment. No one would dare get in her way. Not with the regal bearing she displayed.

"Did Shea look your pack over?" Reece asked.

Eva came back to herself and nodded.

"Good, she knows what she's doing. I need to confer with Darius, but if you need help, ask. The terrain for the first few days won't be too brutal but it's not for the faint of heart either," he said before looking around at the rest. "At least we're not going on foot. There'd be no end to their whining then."

Eva didn't get a chance to ask what he meant as the pathfinder wandered off, shaking his head.

Eva remained where she was, unsure what she should be doing. Normally, she'd help prepare the horses, check them over to make sure they were fit and healthy for the journey ahead. Not this time. Ollie and Hardwick had already chased her off twice, saying she had other matters needing her attention.

Only she didn't. Speaker for the Kyren might sound prestigious, but the position didn't come with a lot of guidance. It left her aimless. Something she had never been.

With a sigh, she headed for her equine-sized pain in the ass. He waited impatiently near the edge of the field, Ajari a watchful presence beside him.

A bubble had sprung into being around them, one no Trateri seemed intent on breaking.

"Little mouse, have you come to gawk at the monsters?" Ajari asked.

"Do you always hide behind sarcasm and intimidation?" Eva couldn't help but ask.

Ajari's gaze moved from the Trateri around them to her.

Eva didn't wait for his response, knowing it would probably be more of the same. "But no, I came to check on Sebastian."

Jason lingered nearby and looked as if he would approach them when Ajari gave him a predatory look. The apprentice balked and glanced away.

"The human thinks to possess the Kyren," Ajari observed.

Eva sighed and shook her head. "He can think all he wants but the Warlord would never let that happen."

Nor would Sebastian, she suspected. Not unless it suited some plan of his.

"What about you? Would you prevent his enslavement?" Ajari asked with