The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,91

they stood little chance of surviving if Darius decided to end them.

Eva struggled to think of a way to defuse the situation. Thinking of the unfairness of it was unproductive. The world was a cold place. You made your own way through your own power.

Losing time to self-pity was a waste and wouldn't help anyone—including herself.

An arm dropped onto her head as Ajari propped his chin on it. Eva strained to remain straight and tall.

"It's the way of the world, little caller. We are always leery of those who are different from us. Accept it. Use it to your advantage," he advised.

Eva sighed. He was only telling her what she already knew.

She met Darius's waiting gaze. "Are you going to help me or not?"

If he wasn't, she'd have to figure out another way to save Caden. Maybe Ajari would help her.

Though relying on the fickle mythological wasn't her first choice.

"We will go," Darius said finally. "You'd best pray he's there and still breathing. You won't like what we do to you if he's not."

Eva jerked her chin down. It was a fair deal. She'd take it.

"What should we do about the Kyren?" Laurell asked.

Darius studied Sebastian with a thoughtful expression. "Much as it pains me to admit it, she's right. We don't own him. He is free to come and go as he pleases."

A few of the Trateri looked at Sebastian with disappointment.

Sebastian's neck reared back in satisfaction as he moved toward Eva. Darius gestured and the Anateri at her back moved to intercept him.

"While we cannot enforce our will on you, Kyren, the same cannot be said of her. She's one of us and she'll keep her distance from you until such time when the question of her honor has been satisfied," Darius said, speaking to the Kyren as if he was a visiting dignitary.

Sebastian shook his head, the expression on his face dissatisfied.

Not one of them. One of us. Kyren, he insisted.

He gave Eva an expectant glance as if expecting her to translate. She kept her mouth closed. She was in enough trouble already without stirring the pot further.

"Sebastian says his people no longer consider Eva human, but Kyren," Ajari said cheerfully.

"Is that so?" Darius said, slanting a glance Eva's way.

She couldn't help the mildly guilty look that crossed her face.

"You get more and more interesting every day, herd mistress," he said in a velvety voice. Despite the softness, Eva sensed the menace behind it. To the men behind her, "Watch her carefully tonight. We'll leave before sunrise."

Eva stepped forward, shaking her head. "We have to go now. He may not survive that long."

Darius cocked his head. "Are you really trying to give me orders?"

Eva gulped, realizing too late that ordering a general around was probably not the best idea.

"Because that would be a very grave mistake," he finished when she didn't speak.

"I told him I would come back for him. I won't break my promise," Eva said, gathering her courage.

Desperation could push you to do crazy things, like challenge a Trateri general who had already indicated he didn't trust you. His patience was dangling by a thread, but Eva couldn't make herself leave this matter alone.

"I thought you, of all people, wouldn't abandon him considering your history together," she said.

Darius's face darkened as he stepped forward. "What would you know of that?"

"He said you were all childhood friends, bound by tragedy from a young age. He counts you as brother," she said, not backing down.

Darius stared at her for several long seconds, thoughts moving behind his eyes.

Hanna looked intrigued and she gave Eva a nod of approval.

Eva sensed a shift in Darius as he looked away from her, his gaze distant.

That hope was dashed in the next moment when he faced her again. "How long did you fly? Can you tell me what lies between us and him?"

Reece had stopped on the edge of the small group, unnoticed until Darius gestured toward him.

"Pathfinder, what dangers await us out there in the dark?" Darius ordered.

Reece folded his arms in front of him as his forehead creased. "Most times I would say the danger was minimal, but as the lake and the water sprites have demonstrated, things are not as easy as they once were. Your safety would depend on the distance we need to travel. There are bluffs and cliffs, treacherous terrain is likely. To say nothing of beasts or mythologicals. I would be hesitant to take people unfamiliar with the area on a hunting expedition without more