by C. R. Pugh
Thorne just chuckled again. “Just keep those kinds of things to yourself in Peton and you will be fine. It may come as a surprise to you, but I like you just as you are. I enjoy your honesty. It’s rare.”
I scoffed at his remark. “You may live to regret those words.”
“I am also counting on you helping me uncover the connection between General Wolfe and our clan.”
“You know I will,” I reassured him.
After a few minutes, he grew solemn and gazed deeply into my eyes. “Do you accept me as your partner? Your Warrior?”
There was no hesitation in my reply. “Yes.”
“Do you accept my protection?”
“When it’s needed, yes.”
Thorne was so close, his lips brushed against mine when he murmured, “And will you trust me in all things, little warrior?”
“Yes. Of course, I do.”
As soon as I’d uttered the words, Thorne captured my mouth in a possessive kiss. It seemed so desperate, as if he was terrified I’d take the words back if he gave me the chance. I was too caught up in the kiss to care.
He pulled away abruptly, leaving me dazed. “It is time to leave this place now. We must get back to Brock.”
“Of course,” I agreed, feeling like a horrible person for actually forgetting about him.
As we dressed and packed our belongings, I thought on the words that Thorne had said to me. I hadn’t realized that a claiming ritual would require such formal questions. Thorne had never hinted that words needed to be shared for the claiming. In Terran, couples said vows for courtship and then more elaborate vows for marriage. Thorne had mentioned that a claiming usually led to marriage in Peton.
I snorted. He was probably feeling insecure and wanted to be certain I was serious about him. Either way, I wasn’t about to take back what I’d said. Though I was sad to be putting aside my memory of Kieron, I was pleased to be moving forward in life. This was my destiny, my future. Thorne was meant for me. I could feel it.
Outside the cave, the rain had stopped, but it was still dark. Stars and black sky peeked through the sequoias above us and the air was clean and refreshing. I smiled up at the heavens, feeling like a new person. Thorne grabbed my hand, linking our fingers together, and grinned at my happiness. I leaned in to give him one last kiss before we made our way back to his Warriors’ camp. This kiss was soft as a whisper and filled with a new hope; a promise of what could be. Suddenly, Thorne’s words from my dream filled my head in a resounding echo: What is more important? Being with me, loving me …
I jerked away and lowered my head to hide my expression. The darkness should’ve been able to conceal me, but Thorne’s gift for night vision kept me uncomfortably exposed. It was just a dream, I thought to myself.
“Are you alright?”
He sounded as if he’d done something wrong so I quickly reassured him. “Yes. I was just …” I placed my hand on my forehead, wondering what on earth to tell him. “… just thinking about my nightmare.” Wolfe’s secret confessions came back to me again. That was it! “I remembered some things that the General revealed to me that I meant to tell you, but we’ll have time to discuss them later.”
There was relief written all over his face, as there probably was on mine. I had been jolted out of my moment of bliss by the revelation that I might love Thorne. But that was crazy. Love didn’t work that way. It was too sudden. The claiming I’d allowed was enough for now. There was no way I was telling him that I loved him.
30
Thorne
We had no difficulty finding the tripwire on our way back into camp. In fact, the camp itself was giving off enough light to be seen all the way from Peton. I was not sure if they were attempting to light the way for us or trying to appear larger in number than we actually were. Every Warrior was armed and manning a section of the camp for any kind of threat. Everyone was on watch except Brock and Gunter. Gunter had better be in Brock’s tent and not the only Warrior sleeping, I thought. He owed me an explanation for allowing all of the Warriors to keep watch instead of taking shifts.
I marched into Brock’s tent, Ravyn just a few paces behind me.
“Gunter,” I said in quiet greeting. “Why is no one resting?”
A disheveled Gunter was bent over Brock, wiping the sheen of sweat from his face. Brock was so pale, if he had not been perspiring, I would have thought him dead.
Gunter took my irritation in stride, as he had always done. “I suggested that we should take shifts, but none of them would agree to it.”
“Then, in my place, you should have ordered them to.”
Ravyn placed her hand on my arm to ease my ire. “Thorne,” she whispered. “They are only worried about their friend.”
“But now none of us will have had any sleep tonight.”
Gunter’s brow furrowed. “We will sleep now that you have returned with the medicine.”
“No,” I argued. “We should leave here as soon as Brock is well.” I turned to Ravyn for her take on the situation. “We should get back to the safety of Peton before the soldiers have a chance to regroup and ambush us again.”
Ravyn nodded her agreement. “If we leave immediately, we can put some distance between us and the soldiers.”
Ravyn knelt down at Brock’s side and began removing her supplies from the small bag we’d stolen from Two. Gunter joined me by the tent-flap.
“You got the medicine then?” he asked. “No trouble?”
“We would have been back sooner, but Ravyn was injured again.”
“She looks well now,” he remarked, giving her a once-over. “You think we will be able to leave soon?”
“He’ll be ready to ride with us in less than an hour,” Ravyn explained without looking up from her work.
Gunter’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Mine might have fallen open as well. “Tell the men to pack up the camp as quickly as possible. We will leave in one hour.”
He nodded and then turned to exit the tent.
Ravyn set out one vial of the pinkish liquid that I now knew contained some of her blood. She also removed one of the pouches filled with clear liquid with which I was unfamiliar.
“What is that?”
“Fluids,” she clarified. “They always gave them to me after … it never hurt me, so I figure it can’t hurt him.”
“What if your blood does not mix with his blood?”
“The serum was created to mix with anyone’s blood. It was only my blood in its purest form that couldn’t mix with certain people.”
Ravyn’s movements were smooth, confident. Her hands never once shook. She bit her lip as she worked, completely focused and calm, the opposite of how I was feeling. Not only was I a wreck over Brock’s condition, but I was on edge about what I had done back in the cave.
“Give me a task,” I commanded, hoping that it would take my mind off both of my failings.
She handed me the pouch of liquid. “Find something we can hang this from.”
The only thing we could use was the tent itself. I strode out of the tent to the supply cart and rummaged around until I found what I was looking for. Archer had constructed metal hooks for us to hang out our clothes to dry. The hooks attached to the poles that held our tents in place. We rarely used them, but it would work perfectly for this fluid pouch.
Brock was beginning to stir when I returned. A needle had been inserted into the inside of his elbow, just under the skin.
“Don’t worry,” she said, noticing my stare. “The liquid runs from the pouch into his bloodstream directly.”
After I looped the hook around the supporting pole of the tent, Ravyn passed me the pouch.
“That works great!” Ravyn beamed at me for a second and then went back to work on Brock. The longer she worked on him, the more he stirred. I moved to the opposite side to calm him as he awoke from her ministrations.
“Brock,” I murmured, as if to sooth my jittery stallion. “Just hang on. You are going to feel better soon
. You are not going to die. Do you hear me?” His body seemed to relax even though he was still mostly unconscious.
“Good,” Ravyn approved. “Keep talking. He can hear you. Your presence is surely comforting to him.”
Ravyn attached another needle to the vial of pink serum and tapped it systematically. Then she squirted the excess air out of the tip of the needle. I didn’t bother asking her to explain. She knew what she was doing so I left her to it.
“Hold him still for me,” she ordered, lowering the needle to his hip.
I held Brock steady and watched as Ravyn slowly injected the serum into the thick muscle of his buttocks. Just as she had asked, I spoke reassuring words to him.
Once she had removed the needle and empty syringe, she looked up at me with an exhausted smile. “All we can do now is wait.”
I knelt beside her and wrapped my arms around her, allowing her to lean into me.
“Everything will work out as it should,” I whispered into her hair.
“Why don’t you go help your Warriors?” Ravyn said, her face still hidden in the crook of my neck. “There’s nothing more for you to do here.” She pulled away and cupped my face with her hand. “I’ll keep watch and let you know if anything changes.”
But there was more that needed to be said. I opened my mouth to confess what I had done back at the cave, but no words came out.
“Thorne, what is it?” Ravyn asked, waiting expectantly for me to say something.
“Ravyn, I …” But I hesitated. I could not tell her here. Not now. It would be better to wait until we were in Peton. Yes, that was it. I would wait until we were home at my cabin.
I gave her a quick kiss and departed.
***
For the next twenty minutes, I oversaw the packing. We could not afford to lose a single minute, and the other Warriors appeared to think the same as they hurried about the camp. Even Pierce had not questioned my order or taken time to give me any belligerent looks.
Every one of the Warriors was armed to the teeth now. They were not going to be caught by surprise again. I had a mind to go a different route back to Peton, but the path we had been taking for years was the most direct and the quickest.
“Commander? Any word on Brock?”
Archer had spoken, and Max approached with him. I was uncertain how much to reveal. The secret would soon be out, but they did not have to know that information just yet.
“He should be fine,” I told them. It was not an outright lie, but I did not tell the full truth either. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
“Gunter said something about a medicine?” Max inquired. “Do you think it will work?” His eyes looked haunted, though he put on a brave front for his friend.
“Ravyn is confident. As am I.” I gave Max a brotherly pat on the shoulder to reassure him. “Continue packing. We will be leaving soon.”
As they walked away, I studied my Warriors from a distance. Archer got back to working furiously, making sure every cart and horse had extra weapons and ammunition handy. Every weapon was meticulously checked to be certain they would fire properly and accurately. Pierce helped Max inspect the horse’s hooves, bits, and harnesses to make sure they would last the swift pace we would be setting.
Was I crazy to think that any of these Warriors could be my enemy? My suspicious nature began to twist what I was seeing into the worst possible scenarios. Could Pierce be plotting to be rid of me and take over as commander? He did challenge me at the beginning and his attitude had never been more than just tolerant. He and Archer had disappeared at the same time after the first attack on the road and I still had not uncovered where they went. They could be working together to betray me and Ravyn to General Wolfe. It would have been a perfect opportunity to meet up with one of the General’s soldiers to update him on our actions.
Archer could be working alone. He was more intelligent than anyone knew. His ideas for gadgets and explosives could be coming straight from General Wolfe and his scientists. Archer had been teaching Max how to prepare and set those same explosives and tripwires. Max was a quiet one, but just as clever. No one would ever suspect him when he was so young and inexperienced. There had been just as many opportunities for him, setting up those wires, to meet with any number of soldiers while our backs were turned.
And Gunter … how could I even think to suspect my best friend? Could he betray me after the two of us had grown up together like brothers?
No one was beyond at least some suspicion, even Brock. When I sent him with Pierce to spy on the village, he could have made contact with a soldier there. Being shot could have been a strategy on his part to dispel any uncertainties we had about his loyalty. Two would have known that Ravyn would come after him for the serum to save Brock’s life.
One thing was certain; we needed to get back to Peton quickly. I was anxious for our safety and for the chance to uncover the truth.
Only minutes had passed since talking to Archer and Max before Gunter tracked me down.
“Thorne,” he greeted me.
Ignoring the doubts in the back of my mind for now, I got right to the point. “Have the captives been able to stretch their legs and take care of their private business?”
“Of course,” he answered swiftly.
“Do they understand how rough the ride is probably going to be on the road this time?”
“They sense the tension. They were a bit fretful about the last attack so they have been very cooperative,” he said with a grin. “I think you’ll find they are going to be very compliant workers once we reach the safety of Peton.”
“Good.”
Gunter chuckled and said, “This has been quite a trip, hasn’t it?”
“Humph,” I replied. I felt Gunter’s eyes on me.
“Alright, what did you do, Thorne?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You look almost jittery,” he remarked. “What’s going on? Is it about Brock?”
“No, he’ll be fine, like I said.”
Gunter gave me an exaggerated sigh. “Spit it out, Thorne. I’ll find out anyway. You’re a terrible liar, you know.”
“You really are a pain. Do you know that?”
He folded his arms over his chest and waited for me to come clean.
Taking a deep breath, I told him of all that had happened tonight, up until Ravyn awoke from her nightmare. I did not go into details about the serum or Ravyn’s involvement with the making of it. I was still leery about divulging too much about her past to anyone, even Gunter – the Warrior I had trusted more than any other.
“So, she accepted the claim?”
“Yes, she did. You were right all along.” I peered at him out of the corner of my eye. “Don’t gloat.”
“I wasn’t planning on it. So what’s wrong with you? I thought this was what you wanted?”
“I did more than claim her, my friend,” I uttered in shame. I still could not believe that I had deceived her in such a way.
“Well, that would be expected -”
“No!” I said sharply. “We did not get intimate in any way.”
Gunter frowned. “Then what are you talking about? What did you do?”
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I said the Binding Words and made her my life-mate.”
Gunter gaped at me. “You did what?” he shouted.
I shushed him and hissed, “I said the Binding Words. Sort of. It was a loose interpretation.” The true Binding Words spoken in front of the Elders were formal and often said in front of other witnesses. The Elders knew the exact words. I had not needed to say these words in order to claim Ravyn. A mutual understanding was all that was needed to claim a partner.
He leaned in close. “I seem to recall you never wanting a wife. What were you thinking?”
“I did not plan it.”
“Well ... that certainly is ... something,” he sputtered.
“Humph. What is wrong with your voice? You do not approve?”
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Gunter appeared to be lost in thought. Then he shook his head and said, “Oh ... no ... it’s nothing.” He punched my shoulder playfully. “Hey, congratulations, Thorne. I told you that you would find the right woman, and I really think that this one is a good fit for you. She is a warrior like you, intelligent and loyal … she’s risked her life for us on several occasions now. If you find you don’t want her then I’ll take her.”
Gunter’s comment made me want to pound him into the ground again. I glared at him fiercely.
“Hey, I was only joking. Take it easy.” He held up his hands in forfeit. “I’ve never seen you this territorial.”
“I am not worried about her being my wife, though she is young. She would have already been courted had she stayed in her own clan,” I pointed out. “I believe it was the right thing to do. I stand by what I did, especially when it comes to the Elders.”
“You mean your father?” Gunter crossed his arms over his chest, pondering the situation in my shoes. He knew that my relationship with my father had always been strained.
“He will not be able to break this bond. Why are you worried?”
“I did not tell her what my words meant for us,” I confessed. “She doesn’t know that we are bonded now. All she is aware of is my claim to her.”
Gunter raised his eyebrows. “How is that possible? You both have to say the Binding Words.”
“I said my part. She has yet to say hers.”
Gunter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That’s not as bad as I was thinking. She could still bow out of the union then.”
Placing my fists on my hips, I glowered at him again. “There will be no talk of breaking the bond. All I kept thinking in that cave was that my father would not stop until he ended our relationship. Like you said, he cannot do that if she’s my wife.”
Gunter just took it all in stride, yet again. “She’ll come around. You need to allow her space to decide for herself if she wants to complete the bond with you. You’ve just given her that time.”
