Chapter 7
Navara
Manu hadn’t been prepared for the sight of the human.
The face he had seen crusted with ice and blistered red with cold was gone.
In its place was a woman of uncommon beauty.
Her cascade of hair was a river of the deepest brown that caught the light like polished obsidian.
It spilled down her back in endless waves, wild and soft.
He wanted to sink his hands into the strands and never let go.
Her brown skin glowed from the healing herbs as if kissed by the sun.
There was a smattering of freckles across her nose that only added to her allure.
Thick brows arched ever so slightly over her large eyes.
Just like the first time he’d looked into them, he found himself drowning in the warm pools.
Yet he recognized her wariness, as well as the walls she had erected around herself.
Her plump lips drew his gaze, and he wondered what that mouth would look like smiling.
“We just finished eating,” Jalall said, breaking into his musings. “There’s plenty, if you’re hungry.”
Manu waved off his friend. “I’ve already eaten.”
“Sit. I’ll get us some tea,” Jalall urged as he got to his feet.
Manu took the seat opposite the woman. “I’m pleased to see you’re feeling better.”
“I owe you a debt of thanks,” she replied.
Her voice was smooth and sultrier than it had any right to be. It went through him, skimming along his skin and sinking into his blood. He shifted to adjust his thickening cock. He had been too long without a bed partner if he was responding so blatantly. “How much did Jalall tell you?
“Not much,” she replied.
“My name is Manu, and I lead here. Jalall is captain of the army. We brought you to our city so you could recover.”
She lifted a cup to her lips and drank before saying, “I’m Inej.”
Manu tested the name on his tongue, both eager to say it but also hesitant—as if once released, he would be forever altered.
“The herbs worked remarkably well on her,” Jalall said as he returned with a tray bearing a teapot and three cups.
Manu let his gaze run over Inej again. “I can see that.”
“I’ve never had healing herbs before,” she confessed.
Jalall’s brows rose as he set the tray on the corner of the table, holding it with one hand as he passed out the cups. “Have you never been ill or hurt before?”
“They’re far too expensive.” Inej shrugged as if it were no big deal. But it was.
Manu took the teapot and rose to fill Inej’s cup before pouring some for Jalall and then himself. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing in the Peaks?”
“What does anyone, especially a human, come out here for?” she asked.
Jalall sank into his seat after setting the tray aside. “There’s nothing out here.”
“You’re here,” she answered.
Unease slithered up Manu’s spine. “These mountains are unforgiving, even to those of us who have spent our lives among them. For others, they’re a death sentence, of which you were nearly one of those statistics.”
She lowered her gaze to her cup. “Nearly.” Her eyes lifted to meet his. “But I’m still alive.”
“Barely,” Jalall stated. “Even if the wolvites hadn’t found you, you wouldn’t have been able to travel with a broken leg. You would’ve frozen to death.”
“And yet, I sit healed and warm at your table.”
Manu felt Jalall’s gaze on him, but he didn’t look away from Inej. “As I said, we brought you here to recover. And thanks to the herbs, you have. Tell us where you were headed, and we’ll escort you there.”
A quick frown furrowed her brow, but she quickly erased it. “Do you know what’s going on in the rainwood?”
“People are being taken by the droves. Aye, we know,” Jalall stated.
She looked between them. “I came here to escape that.”
“Before today, how many Mountain Elves have you seen?” Manu asked.
“None,” she admitted.
He brought the cup to his lips and drank. “We like our solitude.”
“I’m not asking for a handout,” she said defensively. “I can pull my weight.”
Jalall sat back in his chair, holding his tea in one hand. “What makes you think this place is safe?”
“It’s isolated. I also doubt any of your people have been taken.” When they didn’t respond, her lips flattened. “You’re right, I would have died out there if you hadn’t found me. But the gods brought you to me for a reason.”
Manu hated to admit that she was right. If only he knew what that reason might be. If Yaz and Ravi’s children weren’t here, he would probably allow her to remain. But he refused to jeopardize their lives for anyone—even a human as beautiful and intriguing as Inej.
“Perhaps the gods did intervene,” Manu told her. “However, my priority is keeping my people safe.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You think I would harm them? I’m a human.”
“So you say,” Jalall said. “There is magic about that can transform a human into an elf, or an elf into a human.”
“I assure you, I’m human,” she replied with a note of bitterness. “I pose no threat to anyone here.”
Manu shook his head. “Be that as it may, you will be leaving. Just to be sure you’re healed, we’ll give you another dose of the herbs tonight. By morning, any lasting effects will be gone.”
“Morning?” she asked softly, her confusion visible on her wrinkled brow.
Jalall set his cup on the table. “As Manu said, we will see you to your destination.”
“I don’t have a destination. I ran,” she said.
Her desperation was palpable. Manu knew that sending her back out into the mountains would be signing her death warrant, but he couldn’t leave her here. “We can take you back to the rainwood.”
“So I can be kidnapped with the rest and suffer some unknown fate?” She shook her head. “I’d rather die in the cold.”
“I’m sorry,” Manu said. And he was. More than she could know. It wasn’t in his nature to turn from those in need, but he had no choice.
Inej calmly pushed back her chair and stood. “Me, too. If you will excuse me, I’ll return to my quarters.”
Jalall nodded. Manu tried to keep his eyes from her as she walked past, but his gaze was drawn to her hair.
He watched the ends sweep against her hips, and an image of her in his arms, her hair wrapped around his fist, flashed in his mind.
He blinked and shoved it aside, even as his gaze lingered on her shapely body. All too soon, she walked out of sight.
Manu turned around and found Jalall watching him silently. He winced, hoping his friend hadn’t noticed his interest.
“You know…” Jalall began.
Manu cut his gaze to him. “Don’t.”
“She was eyeing you as much as you were her.”
“I told you not to.”
Jalall grunted as he leaned forward to pour more tea. “She is attractive.”
“And leaving.”
“Not until morning. How long has it been since you’ve bedded someone?”
Manu dropped his head back against the chair and stared up at the ceiling. “I really don’t want to have this conversation.”
“Again, you mean?” Jalall asked with amusement. “How can an elf such as you, who has the pick of anyone in the city, sleep alone?”
“I don’t always sleep alone.”
Jalall made a frustrated sound at the back of his throat. “If you were going to wed Tahmine, you would’ve done it already. She’s an all-too-willing bed partner who believes you will eventually take her as your wife. You need to put her out of her misery.”
“I’ve told her repeatedly that we’re not marrying.”
“Yet, she still comes to your bed.”
Manu ran a hand down his face. “Aye. She comes to me. Not the other way around.” Though he was considering going to her tonight to relieve his aching body.
“And you let her. Stop stringing her along, my friend. Do you want a wife?”
“I don’t know.”
Jalall grunted. “I think you should find a wife. If it isn’t someone among our people, the other Mountain tribes would love to offer up one of their women for a match.”
“What about you? You need a wife.”
“I’m not ready.”
Manu couldn’t believe he had let his friend drag him into this conversation again. “Me having a wife has nothing to do with who will succeed me.”
Jalall rolled his dark eyes. “We both know you don’t need a wife for that. The new infants brought to Navara are always offered to you first. You’ve never taken one as yours.”
“I’m not ready,” he threw Jalall’s words back at him.
“You’re going to keep saying that, and then one day, you won’t have a chance to teach a child what they need to know to lead.”
Manu looked into his best friend’s eyes and said the words he had been mulling over for the last few weeks. “Then you’ll succeed me.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Jalall said, his voice low with anger. “I have no wish for such responsibility.”
“You’re the only one who knows what to do.”
Jalall threw up his hands. “Then take one of the children!”
Manu’s plan hadn’t gone over well, but he’d known it wouldn’t. He never should’ve said anything. Now, Jalall would push even harder for him to accept one of the infants as his. The problem was, Manu couldn’t choose one child over another.
Worse, what if he chose wrong?
“What do you think about Inej?” Manu asked, needing to change the conversation.
Thankfully, Jalall went along with it, his fury evaporating. “I think she’s hiding something.”
“I got that, too. Any idea what?”
“Nothing yet. I searched her discarded clothes and bag, but there was nothing to find.”
Manu drummed his fingers on the table. “She was visibly upset about leaving.”
“If we can believe her story.”
“We should make sure she wasn’t followed.”
Jalall nodded slowly. “I’ll alert the guards on duty tonight and send a couple of teams to scout tomorrow morning.”
“We won’t be able to stay hidden for long. More and more of the Masters’ thugs are coming into the mountains.”
“They don’t know your name. You aren’t on the list with Dain and the others. You’re safe.”
Manu twisted his lips. “I thought so, but is that false hope?”
“If anyone comes, they’ll have to get through me first.”
“If they discover I was involved with taking down Shaldorn, the best thing I can do is leave Navara to keep the city safe.”
Jalall’s brows snapped together. “You can’t leave. Our people need you.”
“Do they? I’m not so sure. I brought the Masters’ ire by helping Ravi and Yasmin.”
Jalall shoved aside his tea so hard that the liquid sloshed over the sides. “You did the right thing. I only wish I had been there to help. I have an idea. If your name gets out, I’ll leave and tell everyone I’m you. That way, the city will be left alone, and you can remain as ruler.”
Manu got to his feet. “That plan is shite.”
“It’s solid,” Jalall said as he stood. “And you know it.”
“Nay, I don’t. You’re staying, and that’s the end of it.”
Jalall didn’t back down. “Only if you do. If you leave, so will I. Then what happens to Navara?”
Manu should’ve seen that coming. He shook his head and sighed as he looked away. “I know taking a stand against the Masters was the right thing to do, but I thought—hoped—they would never venture into the mountains.”
“So did Ravi and Yasmin, or they wouldn’t have sent the kids here.” Jalall slapped him on the back. “We’ve been vigilant. We’ll continue to be cautious. And we won’t let strangers in.”
“You mean no more strangers,” Manu said with a grin as he looked at his friend.
Jalall chuckled. “Inej is right, though. She’s no threat to us.”
“If she’s human.”
“It won’t matter. Because she’ll be gone in the morning.”
Manu was suddenly exhausted. He wanted to find his bed and sleep for a week, but there was still too much to do before he could get any rest. “If she doesn’t give us a direction, we’ll take her to the lowlands.”
“She’ll just return to the mountains.”
“Then that’s on her. We’ll have done what’s right.” Hopefully.
Jalall nodded solemnly. “Go home, my friend. Find someone other than Tahmine to take to your bed and then get some sleep.”
“I’d really love it if you stopped worrying about my sex life.”
“And miss out on teasing you? I don’t think so,” Jalall said with a laugh.
Manu wore a smile as they walked to the side door.
He looked over his shoulder once in case he caught a glimpse of Inej, but there was no sign of her.
He waved goodbye to Jalall and headed home.
He was halfway there when he spotted Tahmine.
She stood waiting for him by the bridge.
He should send her home, but his body craved release.
Manu paused beside her. She smiled up at him, her dark eyes searching his.
“You know there can’t be more than this between us,” he told her, remembering Jalall’s words.
She looked down and took his hand into hers before lifting her gaze to his once more. “I know.”