Chapter 21
Twenty-One
ZAKAI
Most of the village was empty, including the center.
It was a little eerie since even when it was snow covered and freezing, there were usually people coming and going all the time, making the space seem crowded.
The warriors of the clan stood in the distance, some on horseback while others guarded on foot.
They were all armed, but no weapons were drawn.
I looked around hurriedly for Uttin, but I couldn’t find him in the crowd.
And knowing these overprotective barbarians, if they caught me out and about, they’d move me before listening to what I had to say.
“Hey! You need to return to the others!”
Sure enough, one of the guards closer to the village noticed me and headed in my direction, his expression one of worried consternation.
I wasn’t willing to deal with him, not after seeing the shine of gold heading down the hill toward the clan.
I needed to get out there before they attacked the people who’d cared for me this past month.
Some of the soldiers preferred to attack first and ask questions later.
Spinning on my heel, I hurried toward the field of stallions. I excelled at riding. If I was fast enough, I could meet the soldiers before they got close enough to cause trouble for the clan.
“Zakai? What are you doing?” Godr asked.
He stood near the side of the field where he could see the clan gathered, armed and ready to protect the herd, his expression pensive.
And a little confused now that he noticed my arrival.
I wasn’t sure I could trust him not to demand I return to where the rest of the clan hid, but he’d been nice enough to give me an idea of how to stay.
If he didn’t agree, I’d just steal a stallion and apologize later.
“The army with the gold sun are my people. I need to get out there before they do something stupid.”
His eyes widened, and his head whipped back to where the large battalion was getting closer to the clan, then back to me.
“Shit. Let’s go, then.”
He whistled, calling over a pretty mare with a dappled black and white coat. He gave me a boost, helping me to get situated, but before he could get on his own stallion, I stopped him with a shake of my head.
“Just me. If you come with me, they might think you’re trying to hold me hostage. Thanks for the horse.”
He squawked a noise of protest, but I kicked the horse into motion, ignoring him.
Since they didn’t have reins, I had to be careful holding onto the mane while keeping my blades away from the mare, but she was a steady one and headed straight for the group of three breaking off from the rest of the battalion and heading for the clan.
Orthorr, Uttin, and another I didn’t recognize guided their larger horses forward, but when they saw me coming, they froze.
Uttin looked horrified, and I wished I could explain things to him, but I didn’t want my people anywhere near the clan until they knew the barbarians weren’t at fault for my kidnapping.
“Zakai!” Uttin bellowed.
I ignored him, heading for the emissary and his two guards. He recognized me, and relief flashed across his face, but then his gaze shifted over my shoulder and he shouted out a warning, waving his hand to the archers to get them ready to fire.
Whipping my head around, I nearly cried seeing Uttin chasing after me. He looked afraid, but I was more afraid for him. They saw him as a threat. I couldn’t let them hurt him.
Lifting my voice as loud as I could, I shouted, “Stop! By order of your prince!”
The archers faltered, and the emissary looked confused, but they obeyed orders. They had to. The only ones who outranked me were—
“Archers at the ready! Protect your prince!” my father bellowed.
“No!”
My plan wasn’t working. They weren’t going to talk to me while Uttin was coming to protect me.
“Uttin! Stop! They’re my people!” I tried, but he either couldn’t hear me or he didn’t care.
I could either hope to reach the emissary in time to explain, or go to Uttin to protect him.
They wouldn’t fire if I stood in their way.
It was risky—if they fired by accident or tried to kill him before I reached him, I could be hurt—but I knew in my gut if they killed him, I wouldn’t survive.
I had to protect the barbarian who protected me.
Pulling my horse around, I headed back in Uttin’s direction and hurriedly asked the mare, “If you can go any faster, please do. I need to get to him.”
She whinnied and surprisingly, her stride lengthened as she picked up the pace.
I rushed for Uttin, white noise filling my ears as I heard my father screaming behind me and the rush of hoof beats as the battalion swarmed forward.
Maybe he thought I wanted to lead the charge.
Or maybe he thought I was insane. Either way, it wasn’t good.
Unwilling to hurt Uttin, I dropped my weapons as we got close to him, and when we were finally in range, I threw myself off the back of the stallion and tackled him.
Probably not the best idea, granted, but I wanted to cover his body with mine in case the archers had already fired.
We hit the ground hard, Uttin’s arms wrapping around me protectively, his body taking most of the impact.
It knocked the wind out of the both of us, leaving us stunned long enough for me to lose track of what was happening until we were surrounded.
Barbarians on one side, my people on the other, all with weapons raised at the ready.
“Stop!”
Uttin and I shouted it together, causing both sides to pause.
I was still breathless and shaken, but my one concern was Uttin’s safety.
I tried to keep my body on top of his, but he kept trying to flip me to hide me instead.
It ended up being a wrestling match that stunned our people enough to halt the call for blood.
“Zakai. What in the world are you doing?” Father demanded incredulously.
“Trying to protect him,” I snarled, shoving Uttin’s shoulder. “Will you stop?”
He answered in my tongue, his expression fiercely determined. “No! It is my job to protect you!”
I couldn’t help it. The situation was serious, deadly even, but we were so busy trying to protect each other that neither was doing a good job. I started laughing until tears streamed down my cheeks and my sides hurt, and still I couldn’t stop.
A familiar feminine voice, the voice of reason in our family, spoke above my laughter, her tone clearly amused. “I think perhaps, dear one, that it’s time to admit it.”
“Admit… what?” I asked between gasping laughter.
“I told your father to approach more cautiously. We had no knowledge of how you were being treated. He chose not to listen to me.”
Father’s sigh was long-suffering. “Yes, yes. It seems you were right. Son, are you well?”
“I’m fine,” I answered as Uttin cautiously helped me to my feet.
He hovered, and I could tell with the way his hand was outstretched that he was ready to pull me out of danger at a moment’s notice, but I waved him off.
Had I known both my parents were coming, I would have just demanded to speak with them.
My mother could be reasoned with where my father couldn’t.
Wiping tears off my cheeks, I looked around. We were still surrounded on all sides, though weapons were lowered to give us breathing room. Orthorr looked confused and concerned until Uttin spoke to translate for him. He was the only one in the clan who’d bothered to learn my tongue.
Sliding off her horse, which stood a head and a half shorter than the barbarian stallions, my mother nudged soldiers aside to approach me. Father made a noise of protest, but she ignored him, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.
“Oh, my heart. I was so worried for you.”
Her familiar perfume wrapped around me, and I let out a sigh, hugging her back and closing my eyes. While I wished to stay with Uttin, I could admit that I missed my family very much. It would have hurt me to leave them forever.
“Weapons away,” Orthorr ordered. “Uttin. Can you speak for us?”
Uttin, who still stood close to my back, grunted his agreement, translating as Orthorr greeted my parents.
“It is an honor to have you. We are the Northern clan. Welcome…”
The emissary took a step forward, his chin lifted in that superior way that made me want to punch him. “You are in the presence of the King of Al Nuzem, King Zohaib Khan, and her royal highness, Queen Raiza. You will bow—”
“No, they won’t,” I cut him off with a glare. “You will not disrespect the clan that protected me by asking such a thing. Hold your tongue, Ahmad.”
Ahmad didn’t look pleased at my insistence, but Mother lifted a hand to stop his protest, her demeanor calm and steady.
“He’s right. We would not ask such a thing.
Perhaps we need to have a discussion. I feel as though we only have part of the story.
” She cupped my cheek, giving me that affectionate smile that made all her children give into her whims to please her.
“Will you translate for me, son of mine? I want to meet the people who protected my heart.”
Uttin snorted behind me, and I whipped around, gaping at him. “What’s so funny?”
He lifted a shoulder, more at ease now that the tension had begun to settle. “You are much like your mother. That look works on me as well.”
Horror made my eyes widen. If he’d said it in his tongue, I might have gotten away with keeping my parents ignorant. But he’d said it in our language. All the hope that I’d had in keeping my interests a secret fled out the window faster than the mare who’d helped me protect Uttin.