Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ORTHORR
Cedric’s awestruck expression made me uncomfortable.
I did not take credit for the change because it wasn’t only me who wished to make it.
Bren, Idrull, and a few others all felt the same as I did.
I was just the first to enforce the rule in my own clan because I was the first to become clan leader.
They had to wait until they could take the position in their own clans to make any changes.
It hadn’t been easy, some clan members had fought against the change, but it had been for the best. Tributes were happier in our clan, spent the time learning the language and accepted their place among us faster than any other clan.
When others recognized the difference, they began to change as well, and the overall happiness of tributes became our first priority.
They deserved to be treated like the goddesses they were for continuing our way of life.
Tessa had been by my side the entire time I put the change into motion, supporting me and standing beside me when the clan pushed back.
She was as fiercely defensive of me as I was of her and put more than one of my clan brothers in their place when they tried to say I was too weak to fight for her hand like I should have.
Her scolding was more effective than a blade.
“I think it is Tessa who should have gotten the credit,” I murmured. “I took action because I loved her. I cannot say the same would be true if she had never come into my life.”
I always believed that tributes deserved to be treated better, but I didn’t push back against my clan until she arrived.
When Khrull from the Fer’na Clan showed up to ours asking for sanctuary to protect his bondmate, I saw myself in him.
He followed orders and honored his clan until they tried to take his bondmate away from him.
It was why I allowed him and his bondmate to stay.
The Fer’na had only recently attacked us, and Uttin was reluctant to allow someone he considered an enemy to join our people, but I knew something he did not.
A man willing to give up his clan for love would fight to his last breath to protect the clan that cherished them both.
Cedric smiled softly, nodding in agreement. “Okay. I can accept that. I’m sure she’d be proud of the legacy she’d helped create. Thanks to her, I finally have a chance at true happiness. I wish I could thank her in person.”
Chuckling, I tucked him against my side, leaning my cheek on the top of his head.
Tessa would have liked Cedric. He prioritized me and demanded equality between us.
He volunteered to help me even though he was still getting his feet beneath him and barely understood our ways of life.
He was a good man, and I got the feeling if they’d known each other in life, they would have been good friends.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I focused on the warmth of the sun on my face.
Thanks to my love for Tessa, I was able to create a life where tributes were free to choose who they loved and brothers were able to accept that claim without fighting for it.
And thanks to Cedric, things would change yet again.
Not just for me, but for my clan. I couldn’t have gotten through all that paperwork without him.
I silently thanked the fates for sending me my two greatest loves. It was because of them that we could make a life so perfect.
Uttin and the rest of his party returned to the clan the following day, and the clan was packed up to leave only a few days later.
King Zohaib sent a company of hunters, guards, an herbalist to teach about the local plants, and even an engineer, to help us set up a permanent settlement and learn about our new home.
With several clans accompanying us, plus the slower pace of moving families, animals, and tents, the single day journey King Zohaib had expected took at least four.
We could only travel so far each day before we needed to rest for the sake of those who traveled with us.
The townspeople especially weren’t used to traveling and had trouble with the heat and sleeping on the ground.
When the forest finally came into view, I heard the ripple of excitement throughout the clan brothers riding beside me. There had been so much sand between the kingdom and our destination, it was hard to imagine just a vast forest cutting through all that wasteland.
“It is the river,” Malik, the hunter King Zohaib had sent, informed me, pointing in the distance where the trees were less thick and a wide river could be seen in the distance.
“It cuts through the land and the trees surround it, splitting off in several directions so that the forest became as vast as it is now. Our king has chosen land for you over there,” he pointed again, this time to the left.
“As it has more shallow waters for bathing, and the creatures can be easily deterred from entering those waters.”
“What kind of creatures?” Cedric asked warily.
He’d spent most of the trip inside one of the wagons, as his fair skin had turned a bright pink from too much sunlight, and Zoya had insisted he needed a rest, but as this was our final day, she finally allowed him to join me on Dagr’s back for the rest of the journey.
Hugging him against my chest, I kissed the top of his head. “Relax, kolrav. No creatures attacked you while we were in the river before. We know how to keep each other safe.”
He whipped his head around, gaping at me. “There were dangerous creatures in that water? I thought it was too shallow for that!”
Malik shrugged, urging his mount forward. “Even shallow waters have risk if you don’t know what to look for. That’s why I am here. To teach our new allies what to look for. Your bondmate is right. You need not worry. Just don’t bathe alone.”
Cedric made an incredulous noise, but the excitement was making my clan brothers restless, and I knew better than to think we could continue our slow pace forever. I glanced to my left where Uttin rode beside us. When he caught my eye, he nodded once.
“Brothers! With me!”
He took off, leading a large group of our people forward to where a few of the king’s guards were already camped and waiting for us.
Dagr picked up his pace a little, but I did not race off like the others.
I stayed with those who could not tolerate such a quick pace, and I could tell by the way he slumped against me that Cedric was grateful. He didn’t like when we rode too fast.
We made camp where the forest thinned near the shallow waters Malik had spoken about.
The trees gave us shelter from the heat, and easy access to hunting, but were thin enough not to need walls for protection against the creatures of the forest. It was a larger space than we’d had before, but with both the Northern Clan and Clan Urthazrak settling permanently, we needed all the space we could get.
The rest of the clans, the ones who would only stay until their guests were ready to choose where they wished to go, settled their camps a little farther down.
They would return to that place when they wished for rest, but would not remain there permanently.
It was not our way to stay in one spot forever.
Only a few of us were willing to make the change.
Sliding off Dagr’s back, I helped Cedric down as well, keeping a hand on his lower back as we led my stallion to where the others were being gathered by Godr and the other horsemasters.
Their fences would need to be put up first for their protection.
The rest of the clan would focus on putting up tents and digging a trench, doing the tasks that needed to be done whenever we settled in a new area.
“What do we do?” Cedric asked, eyes wide as he watched clan brothers spread out and start unpacking. “We should help, right?”
“We will,” I reassured him. “But first, we need to choose where we wish for our tent to be. Uttin will be taking the clan leader’s tent near the community fire. We can choose wherever we wish to settle our tent.”
It’d been a long time since I’d had the freedom to choose where I lived.
As clan leader, I was expected to stay near the receiving tent and the community fire so I was available whenever my clan needed me.
For the first time in many years, I could choose to be farther away.
To not be constantly interrupted when I wished to spend time alone with Cedric. I’d admit, I was looking forward to it.
“Oh! That sounds exciting. Where do you think we should settle? I’m not entirely familiar with everyone. Is there someone you want as our neighbors?”
I hummed, walking amongst the spots brothers had already claimed, listening to their laughter and excitement as they set up their homes. King Zohaib mentioned in the future that we could move into more permanent housing if we wished, but for now, we were happy to live as we always had.
When I saw a few of the male bondmates gathered together, I steered Cedric in that direction. Finn had told me once they had formed their own community and shared in their experiences together as the newest members of our society. I wanted Cedric to be able to share in that experience as well.
Finn looked up when we joined them, beaming at me brightly. “Orthorr! Have you found a spot for your tent yet?”
“Not yet. Have you?”
Simon made a face, waving a hand at where Uttin’s tent was being set up. “We were thinking closer to those two. Zakai will get jealous if we’re all neighbors, and he’s stuck all by himself.”
Patrick nodded, leaning on his cane. He always required to use it whenever we moved.
The travel wasn’t easy on him. “I want to be close to the cooking tent, too. It’ll make it easier if the weather is bad.
” He frowned suddenly. “Does the weather get bad? I know we won’t have to worry about snow, but are there other storms we need to worry about?
“Sandstorms,” I informed him. “Some of the guards will be teaching us how to handle such things. Being that we are here permanently, it is possible we can have fires in the tents like we do in the winter for if such things occur, but we felt it was best to make that decision later.”
We ended up nearer to the clan leader’s tent, but far enough away that I felt the separation.
It was both a relief and a little odd for me, and I was glad Cedric had chosen somewhere close enough that I could be nearby if Uttin needed me.
He was still young, and while I had been training him for the role for some time, he still felt out of his depth at times and needed my counsel. I was happy to provide for him.
Of course, just because I was giving up the clan leader tent didn’t mean I was giving up the bed.
I wasn’t lying when I told Cedric Uttin would need to get his own.
He beamed as he noticed the thick pallet waiting to be set up, eagerly helping me drag it into place and flopping on top of it once we’d chosen the best place for it.
“Ahhh… You know, I think I might have complained more if I had to sleep on anything harder than this. I’m not as young as many of the people who’d left town. I would’ve woken up sore without this bed.”
Chuckling, I crawled into bed next to him, smacking a kiss onto his lips. “I would have helped you with your soreness, kolrav. Are you feeling sore now?”
He heard the purr in my tone and a sly grin crossed his face as he threw his arms around my neck. “I’m not sure. Perhaps you should help me anyway just to be certain.”
“Anything my bondmate desires.”