Chapter 21
Twenty-One
AMbrOSE
M y first week with the Ilvos clan was nothing like it had been with Godr’s clan.
Or the Northern clan, as my new protector called it.
Doskar was nice enough—a hunter for his clan with sharp eyes and a wicked sense of humor.
I was the first male tribute the Ilvos clan had accepted, and he seemed eager at first to meet me, but it didn’t take long for us to figure out there wouldn’t be a future there.
He admitted to me he had heard of the smaller, softer male tributes from the Northern clan and had hoped to meet one of them.
I wasn’t his type. And he wasn’t mine. He was bulky and wide, and one of the shorter members of his clan.
Nothing like the lithe horsemaster I’d left behind.
Despite our lack of interest, Doskar was kind and watched out for me.
He’d had to step in once when Takr tried to get handsy, and he’d kept a close eye on me since.
The only time he wasn’t beside me was when I was inside the healing tent with the other healers.
Unlike Zoya and the other healers of the Northern clan, the Ilvos clan healers weren’t entirely welcoming to a man, but when I made Doskar a poultice on my own to help with a hunting injury and they saw my work, they grudgingly allowed me to join them.
When I wasn’t with the healers, I was in Doskar’s tent.
He didn’t always stay with me—I told him that wasn’t necessary—but despite some encouragement from the clan leader, I didn’t feel up to being introduced to the rest of the clan.
He said he’d give me a week to get settled like most tributes were allowed, which meant my solitary time would be up any day now. I wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.
It wasn’t that I thought badly of the clan.
Other than Takr, who was a creep, the people I met weren’t bad.
A little standoffish and uncomfortable with a male tribute, but they didn’t ostracize me or treat me poorly.
It just wasn’t the Northern clan. They had been welcoming and happy to have me. And Godr?—
I cut off my train of thought, forcing myself to focus on the tunic I was mending and not the man with the goofy grin and soft eyes.
I’d been so determined to pretend nothing had ever happened between us that I lost an entire week I could have spent with him.
I wished I’d pulled my head out of my ass sooner and realized what that flutter in my chest meant whenever I was near him.
A sharp stab in my finger made me hiss, and Doskar looked up from where he was sharpening his hunting knives. He frowned at me.
“Is Ambrose okay?”
He still used simple words to speak to me, despite me having a decent grasp of the language after four weeks of speaking only in their tongue. I didn’t bother arguing with him about it. It was better than him speaking too fast for me to understand.
“I’m fine. Poked my finger.”
He grunted, his grimace filled with understanding. “I hate sewing. I always prick my fingers. I hope my bondmate is better with sewing than me.”
I nodded in agreement. I could sew just fine, but there were certain things Alora could do that I couldn’t. Like cooking. She had been a much better cook than I was.
“Brother!” someone shouted outside Doskar’s tent. “Inngath calls for you and your tribute!”
Apparently my time alone was up even sooner than I’d expected.
With a heavy sigh, I set aside my project and followed Doskar out of his tent.
Varr was on the other side, and he gave me a friendly pat on the back as he led the way to where everyone congregated.
Unlike the setup of the northern clan, which was like a wheel and spokes centering on the big fire in the middle, the Ilvos clan had a mountain behind them, so their clan sat in a large semi circle with the fire in the middle where everyone ate and socialized.
They also raised goats as a main source of food, and supplemented with bird-type creatures I’d never seen before that nested in the mountains.
I paid little mind to my surroundings, following sedately behind Doskar. I knew part of the reason I was so unhappy here was because I was stuck on everything I’d lost in the past few months, but I’d get over it in time. I was adaptable by nature. I’d find my place eventually.
My little pep talk wasn’t actually helping, but what else could I do?
“Dad!”
My head whipped up so fast, I felt a strain in my neck.
I paid little mind to it when my eyes locked on my son, who darted past the group of barbarians surrounding a carriage and straight for me.
I tripped over my feet in my haste to get to him, snatching him up and falling to my knees as I hugged him close.
“Oh… Oh, Seb. I missed you so much,” I croaked, petting his hair and squeezing him tight.
“I missed you too.” His voice warbled, filled with emotion, and I felt tears burn my eyes at the thought of making my brave boy cry. He almost never cried. Much like me, he preferred to keep his emotions tucked away and take time to himself to sort through his feelings later.
A shadow blocked out the sun, and when I looked up to see why, Rhoddgorr’s big nose was right in front of my face. I let out a watery laugh, petting him with one hand without letting go of my son.
“How did you find me?” I whispered, wrapping myself around Sebastian again. Rhoddgorr stood watch over us, a protective barrier between us and the rest of the clan.
“There was a clan outside Aunt Laurel’s town. I snuck out to talk to them, and they said all tributes were brought to the Northern clan. I was going to find my way there by myself, but Aunt Evie caught me,” he grumbled.
My heart stuttered with fear at what could have happened to him if he’d gotten away with his plan.
It was often days of riding between clans.
It had taken three and a half days of riding to get from the Northern clan to the Ilvos clan when I was brought here, and we stopped for food and rest along the way.
That kind of journey on foot was dangerous enough, but with the weather turning, it was suicidal.
He would have frozen to death before getting anywhere near the Northern clan.
“Why, Seb?” I choked on a sob, burying my face in his hair, breathing in his familiar scent. “I told you to stay with Aunt Evie. She would have taken care of you.”
Pushing away from me enough to look at me, my son glared at me accusingly. “You said you’d come back. But I heard about the barbarians. They don’t let tributes go back. If you couldn’t leave, I had to go to you.”
I’d hoped he’d forget about that promise. I’d made it because I was in a hurry and didn’t want him too upset. He had the power to sway me to stay, and I hadn’t wanted Evie to have to go instead.
“I had every intention of asking to go to you at one point,” I assured him. “But I’m expected to choose a bondmate first and?—”
“You mean Godr?”
I nearly swallowed my tongue at the implication. “How do you?—”
It hit me suddenly. If Rhoddgorr was here, that meant someone from the Northern clan had escorted them. And the only person Rhoddgorr even deigned to listen to was…
“Where is he?” I breathed.
Sebastian waved to somewhere beyond Rhoddgorr’s large frame. “Talking to important people. He said he wants you to pick him, but he needs permission from your clan first. He’s been really nervous about it the whole way here.”
“He… spoke to you?” I asked, frowning.
Sebastian wrinkled his nose. “Sort of? The old guy with the beard translated most of it. Godr asked me to teach him our language, but Dad—He’s really bad at it.”
A sound escaped me that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. That didn’t surprise me. What little time I’d spent with Godr, he’d nearly constantly been in motion. Slowing down long enough for me to teach him the little I had had been a task, and Sebastian wasn’t as patient.
“Do you really like a guy?” Sebastian asked as I pulled us to our feet.
Drawing in a breath, I let it out slowly. “I like one guy,” I admitted quietly. “He’s… special.” I eyed my son apprehensively. “Does this bother you?”
He lifted a shoulder, unbothered by the idea. “As long as I get to stay with you, I don’t care who you marry. Are we really going to live in tents, though?”
That I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know what was going on.
I’d expected to be forced to meet the clan, not the arrival of my son.
And my sister, apparently. When we finally made our way to the group by the carriage, she threw her arms around me and sobbed, drawing more tears from me before I could stop them.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, hugging her just as tightly as I’d hugged Sebastian. That ache in my chest that had appeared the moment I left finally settled, but I was afraid to hope they’d stay.
“It was either this or risk Sebastian running away,” she said, leaning against Beau, who stepped up behind her and kissed her temple.
“There was also a rumor that your father was looking for Sebastian,” Beau added. “It was only a matter of time before he figured out where we went. Aunt Laurel said the safest place for him was with his dad.”
Frowning, I looked at Evelyn. “Why would he be looking for Seb?”
“He’s the family heir,” she reminded me. “Father lost his rightful heir when you volunteered. Seb was his next best option. I was honestly terrified of what would happen to Sebastian if Dad got his hands on him. And as his aunt, I wouldn’t have been able to keep him with me.”
No. My father had enough power to make sure of that. I was surprised I hadn’t thought of that. I’d been in such a hurry to get him and Evelyn out of town, I’d forgotten to cover my tracks.
“Are you staying?” I had to ask. It wasn’t the life I wanted for my sister or my son, but the thought of them leaving made it hard for me to breathe. I’d just got them back.
“I am!” Sebastian growled, stepping closer to me and grabbing a fistful of my tunic like he’d done when he was little and scared. I wrapped an arm around him protectively. I’d do anything to keep him with me at the very least.
Evelyn smiled sadly at him and shook her head. “We made the journey to bring Seb to you. Beau has to get back to the bakery and?—”
“And you’re going with him,” I finished. “Did you get married, then?”
She beamed at me, nodding rapidly. “We married in a small ceremony a week after you left. I’m legally bound to him now, so Father can’t cause any trouble. It’s just Sebastian I was worried about.”
“Thank you. For bringing him, and taking care of him in my absence. You are the best sister I could ask for.”
She hugged me again, sniffling against my shirt. We held each other for a long time, just soaking in the moment, before someone cleared their throat to catch our attention. When I looked up and saw Doskar waiting, I grimaced.
“Time to go?” I asked. I explained to Evelyn, “I’m supposed to be introduced to the clan soon. I’m not sure how that’ll go given how awkward things have been here, but I made a promise to the clan leader that I’d join the clan after a week of getting comfortable.” I shrugged. “My week is up.”
“What about me?” Sebastian asked, still clinging to me.
“We’ll have to talk to the clan leader about that.” But if they tried to tell me I couldn’t keep my son with me, I’d stop being so agreeable. I’d been separated from him long enough. If they wouldn’t let me keep him, then I’d find some way to leave. I wasn’t walking away from him again.