Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
brENEK
Torgrind grunted when we came together, the clash of our blades ringing loud through the quiet evening air. A wicked grin overtook my face. “What’s the matter, old man? Too much for you?”
He shoved me away, readying his stance again to face me with a scowl. He didn’t take the bait of my comment, but I could tell it irritated him. He liked to claim he was the balanced one, the one better suited for warrior of our clan. I took great joy in putting him in his place.
I readied myself for another round, careful of my footsteps in the uneven terrain. The sand had been a hindrance when we first arrived in Al Nuzem. Now, several months later, I knew better than to rush. If I tripped, Torgrind would never let me forget it.
We weren’t the only ones training, several others had taken to training after the sun had disappeared below the horizon, cooling the air and allowing for training without the discomfort of the sun’s heat above us.
The sound of blades coming together was as familiar to me as the calls of the talvok that represented our clan.
Torgrind lunged at me again, his blade clashing against mine again and again. I loved to spar, even if it was against my life long rival. I loved even more besting him and lording it over him until our next sparring match.
The sound of a horse’s whinny drew my attention, causing me to look away from Torgrind long enough to give him an opening.
He stepped forward, sword swinging, and I only just had time to jump out of the way before he split me in two.
I gaped at the spot I’d only just stood, glaring at him incredulously. “You could have killed me!”
“Then don’t lose focus,” he countered with a smirk.
I scoffed, stepping away from him and out of range of his blade. “You really must be getting old if you didn’t hear someone approach. I was checking for enemies. I didn’t lose focus.”
I resented even the idea that I was too distracted to best him.
He rolled his eyes, stance still ready for a fight. “You’ve made that excuse before. If you are too tired to continue, you need only say so. You don’t need to lie.”
Growling out a curse, I lunged at him again, pushing my weight against him as our swords caught. He was only half a hand taller than I was. I could get the upper hand easily enough.
With my focus on getting Torgrind to trip, I didn’t notice his weight shift until it was too late.
He twisted, slipping around me and causing me to stumble.
He used it to his advantage, putting a foot in front of mine to cause me to fall.
If I wasn’t prepared and twisted to block his sword with mine, he would have won.
“Goddess… I arrived at the right time,” an unfamiliar voice practically purred. It was then that Torgrind pulled back, straightening to look at the man just outside the circle of where we trained.
He didn’t offer me a hand, the ass, not that I’d accept it even if he did.
I pushed to my feet, shoving past him, muttering, “I told you,” under my breath.
I knew someone was approaching our camp.
It was lucky there were others on guard to greet them since I had been distracted by Torgrind’s idiocy.
Whoever the new arrival was, he was alone, which was…
odd. Who was he that he walked right up to our camp without anyone stopping him?
He didn’t look dangerous at first glance.
He was petite, with a slender frame and no weapon to speak of that I could tell.
Soft curly brown hair danced in the wind, stopping just below his ears.
He had the features of an Al Nuzem native, with their amber skin and dark hair, but his eyes were a fascinating shade of green, and he had a piercing in his nose and two in each ear.
He was a beauty, whoever he was, and he looked me over with interest, a slight smirk pulling at his lips.
“And who might you be?” I asked, matching his smirk with one of my own.
He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a soldier of Al Nuzem appeared at his side, his expression disgruntled as he reported, “The encampment is in another direction. You said you knew where you were going.”
Blinking innocently, the man looked up at the soldier. “I did. This is a barbarian clan, is it not?”
“Not the correct one,” he hissed, looking perturbed.
His annoyance was concerning, he looked ready to hurt the gorgeous man for leading them astray.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed either.
Torgrind stepped between the pair, gently urging the gorgeous man a few feet away to put space between him and the guard.
“Do you need a guide, little one?” he asked, and my eye twitched seeing that same flirtatious smirk turned Torgrind’s way. I saw the gorgeous man first. No way was I letting my rival gain his favor.
Coming to the beautiful man’s other side, I put a hand on his back, smiling at him when he looked up in surprise. “We have spent months learning the landscape. We can help you find where you need to go.”
The beautiful man seemed pleased with the attention, leaning into my touch, but he didn’t step away from Torgrind either. I looked up at my rival, narrowing my eyes. He glared back, and I could tell he wouldn’t do the honorable thing and back off. Ass.
“Jamal!” the soldier from before squawked, looking irritated by our presence. “We must go!”
Jamal didn’t look inclined to listen, glancing between me and Torgrind like the soldier’s protests didn’t concern him in the slightest. I smirked at him, thoroughly enjoying the mischief that danced in his eyes when he smiled back at me.
“Is there a problem?”
Our clan leader’s voice drew my gaze from the beautiful man. When I looked toward our clan leader, I didn’t move away from the gorgeous man beside me. Should he need it, I would happily guide him wherever he needed to go.
“Clan Leader,” I greeted respectfully, putting my fist across my chest and bowing slightly. Torgrind did the same, his free hand still loosely gripping Jamal’s elbow. I resisted the urge to scowl.
“Brothers,” Idrull greeted, eyeing us and the put-out soldier nearby. “I see you’ve met the king’s emissary. Jamal, this is Torgrind and Brenek. Warriors in my clan.”
Jamal smiled sweetly at Idrull, leaning a little more into my hand and Torgrind’s touch. He spoke in Erabi, which I was only conversational in at best, but I understood most of what he said. “I can see that. They fight quite fiercely. Your clan is formidable.”
Idrull’s brows furrowed, and Torgrind spoke up to explain, “He came upon us during sparring, Clan Leader. Is he a visitor to our clan?”
“No, he’s supposed to–” Idrull began, only to be interrupted by Jamal, his words fast enough that I only understood about half of what he said.
“...might be best to stay…for a better idea… report back to the king…”
My brows furrowed, and to my great annoyance, Torgrind nodded like he followed along. “He has a point, Clan Leader. If the king truly wishes to know how the clans fair, a time with us would give him a better idea than just with the Northern Clan’s encampment.”
The soldier looked confused, likely because Torgrind’s reply was in our mother tongue.
Jamal too was frowning at Torgrind, and I took the opportunity to explain it to him in the common tongue in hopes of translating for him.
“He is agreeing with your plan. Being among a clan moving each moon cycle would give king better grasp of our ways. You should stay with us.”
Jamal beamed, pleased with the suggestion, but the soldier didn’t seem happy about it. “You cannot mean to stay! My job was to escort you to the clan encampment! I need to return to my duties!”
His duty as far as I could tell was to care for Jamal. He didn’t seem capable of doing the job well if he was complaining so much.
Torgrind must have thought the same thing because he replied to the soldier in the common tongue, his words terse and tight with annoyance. “We can escort him to the Northern Clan when ready. You can go.”
Idrull looked between us, bemused, but he was a smart man.
He likely figured out why we were reluctant to let the beautiful man go so easily.
He rolled his eyes, turning to the soldier again.
“If you have more to attend to, we are happy to escort him ourselves. We were likely heading back in that direction soon anyway for a rest. Jamal will be safe among my people.”
The soldier looked conflicted, which made me even more certain that the gorgeous man should not be left in his care. If he was truly suited for the job, no one should have been able to dissuade him from escorting his charge. He was a piss poor warrior for even considering leaving him.
“Amir. Just go. I am fine,” Jamal insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. “You want to go back, so go.”
Again the soldier looked conflicted. Tired of his feeble complaints, I put more pressure on Jamal’s back to lead him away.
“Come, varakai. You hungry?”
He eyed me up and down, a sultry grin spreading across his face. “Mm. Starving.”
I quirked an eyebrow at his forwardness but didn't dissuade him. There was nothing better than a partner who knew what they wanted. Once I saw to his needs, I would see where the night took us.
It was meal time when we arrived at the community fire, Ghil handing out food from inside his cooking tent. I led Jamal that way, blinking when he startled hard and jumped back, clinging to my arm.
“What is that beast?” he asked apprehensively, pointing toward Ekkar who was pressed against Henry’s legs while they waited in line to fetch their meal.
Garrun was likely not far, he usually shared the evening meal with his bondmate before returning to his duties on guard, but after Henry learned to move about on his own and with Ekkar’s help, he stopped hovering so much.
“That is Ekkar. He is an ulvor. He is not a threat,” I told him, using the common tongue in simple sentences so he could understand. I had a grasp of Erabi, but I didn’t want to test my ability when Jamal needed to be put at ease. “Rest easy, varakai. You are safe with me.”
My comment seemed to help, and he leaned into me, batting long eyelashes, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. “So protective. I’ve heard good things about barbarians. What other rumors are true?”